Security Levels


 

  National Threat Level: Elevated

Sector Long Island Sound - Public Information

On June 25, 2008 pursuant to Title 33 Code of Federal Regulations Part 127.009, Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound issued it's Letter of Recommendation on the Broadwater Energy Project. Please use the following link for a copy of the LOR.
Letter of Recommendation

Waterway Suitability Report (WSR)

- PDF files of the Report -

Sector Long Island Sound - Public Information

Waterway Suitability Report (WSR)

- PDF files of the Report -

The Coast Guard in New Haven, CT was notified in November of 2004 (See Letter of Intent) that Shell Oil and TransCanada Corporation are applying for a permit to construct an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, named Broadwater Energy, in the New York State waters of Long Island Sound. Before construction of the facility can commence, the proposed Broadwater Energy LNG facility must receive regulatory approval to proceed from several Federal and State agencies. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the lead federal agency responsible for licensing LNG facilities located on shore and within state waters. The Coast Guard is a cooperating agency and will be providing input to FERC throughout the licensing process.

The Coast Guard is responsible for addressing issues related solely to navigation safety and port security associated with LNG facilities, other issues are addressed by FERC. The Coast Guard will provide FERC a recommendation based on an assessment of potential safety and security risks associated with the proposed facility to the maritime transportation system and communities on Long Island Sound. The Coast Guard’s assessment of the potential safety and security risks associated with the proposed facility will involve input from the Long Island Sound community.

Additional information reguarding FERC's role in the permitting process is avalible at thier Website. FERC Homepage.  (You are leaving a Federal Government Website)

A copy of FERC's Final Environmental Impact Statement (released January 11, 2008) can be found at the following link. FERC FEIS  (You are leaving a Federal Government Website)

Submission of Comments:

Coast Guard has established a docket through the Docket Management Service for electronic submission of comments on this proposal. All comments submitted will be reviewed by the Captain of the Port. The Coast Guard Docket for the Broadwater Safety/Security Assessment may be viewed here USCG-2005-21863  (You are leaving a Federal Government Website) (docket number: 21863).

Public comments can be submitted to FERC at the following site, FERC for Citizen  (You are leaving a Federal Government Website)

PAWSA:

A Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment (PAWSA) was conducted by the Coast Guard on May 3-4, 2005. A PAWSA is a systematic assessment designed to identify major waterway safety hazards, estimate risk levels, and evaluate potential mitigation measures to reduce risk for Long Island Sound and the approaches to Long Island Sound. A Report was generated from this assessment, which captures the risk factors that were identified in the PAWSA as well as a number of possible mitigation strategies.

One waterway risk factor addressed during the PAWSA was the proposed Broadwater LNG Project. This Report will be used as a part of the Coast Guard’s assessment of the potential waterway safety issues associated with the Broadwater LNG proposal.

As part of the Coast Guard's assessment of the potential risks to waterway safety associated with the proposed Broadwater project, we are using recorded Automatic Identification System (AIS) date to examine commercial vessel traffic patterns on Long Island Sound in general and in the vicinty of the proposed location of the FSRU in particular. AIS units are required to be carried by a significant number of commercial vessels that operate on Long Island Sound, including all foreign-flag vessels and many of the towing vessels.

On December 16, 2005 we completed a preliminary analysis for the data for every fifth day for January and February 2005. This analysis indicates the number of vessel transits on the Sound as well as the number of transits that passed within approximately 2nm of the proposed location of the FSRU. Based on this analysis, approximately 18% of the total transits passed within 2nm of the site where Broadwater has proposed to locate the FSRU. The two images below represent the data for the two months, the highlighted box is 4nm on its side and is centered on the proposed location of the FSRU. We are in the process of analyzing the data for the entire year and will include it in the Coast Guard’s report to the Federal Energy Regulator Commission.

Analysis of LNG Vessel Transit Routes:

January

February

Public Meetings:

The Coast Guard held public meetings to discuss its safety and security assessments of then proposed Broadwater LNG project in September. Two meetings were held in Connecticut, and two on Long Island. These meetings were held in conjunction with scoping meetings being conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Click on the below link to view transcripts of the meetings:

Waterway Suitability Report (WSR):

On September 21, 2006 the Coast Guard submitted its Waterway Suitability Report to FERC. A copy of the report is available below.

Links
Last Modified 8/14/2008