One of the region's largest utilities has urged federal regulators to consider threats to a nuclear complex along the Delaware River while reviewing plans for a new liquefied natural gas import terminal opposite Claymont in New Jersey.
In a document filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, PSEG Nuclear said it has launched its own analysis of risks posed by LNG shipments passing the Salem/Hope Creek nuclear generating station on the way to a proposed new BP terminal.
The vessels, each carrying about 140,000 cubic meters of frozen, concentrated fuel, would pass within a mile of the seawall at the three-reactor station on their way to the proposed LNG storage and distribution complex in Logan Township, N.J.
PSEG spokesman Paul Rosengren said Wednesday the utility does not have a firm date for when the nuclear risk study would be completed. The company also has questions about the impact of BP's project on a gas distribution system and gas-burning power plants operated by PSEG subsidiaries.
"We're not opposed to LNG terminals, as long as the issues are resolved," Rosengren said. "If they're not, we have some concerns."
The filing by PSEG was one of several submitted to the commission recently by private companies, government agencies, citizens and environmental groups.
Concerns submitted to the commission ranged from public security and safety matters to national energy policy and the possibility that BP's gas imports will burn hotter than domestic supplies, creating problems for industrial users and gas pipeline operators.
Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control was among those seeking formal standing to participate in the federal review. BP's docks and piers would extend into a part of the river inside Delaware and potentially be off limits to new bulk transfer facilities. Some environmental groups have argued that Delaware's Coastal Zone Act bans BP's proposal.
BP wants a permit by July 2005 to build a terminal that would open in 2008 and would receive two or three vessels weekly, with storage and piping capable of sending out enough energy to meet the daily needs of 5 million homes. Federal regulators are tentatively expected to release a draft environmental impact study for the project, including assessments of potential risks, early next year.
BP spokesman Tom Mueller said late Wednesday that officials are aware of concerns about the nuclear plant.
"The safety issues around river transit are being considered as part of the federal permit," Mueller said.
Safety and security concerns have been expressed about dozens of LNG terminal proposals around the country as energy suppliers scramble to supply the American gas market.
Conflicting reports about catastrophic fire threats resulting from terrorist attacks already have scuttled some projects, and have prompted repeated calls by some city officials in Boston for the shutdown of an existing LNG terminal.
Studies released earlier this year said a moderate-sized hole in a tanker, caused by an accident or terrorist attack, could produce a short, intense fire that would send blistering heat nearly a mile away.
Contact Jeff Montgomery at 678-4277 or jmontgomery@delawareonline.com.
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