Plan for LNG terminal on Delaware in trouble
A plan by BP to build a liquefied natural gas facility in New Jersey near the mouth of the Delaware River could be in trouble.
Last week a Special Master to the U.S. Supreme Court recommended that the high court affirm Delaware’s jurisdiction over its lands extending across the Delaware River to the New Jersey low-water mark.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said the recommendation “effectively blocks construction' of a liquefied natural gas pier proposed by BP that would extend into Delaware’s Coastal Zone.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last June approved the siting, construction and operation of BP’s Crown Landing LNG project in Logan Township, N.J. The project was expected to deliver 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, or enough natural gas to supply about 5 million homes per day, in the Mid-Atlantic region.
“This is great news for Delaware,” Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said. “This is also a good time for Delaware and New Jersey to reaffirm our common goals for protection of one of Delaware’s most precious environmental resources — the Delaware River.”
Tom Mueller, a spokesman for BP, said his company was reviewing the ruling “to assess what its significance is for the project.”
The report of the Special Master is available at https://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/NR/rdonlyres/AD023509-9E5D-4242-A2F8-DAA5EC4F2F7E/0/NJvDEReportoftheSpecialMaster.pdf
Plan for LNG terminal on Delaware in trouble
