"INSANITY ISLAND:" A MEGA-MANMADE ISLAND PROPOSED OFF JERSEY SHORE & LONG ISLAND



	Source: Adapted from Atlantic Sea Island Group

Update: ASIG Withdraws Lawsuit Against NJ

The Atlantic Sea Island Group (ASIG) has been fighting for nearly two years to try to prevent New Jersey from having veto power and public hearings over its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) island. ASIG wants to build an island out of scratch 19 miles off Sea Bright with the sole purpose being to import foreign natural gas. New Jersey sought and received veto power over the proposal and ASIG sued to take away this right. The D.C. District Court ruled in favor of NJ and ASIG then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals. However, on July 2, ASIG decided to withdraw its appeal. As a result, it is now guaranteed that Governor Jon Corzine, in addition to New York Governor David Paterson, has official veto power and can stop this proposal to get us hooked on another foreign fossil fuel with the stroke of a pen.

Stay Tuned for the Next Public Hearing

The Atlantic Sea Island Group proposes to build a massive industrial complex in the ocean for the importation of LNG (liquefied natural gas). The private company has no experience in LNG operations or offshore construction. The public comment period for "Scoping" for the Environmental Impact Statement closed on May 3, 2009, but you can still submit general comments to the docket, including your opposition to the project. To submit comments, choose one of the following:

To submit comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480946987 and follow the instructions. To view the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#docketDetail?R=USCG-2007-28535. Please wait as the page loads slowly even though it appears to be done loading.
Fax: 202-493-2251 (confirm receipt by telephone at 202-366-9329)
Mail: Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

COA's scoping comments for the Environmental Impact Statement are available here. In addition to general comments, the next specific comment period will be open after a Draft Environmental Impact Statement is released. This will also lead to new hearings in both New Jersey and New York. Stay tuned and we will keep you posted.

Thank you for Speaking Out & Defending Our Ocean from "Insanity Island!"

Click here for a summary and photos of the two public hearings (January 27 and 29, 2009) in Eatontown, NJ and Long Beach, NY (respectively). A third public hearing was later scheduled for April 19 in Belle Harbor, NY in Queens. Once again there was a huge turnout out of people with nearly everyone in support of keeping us free from another foreign fossil fuel.

To learn more, click these links:

The Documented Truth: ASIG is selectively handing out a document entitled “Atlantic Sea Island Group: The Facts.” The document cites nine “Fictions” and then provides “Facts.” ASIG attributes all nine “Fictions” to Clean Ocean Action (COA), even though three are quotes not made by COA. COA believes the facts speak for themselves in explaining why New York and New Jersey do not need to and should not get addicted to another foreign fossil fuel. Click here to read the “Fictions” and “Facts” as claimed by ASIG, and the documented truth provided by COA.
To view the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#docketDetail?R=USCG-2007-28535. Please wait as the page loads slowly even though it appears to be done loading.

BACKGROUND

An application to build a manmade island for an industrial complex to offload, store, and process liquefied natural gas (LNG) is being reviewed by two federal agencies. The facility, officially called “Safe Harbor Energy” by the company Atlantic Sea Island Group, is planned for 19 miles off the coast of New Jersey and 13 miles off the coast of New York. The same area is home to endangered species and is prime fishing grounds.

The project would require dumping 14 millions of fill to create the offshore island, which is 10 times the volume of the Empire State Building! Further, the island will only be 25 feet above sea level, while offshore wave heights during storms in this region can reach 30 to 50 feet.

The proposed artificial island would smother up to 140 acres of seafloor -- which is up to 14 times the size of Giants Stadium! At the ocean's surface, the island itself will be 86 acres. In addition, there will be large exclusion zones surrounding the facility and the tanker ships. The ships can be nearly four football fields in length. Such an island has never been constructed in the open ocean and ASIG has no experience in offshore construction or with LNG.

The sole authority to issue a license for the project is the U.S. Maritime Administration. Prior to a license being issued, the Deepwater Port Act requires that the Secretary of Transportation must consult with “the adjacent coastal state(s) and other federal agencies to ensure such a license is in the national interest.” According to law, “the Secretary shall not issue a license without the approval of the Governor of each adjacent coastal state.” By being designated as an adjacent coastal state, the Governor of that state has the right to review and approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove the application, and is granted the opportunity for at least one public hearing to be held in the state on the project.

New York was initially designated an adjacent coastal state, but New Jersey was not.

Clean Ocean Action submitted a letter in August 2007 to NJ Governor Corzine urging him to get New Jersey's voice heard in the review of this project. On Friday, September 7, 2007, NJ Governor Jon Corzine submitted a letter to the two federal agencies, requesting the state be designed an "adjacent coastal state." Both US Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and US Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-D-6) requested NJ to be part of the review process, urging the US Maritime Administration to grant NJ Governor Corzine’s request. Many citizens and organizations wrote to the agencies to support the Governor's request.

In November 2007, Connaughton ruled that New Jersey was an adjacent coastal state because it would be subject to risks “equal to or greater than” New York. While no legal provision allowed it, the applicant the Atlantic Sea Island Group (ASIG) appealed the US Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) November 2007 decision that designated New Jersey an “adjacent coast state.” Governor Corzine objected to ASIG's appeal efforts in a letter to the federal Maritime Administration, and NJDEP wrote a letter affirming the risks to NJ's coast and economy.

US Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton affirmed New Jersey’s right to review and vote on the application. In a letter dated February 8, 2008, the Administrator ruled that New Jersey would be subject to risks “equal to or greater than” New York. In the letter, Connaughton writes, “There is no better example of legitimate regional interests under the Safe Harbor proposal than that of NY and NJ. NY and NJ have historically shared environmental and economic concerns due to their geographic proximity, predominant ocean current from NY toward NJ, and common industry. They share the port and its facilities…and both NY and NJ share equally in the inherent risk of losing the Cholera Bank fishery.”

After losing this appeal, ASIG then filed suit in the federal court.

On December 8, 2008, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the U.S. Maritime Administration’s designation of New Jersey as an “adjacent coastal state." The Court ruled based on the facts presented in the record, specifically that the proposed port’s location would interfere with the Port of New Jersey and prime recreational and commercial fishing areas protected under the state’s federally approved coastal environment. Also cited were impacts to water quality in New Jersey’s waters from construction or spills due to predominant current, wave, and wind directions.

The ruling sets the stage for veto action from both NJ Governor Corzine and NY Governor Paterson. New York had already received adjacent coastal state status. Under the Deepwater Port Act, governors of adjacent coastal states have the authority to veto proposed deepwater port projects, such as the “Safe Harbor Energy” proposal by ASIG. Corzine and Paterson have the right to review and approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove the application, and each state is granted the opportunity for at least one public hearing on the project.

In this ruling, the District Court upheld the U.S. Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) authority to designate adjacent coastal states, and found that Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton’s decision in February 2008 upholding New Jersey’s adjacent coastal state status was proper and supported by the facts on record.

Despite the clear ruling, on December 16, 2008, ASIG filed its Notice of Appeal and then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals. ASIG made little progress in trying to take away New Jersey's rights and on July 2, 2009, withdrew its appeal. As a result, it is now guaranteed that Governor Jon Corzine, in addition to New York Governor David Paterson, has official veto power and can stop this proposal to get us hooked on another foreign fossil fuel with the stroke of a pen.

Meanwhile, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is appealing the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) decision in October 2008 to deny NJ’s right to review the coastal consistency of the island. NOAA's decision was based on a technicality that NJ did not get paperwork in on-time to some parties.

Also, the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) wrote
to the US Coast Guard, saying ASIG’s application was "incomplete" and "the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental, social and recreational effects."

PROJECT DETAILS:

manmade industrial island for complex to offload, store, and process liquefied natural gas (LNG)
13 miles off New York and 19 miles off New Jersey
base would smother up to 140 acres of seafloor (up to 14 times the size of Giants Stadium)
86 acres at surface
first-ever man-made island in open ocean
in 60-70 feet of water
built 25 feet above sea level, while wave heights during storms in this region can reach 30 to 50 feet
located in prime fishing grounds of Cholera Bank (part of the only naturally occurring reef system off NY/NJ; latitude and longitude: 40° 23’ 19”N and 73° 36’ 35”W)
over 630 acre exclusion zone for boats & ships
requires dumping 16 million tons of material
700,000 truck loads of dirt to be transported in the region to supply sand to build the island, in addition to the truck loads of rock
berthing and offloading space for two conventional LNG vessels with capacity of 70,000-270,000 cubic meters, and ability to accommodate support vessels and crew support launches
up to 484 ships expected each year
LNG ships can be nearly four football fields in length
billions of gallons of life-rich seawater will be used and displaced for ballast
25.6 miles of new sub-sea pipeline to be built
four storage tanks, each holding 6,356,640 cubic feet of LNG
a shore-based facility to facilitate movement of personnel, equipment, supplies, and disposable materials between the port and the shore
40-year operating life expectancy

THREATS TO THE OCEAN:

effects on endangered species (i.e., North Atlantic Right, Fin, and Humpback whales, and Kemp’s Ridley, Loggerhead, and Leatherback sea turtles)
impacts to prime fishing grounds
requires dumping 16 million tons of material billions of gallons of life-rich seawater will be used and displaced, destroying it and/or causing the spread of invasive species.
Average ocean currents flow toward New Jersey;
Winds blow toward New Jersey during nor’easters;
Millions of tons of material will be dumped into the ocean and will destroy aquatic habitat to build the island;
Marine safety concerns due to facility’s location at the entrance to NY Harbor, one of the busiest harbors in the world, and directly below the flight paths of three major airports.

Next Steps for the Project - Public Meetings for Environmental Impact Statement:

The project application is now under federal review. The sole authority to issue a license for the project is the U.S. Maritime Administration. Prior to a license being issued, the Deepwater Ports Act requires that the Secretary of Transportation must consult with “the adjacent coastal state(s) and other federal agencies to ensure such a license is in the national interest.” According to law, “the Secretary shall not issue a license without the approval of the Governor of each adjacent coastal state.” The adjacent coastal states for this project application are New York and New Jersey.

TAKE ACTION TO OPPOSE THIS PROJECT!

Click here for our Action Alerts page to take action as a citizen, organization, business, or municipality on this and other harmful LNG projects proposed off the NY/NJ coast.