Agreement is reached on extending review period
By Denise Civiletti
The clock won't start ticking again for another six weeks.
Broadwater Energy and the New York Department of State, which must determine whether the energy company's proposal is consistent with the state's coastal management plan, have agreed to extend the stay of a critical review period.
By law, the state has six months to rule on whether Broadwater's plan to moor a floating liquefied natural gas facility nine miles off the coast of Wading River is consistent with the state's coastal management plan. The six-month review period began Nov. 17, with a determination due by May 17. On March 29 Broadwater agreed to stop the clock between April 1 and June 30. By an agreement signed June 28, Broadwater has now agreed to extend the stay until Aug. 29, giving the state until Oct. 15 to render its consistency review determination.
The agreement extending the stay was posted Friday on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Web site.
The extension will give the state the opportunity to review the applicant's final environmental impact statement, which is still being completed.
Broadwater Energy, a joint venture of TransCanada and Shell Oil, seeks approvals to site a 1,200-foot-long floating LNG storage and regasification facility in the waters of Long Island Sound north of Herod's Point in Wading River. It must obtain an approval to construct and operate the facility from FERC under the federal Natural Gas Act. It must also obtain a terminal-operations permit from the U.S. Coast Guard as well as wetlands and dredging permits from the Army Corps of Engineers. On the state level, the DOS must sign off on the plan's consistency with the state's coastal zone management plan. Broadwater must also obtain a number of permits from the state DEC, including a wastewater discharge permit, air quality emissions permits, and approval under the Clean Water Act.
