Court rejects effort to block LNG terminal

A federal appeals court rejected yesterday an attempt by officials in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to block a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal from being built in Fall River. Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch filed the lawsuit in September, asking the First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to order federal transportation authorities to adopt standards for where LNG terminals can be located.

The court denied the request and lectured Reilly and Lynch for prematurely asking the court to step in before first asking the US Department of Transportation to set minimum safety standards. A call to Reilly's office was not immediately returned. Critics fear that the LNG terminal could endanger residents in the densely populated area. Almost 64,000 people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts live along a tanker route proposed by the developers, Weaver's Cove Energy and Hess LNG. (AP)