Three rip plan for Fall River LNG site

WASHINGTON --President Bush's former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke joined the mayor and congressman from Fall River yesterday to denounce a proposal to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in the city, saying it would be irresponsible for the federal government to allow a concentrated energy facility to be located so close to a populated area.

''We believe there is nothing inherently wrong with LNG tankers and LNG facilities," Clarke said. ''If they are offshore or in other remote areas where an explosion would kill only a handful of people, then they will not be attractive to terrorists. But put them in a densely settled urban area and you are asking for terrorists to attack it."

Clarke led counterterrorism efforts for presidents Clinton and Bush before leaving government in 2003 to write a book and become a consultant for homeland security. He joined Mayor Edward Lambert of Fall River and Representative Jim McGovern, a Democrat whose district includes Fall River, at a news conference to make their case against the Fall River proposal.

Amerada Hess Corp. has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to build a plant at Fall River to receive LNG shipments. The commission could decide sometime this summer whether to approve the energy company's application, one of 32 proposals to build LNG facilities around the United States amid soaring energy prices.

A spokesman for Hess did not return a call seeking comment yesterday afternoon.

Attention to the dangers posed by bringing huge tanks of LNG -- supercooled, concentrated natural gas -- close to urban areas has soared since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The homeland security issue has been scrutinized in New England because of the high-profile facility in Everett, which require LNG tankers to pass close to downtown Boston.

Last December, a study by the Energy Department found that a thermal blast from an attack on a LNG tanker would ignite buildings more than a third of a mile away and cause second-degree skin burns for up to a mile. Lambert said about 9,000 people live and work within a 1-mile radius of the proposed Fall River site.

''This is not a case of NIMBYism because there are plenty of safe alternatives available where people want and would benefit from LNG projects that are located in sparely populated areas that ensure no danger to people and their homes, businesses, schools, parks and hospitals," the mayor said.

Jerry Havens, a University of Arkansas professor of chemical hazards and LNG specialist, said an environmental impact statement developed by the staff of the regulatory commission understated the potential problems of the proposed Fall River terminal.

The mayor contended that he asked the commission in September 2004 to hold a public evidentiary hearing on the case, which would allow scientists working for Hess, the commission, and the city to cross-examine each other about the project's safety. He has received no reply, he said.

However, Tamara Young-Allen, a spokeswoman for the regulatory commission, said it was premature to criticize the commission because it has not yet made a decision about the proposal and may still grant a special hearing.

''The case is still open and pending a decision by the commission," she said. ''Anything submitted here will be considered. . . . If there is some fact the commission feels they need additional information on, they will order an evidentiary hearing to be held. But they have to look at the entire record before they can make that kind of determination."

Lambert also met with senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry as well as McGovern and Representative Barney Frank, all Massachusetts Democrats opposed to allowing an LNG facility in Fall River.