Full-Year Continuing Approriations Act, 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. MCGOVERN. Mr. Chair, I wish to express my strong support for allowing states to have a say in the siting of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and Representative WU's amendment #526 to H.R. 1.

Mr. Chair, for years, there's been an ill-conceived proposal to permit an LNG facility in Fall River, Massachusetts. This is a densely populated urban area with more than 9,000 residents of southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island living within a one mile radius of the proposed site.

Siting an LNG facility here comes with enormous security risks as 900 foot long tankers would need to be brought up the Taunton River and pass under four bridges.

From day one, local residents have expressed their vehement opposition to this misguided and dangerous proposal.

Current and previous Massachusetts and Rhode Island governors, local leaders and public safety officials have also fought against this irresponsible project.

Unfortunately, the Republican energy bill of 2005 gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the exclusive authority to site LNG terminals, overriding the role of states and local communities in these critical public health and safety decisions.

In Fall River, FERC has ignored legitimate local concerns, despite Federal laws and regulations directing a preference for remote siting of LNG facilities away from heavily populated areas and directing the agency to consider local input.

Mr. Chair, my constituents in Somerset, Swansea and Fall River have made their opposition to this project loud and clear. Fall River is not the right place for an LNG facility.

Let me be clear--I am not opposed to LNG as an energy source but it should not be sited in an urban area. Off-shore siting is preferable. The Northeast is already in a good position for currently permitted LNG off-shore terminals.

And, I firmly believe that states and local residents should have a say in the decision to locate a dangerous energy facility in their backyards.

Furthermore, Mr. WU's amendment is important because the City of Fall River deserves the right to plan its future and not have its economic development held hostage to a FERC permitting process that does not take local concerns into account.

At a time when so many of my Republican colleagues are fond of saying that Washington has overreached its authority, Mr. WU's commonsense amendment would restore the public's role in the siting of LNG projects and ensure that future energy decisions reflect community interests.

I want to thank my colleagues Mr. WU, Mr. FRANK and Mr. MARKEY for their leadership on this issue.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on Mr. WU's amendment.

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