FREMONT CENTER, NY — One hundred and thirty environmental and public advocacy groups on July 1 sent a letter to the U.S. Maritime Administration asking that the public be given more time to consider and comment on a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) port that would be constructed in the waters off Long Island and the Jersey Shore. After the application was announced on June 14, the project sponsor subsequently released 1,500 pages of a 4,000-plus page application that federal agencies have found to be still incomplete in more than 150 specific areas. Despite the length, technical complexity, and incomplete nature of the material, the public is required to read, analyze and meaningfully comment on the application by July 23.

Sean Dixon, Coastal Policy Attorney at Clean Ocean Action, said, “This LNG port will adversely impact the economies and ecologies depended upon by millions of Americans and the public deserves the opportunity to give it careful consideration.” Dixon noted that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed this proposal in 2011 and reaffirmed the veto in 2012 because of risks.