Portsmouth To Fight LNG

The Portsmouth Town Council has voted to allocate up to $25,000 for legal expenses to help fight a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in nearby Fall River, Mass., the third Rhode Island community to promise money to oppose the project, according to a report on www.turnto10.com. The $250 million Weaver's Cove Energy project was approved on June 30 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The FERC at that time rejected a proposal by KeySpan LNG to expand an LNG facility in Providence. KeySpan has asked the commission to reconsider its decision. Fall River has hired Washington lawyers to appeal the decision to locate an LNG terminal in the city. The city first plans to ask the agency to reconsider its decision, and will file a request for a rehearing with the commission by Monday, said city administrator Jim Smith. The unanimous vote on Tuesday night by the Portsmouth Town Council would go toward filing a "friend of the court" brief in a federal appeals court, should that be necessary. Bristol and Newport each have voted to allocate the same amount to the legal effort.