With the resignation of disgraced New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer effective Monday, the Connecticut Senate president said his state should reach out to New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson in an effort to secure New York’s opposition to the Broadwater offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, according to press reports.

“Assuming there is a transition at some point in the near future, the new governor will have hundreds of issues on his desk and he’ll be required to get up to speed quickly. We can’t afford to drop the ball on Broadwater,” Connecticut Senate President Donald Williams was quoted by the Associated Press.

Spitzer’s resignation follows allegations that he used the services of a prostitute. With his resignation, Paterson is to become governor.

The Broadwater terminal, sited in Long Island Sound about 11 miles off the coast of Connecticut and nine miles offshore Long Island, would have an average sendout capacity of 1 Bcf/d and peak sendout of 1.25 Bcf/d. Broadwater Energy, a partnership of Shell Oil and TransCanada Corp., would operate the facility, while Shell would own the capacity and supply the LNG. The project, which is targeted for service in December 2010, would cost approximately $700 million to build.

The Broadwater project received favorable final environmental review from FERC in January (see Daily GPI, Jan. 14). The project has been the target of controversy since its inception, with most of the opposition coming from Connecticut’s congressional delegation, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and other state officials (see Daily GPI, Jan. 9; April 25, 2007; Jan. 17, 2007).

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