Calls for LNG meeting in Long Beach

A video on Liberty Natural Gas’s website shows images of a liquefied natural gas transport ship. Such ships, capable of carrying tens of millions of gallons of LNG, would dock 16.1 nautical miles from Jones Beach if Liberty acquires government approvals to build Port Ambrose.

Courtesy Liberty Natural Gas LLC

The City Council and State Assemblyman-elect Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) are calling for a public hearing to be held in Long Beach to discuss a company’s plan to build an offshore liquefied natural gas terminal 19 miles southeast of Jones Beach, saying that it is “unreasonable” to hold a meeting in Queens.

The council and Kaminsky are among the groups opposed to the construction of the terminal, Port Ambrose, by Liberty Natural Gas LLC. They are fuming at the U.S. Maritime Administration’s and U.S. Coast Guard’s decisions to release a 1,800-page environmental impact report shortly before the holidays and schedule public meetings in early January.

The report, a draft environmental impact statement required by the National Environmental Policy Act, is available in 25 parts at www.regulations.gov. The Herald will report on its contents online next week.

The council and Kaminsky urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this month to veto the Liberty Natural Gas plan, saying that an LNG terminal would negatively impact the barrier island’s ecology and residents’ quality of life, while also causing safety and security concerns.

“This project jeopardizes the health, safety and security of residents of the coastal communities in my district and threatens the marine environment that defines those communities,” Kaminsky said. The council is also calling for a 90-day extension of the public-comment period, and said that a hearing should be held in Long Beach — like one held at the Allegria Hotel last year — rather than in Jamaica, Queens, where a meeting is scheduled next month.