Connecticut Gov. John Rowland last Friday issued an executive order halting any final decisions or approvals for construction of large-scale gas or electric transmission projects, pending the completion of a study by a task force on transmission issues. Significantly, the order, which takes effect immediately, does not apply to a high-voltage electric transmission cable across Long Island Sound which is just days away from the start of construction.

The proposed Islander East Pipeline project, a 50-mile line that would transport gas from Connecticut to Long Island, NY, does not anticipate any delays due to Rowland’s action, said spokesman John Sheridan. “We have every confidence that the federal agency [FERC]…will continue to move foward” with the project, which so far has been awarded a favorable preliminary determination and draft environmental impact statement. The proposed pipeline, to be equally owned by Duke Energy Gas Transmission and KeySpan Energy Delivery Lond Island, still expects to receive a certificate from FERC in July, Sheridan said.

The executive order, however, specifically requires the head of the task force to ask FERC not to approve any future or pending gas and electric transmission projects in Connecticut or between Connecticut and nearby states until the task force has submitted its report in January 2003. “It is essentially a moratorium on any previously proposed or new project in the state,” Rowland said in a prepared statement.

Controversy has swirled in the state in recent months over the Cross Sound Cable project, a 24-mile cable system from New Haven, CT, to Brookhaven, NY, that will transport up to 330 MW of direct current power in either direction between Connecticut and Long Island. The project, which has received all its state and federal regulatory approvals, is being developed by Cross Sound Cable Co., a unit of TransEnergie.

The governor’s office said that because of the additional environmental damage that will result from the failure to replace an existing leaking electric transmission cable across Long Island Sound, the provisions of the executive order do not apply to the Cross Sound Cable project.

The governor’s executive order was seen as an attempt to head off a stronger legislative effort, currently awaiting his signature, which would include Cross Sound Cable in the moratorium.

Lawmakers in the state this month endorsed legislation to impose a one-year moratorium on new electric cable and natural gas pipeline projects under Long Island Sound. The legislation also applied the moratorium retroactively to the Cross Sound Cable project.

Local news stories out of Connecticut report that Rowland intends to veto the legislation when it arrives on his desk in the near future. Any veto of the measure could potentially face an override by the Connecticut legislature if lawmakers can muster enough votes to do so, which may not be that daunting given the overwhelming votes in favor of the measure in both the state house and senate.

The battle over the moratorium legislation has even drawn the attention of lawmakers in Washington, DC. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) on Thursday urged the Connecticut state legislature to override Rowland’s expected veto of the moratorium bill.

“I am disappointed that Governor Rowland wants to rush approval of new energy lines across Long Island Sound before we have a full understanding of the environmental impacts of all of the proposed projects,” Lieberman said. “A one year moratorium would apply some sensible brakes on cable projects that, taken together, could have a serious adverse impact. I encourage the state legislature to override the governor’s veto before irreparable environmental damage is done to the Sound.”

Meanwhile, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has been waging a battle against the Cross Sound Cable project in the courts. He recently filed an emergency motion for stay in a state appellate court, appealing a judge’s denial of his motion to stop construction of the Cross Sound Cable.

Rowland’s executive order creates a task force that will examine all infrastructure proposals concurrently, to carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each proposal in relation to the others and to study the environmental impacts of all pending projects.

The task force will be co-chaired by the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the Chairman of the Connecticut Department of Public Utilities Control Authority. It will operate within the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University. The task force will submit its findings and recommendations to the governor by Jan. 1, 2003.

“This executive order balances environmental and energy issues,” Rowland said. “It recognizes that we need to provide safe, reliable power to our residents, and we must ensure that we preserve our environment. It is essentially a moratorium on any previously proposed or new project in the state.”

Serving on the task force will be: the executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, the secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the chairman of the Department of Public Utilities Control Authority, the chairman of the Connecticut Siting Council, the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, a representative of the Independent System Operator of New England, and a representative from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

©Copyright 2002 Intelligence Press Inc. Allrights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republishedor redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without priorwritten consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.