Federal regulators to revisit plans for Mass. LNG facility

FALL RIVER, Mass.—Federal energy regulators have scheduled public hearings for later this month to examine the latest proposal from the company seeking to build an LNG facility in Fall River.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced the hearings after U.S. Reps. Barney Frank and James McGovern sent a letter asking the agency to reconsider its 2006 approval of the Weaver's Cove project.

The congressmen argued that a plan unveiled in March to construct a berthing facility for LNG tankers in Mount Hope Bay represented a major design modification.

The company proposed offloading the tankers at the berthing facility and using four miles of pipeline in the Taunton River to link to its Fall River terminal.

FERC will hold the hearings June 24 in Bristol, R.I., and June 25 in Swansea, Mass.

Three companies have proposed LNG facilities in Maine and another has been turned down.