Broadwater Presentation at LIMBA

The folks from Broadwater came to LIMBA this morning, and gave the standard powerpoint pitch for the LNG terminal in the sound.  Most of us had heard the stuff in the pitch in the media, so it got interesting during the Q and A.  One of the great things about LIMBA is the opportunity to put people's feet to the fire and ask your own questions of people that can make things happen.

Ernie's first question was the one on most people's minds, and that was what's the worst case scenario in a USS Cole type attack, where an explosive is delivered to the storage facility.  Yes, it would be disastrous for facility, but it was interesting to find out that it would be more of a massive burn up of the facility rather than a huge explosion.  Mr. Hritcko, the project manager, detailed some of how the terminal would be constructed.  It would be a double-hulled structure, much more difficult to damage than a Navy ship, so a much larger charge would be needed to take on the facility.  There will also be an exclusionary zone around the terminal, so a surprise attack would be much less likely, if everybody's awake.  Broadwater has hired Saint Rudy's firm to consult on security, so I'm sure he'll keep it safe...

One of the things that I find disgusting is people playing the politics of fear, claiming that this will be a terrorist target.  So because something might be a terrorist target, are we supposed to all stick our heads in the sand and implement nothing new?  Will no new bridges be built because they could be targets?  No more grand public works?  What a bunch of wusses we have here.

I learned that LNG is not stored under pressure, like propane is, and that it would cook off, rapidly and intensely, for sure, but it doesn't seem that there's a bomb sitting in the sound like most of the initial reports have given.

Also, the technology is about 40 years old, and there are 4 existing onshore terminals that  have been operating for quite a while in Boston Harbor, the western shore of Maryland, Savannah Georgia, and Lake Charles, Louisiana.  These onshore terminals represent more of a danger to their neighboring populations than this project would.

One of the things that Broadwater claims is that it will increase the gas supply available in the NY metro market by about 20-25%, theoretically depressing the cost of the fuel in the local market, and cutting bills for those that use gas.  Also, this will increase the supply of gas available for repowering the electric generators on Long Island.  Environmental groups should be enamored of this particular project, because it has the potential to reduce air pollution in the New York area.  To the claim of the industrialization of the sound, I say, too little, too late.  The sound has been industrialized for two hundred years, and there have been nuclear submarines and their weapons going to and fro for the past fifty.  Give me a break!  As the benefits and risks of the project become clearer it will be interesting to see how all the local politicians revise their opinions on this.