Federal officials have determined that a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal at Sparrows Point in eastern Baltimore County would have "mostly limited adverse environmental impact" if constructed and operated with certain measures in place, according to a report released yesterday.
The final environmental impact statement, by the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, comes months after a preliminary report, which recommended conditional approval for the project proposed by the Virginia-based AES Corp.
The company wants to use the facility to receive tankers carrying imported, super-chilled, liquefied natural gas, which would be restored to its gaseous state, then pumped through an 88-mile pipeline to southern Pennsylvania for distribution.
The latest report concludes that the plan - modified by federal staff recommendations and route variations, among other things - "is the preferred alternative that can meet the project objectives."
County and other elected officials, as well as community leaders, have protested the project, expressing concerns about security surrounding LNG transport. They also have questioned the proximity of the proposed facility and pipeline to homes and the potential for accidents or terrorist attacks.
The five members of the commission will use the impact statement and other documentation to make their decision on approval of the terminal, said Barbara Connors, a public affairs specialist with FERC. It is not known when the vote will take place, she said.
"Today, federal regulators have acknowledged that AES stands ready and able to meet the highest environmental standards," Kent Morton, the company's Sparrows Point spokesman, said in a written statement. "We are committed to providing the resources necessary to operate the Sparrows Point terminal as a clean, safe facility."
The final environmental impact statement comes almost two months after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal filed by Baltimore County to block the terminal proposed at the former Bethlehem Steel shipyard. The county was challenging a federal appeals court ruling that it had interfered with the Natural Gas Act by changing zoning regulations to ban such terminals in coastal areas.
