A company that wants to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in eastern Baltimore County hasn't adequately addressed security concerns about importing LNG into the area, a U.S. Coast Guard report concluded yesterday.
The findings, known as a water suitability assessment, renewed calls from elected officials for AES Corp. to withdrawal its proposal to build an LNG terminal on Sparrows Point.
The Coast Guard would require a combination of armed LNG escorts, patrols from the air and shore and periodic inspections by divers, according to unclassified summaries of the report.
But the agency said that the area could "be made suitable" for the LNG tankers with additional security measures. The Coast Guard findings are considered by the federal authorities when deciding whether to approve a LNG project.
"It's time for [AES] to recognize the inappropriateness of the site," Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. said. "This Coast Guard report blows out of the water the contention of AES that this is no threat to security or to the Chesapeake Bay."
Kent Morton, manager for AES' Sparrows Point project, issued a written statement yesterday, saying the company believes it can meet the Coast Guard's requirements.
"AES believes the outcome of the Coast Guard's report and the accompanying recommendations are consistent with our expectations for managing LNG traffic with minimal effects on recreational boaters, recreational and commercial fishermen who use the Chesapeake Bay, Patapsco River and adjoining creeks, as well as other maritime Port of Baltimore users," Morton wrote.
But elected officials said they weren't so sure.
"They really don't have a security plan," Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger said of AES. "They're assuming the state or local government will take care of the security."
He and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings said they weren't confident that with its post-Sept. 11 responsibilities, that the Coast Guard has enough resources to oversee the security details necessary for LNG transport in the Baltimore area.
Two submissions
Cummings also noted that AES has submitted its plans to the Coast Guard twice.
"They've had two opportunities to present a plan on how they'd make sure the public would be safe and failed at both attempts," he said.
