Skimming Through the Broadwater Accounts

I’ve been skimming the news stories about the public hearings that FERC is holding on the Broadwater LNG proposal for Long Island Sound, but not bothering to pass them on, mainly because they’re unilluminating he said-she said accounts that are as predictable as the tides.

This editorial, though, from the New London Day is worth a read. It mentions that FERC will meet with the Connecticut officials who feel disenfranchised and the scientists who think the environmental impact statement is as bad as a poorly-done term paper. My inclination is always to be skeptical of public relations ploys, and so I think the purpose of the meeting is to give the Connecticut folks the illusion that they’re being listened to. But I could be wrong.

On the other hand, here’s a silly column from Newsday, in which the author says that because she is afflicted with asthma (a chronic illness) and accepts her condition, we should accept having Broadwater (an environmentally risky industrial facility on publicly-owned property) on Long Island Sound. Makes sense, yes?

She also argues that we should accept Broadwater because the company says Long Island’s energy bills will be lower. This reminds me of the developers who argue that we should accept the new mall down the road because it will ease our property tax burden. It sounds good but I’ve yet to hear of a case of property taxes going down.

And finally she says we should compromise. Unfortunately she offers no clue as to that that compromise should consist of.