Preservation group opposes plan for island LNG facility
A nonprofit group that promotes the preservation of the Boston Harbor Islands announced its opposition yesterday to a plan to build a $500 million liquefied natural gas facility on Outer Brewster Island.
''While we recognize that there are several positive attributes to the proposal, our board of directors stands firm on our commitment, along with the National Park Service, to preserve and enhance this resource for future generations," Dick Cross, chairman of the Boston Harbor Island Alliance, said in a statement.
AES Battery Rock LLC, a subsidiary of
The LNG proposal has yet to go before state environmental planners, but the Island Alliance's opposition was called significant because of the group's unusual standing; it is the only nonprofit designated by Congress as a partner with a national park and responsible for raising money to support it.
''I assume it will weigh heavily on everyone's mind, including the Legislature, which would have to approve" the LNG facility, said Douglas I. Foy, secretary of the state Office of Commonwealth Development. Foy said he likes the idea of easing LNG safety concerns with offshore facilities and providing funding for parks. ''But if the issue of using an island is really anathema for everyone, we'll move on to other ideas," he added.
To develop the island, the Arlington, Va.-based company would need a two-thirds vote of the Legislature and approval by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which owns the island. AES officials have said they expect to pay the state $10 million annually to lease the site, which could subsidize harbor island park facilities. They also forecast paying $5 million in city property taxes.
''We're not surprised some groups would oppose this at the very beginning of a public debate," said Rob Gray, a Republican political consultant working as a spokesman for AES Battery Rock. ''We're confident that upon careful review, the Legislature will recognize the significant economic, public safety, and environmental benefits of the project."
Prior to the Island Alliance taking a stand against the project, Foy's previous relationship with AES had spurred some concerns. As a former president of the Conservation Law Foundation, Foy created CLF Ventures, a consulting spinoff formed to help develop green projects and to generate revenue for the organization. In 1997, CLF Ventures and AES waged an unsuccessful effort to buy newly deregulated power plants and to close the dirtiest facilities. CLF Ventures also won a $1.5 million legal and consulting deal with AES to persuade the residents of Londonderry, N.H., to accept a new, gas-fired power plant built by AES.
The partnership was formed after Foy blocked AES from building a coal-burning plant in Maine and befriended AES cofounder and former chairman Roger Sant.
Foy acknowledged that he still owns stock in the company, bought as part of his IRA years ago, and said he would disclose his prior relationship with AES to the governor, rather than recuse himself from environmental review of the LNG proposal. ''I've partnered with all sorts of people over many, many years in all sorts of ways," Foy said.
