Support for Port Dolphin builds
By Lisa Neff islander Reporter
For the record
Details of Port Dolphin Energy LLC’s plans for a deepwater port in the Gulf of Mexico and a pipeline into Tampa Bay are online at www.regulations.gov. The docket number is USCG-2007-28532.
The public also can post comments regarding the plan on the Web site.
People with questions about the document or the process can call Ray Martin of the Coast Guard at 202–372–1449, or e-mail raymond.w.martin@uscg.mil. |
Support for Port Dolphin builds
Statements supporting a proposed natural gas pipeline and deepwater port continue to outnumber opposition to the project.
Proponents and opponents of the Port Dolphin Energy LLC proposal are making their stands with the U.S. government, filing statements in response to an environmental impact statement released earlier this summer.
Port Dolphin is proposing a deepwater natural gas port about 28 miles off the coast of Anna Maria Island in the Gulf of Mexico. Ships carrying liquefied natural gas from other areas would anchor next to buoys at the deepwater port, where the LNG would be converted into gas and fed into a pipeline running from the deepwater port into Tampa Bay to Port Manatee. The pipeline would continue several miles inland, where it would connect with other gas pipelines.
Since March 2007, the Port Dolphin application has been under review by federal agencies, in cooperation with Florida departments. The principal reviewer is the U.S. Coast Guard.
In mid-July, the Maritime Administration and the Coast Guard released a final environmental impact statement that explores whether the project impacts air quality, cultural and historic resources, fish habitat, threatened or endangered species, navigation and transportation and land use.
At a public hearing in late July on the EIS, a number of people spoke in favor of the project, focusing on its economic significance and its addition to the energy supply in south Florida.
In the weeks since the hearing, a number of comments have been filed online at www.regulations.gov, most of them supporting the project or not objecting to the plan.
“Historic resource concerns have been adequately addressed,” wrote Laura A. Kammerer of the Florida Department of State. “Cultural resource assessments have been conducted and adequate buffer areas will be placed around underwater anomalies which will be avoided.… It is the opinion of this office that the proposed project will have no effect on historic properties.”
“Many businesses in west-central Florida are struggling in these difficult economic times, and Port Dolphin will provide a real economic boost when we need it,” wrote Rob LaMaire, operations director for Sea Sub Systems, a Gulf coast business.
Florida state Rep. Ron Reagan, R-67, endorsed the project, writing, “The demand for natural gas in Florida is projected to far exceed present day supplies in the very near term. Port Dolphin Energy’s proposed deepwater port project is an environmentally sound solution to meeting Florida future natural gas needs.
“This deepwater port project also will have a major impact on the economy of west central Florida, the maritime community serving Port Manatee and the Port of Tampa and will supply a much needed new source of clean energy for Florida.”
Registering opposition, Anna Maria Island property owner Leslie Swackhamer stated, “Anyone familiar with this area knows and understands that [the Island] is a very special place due to its pristine natural environment.… There are few places of such natural beauty. Any ‘minor’ impact is unacceptable. Go somewhere that’s already been ruined —like Galveston — go see that the beach is dirty, the water is brown. Please do not enter into an arrangement that might damage this gorgeous place.”
The public comment period on the EIS closes Aug. 27.
The next deadline will be Sept. 11, when Gov. Charlie Crist must decide whether he has any objections to the project.
A federal decision on whether to issue a deepwater port license would be announced in late October and based on evidence that:
• Port Dolphin has the financial ability to build and operate the project.
• Port Dolphin can comply with relevant laws and regulations.
• The project is in national interest and consistent with security and energy policies.
• The port will not interfere with international navigation.
• Port Dolphin will strive to minimize adverse impact to the marine environment.
• Port Dolphin will adhere to various federal pollution acts.
• The U.S. Secretary of the Army, Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense do not object to the application.
• The governor of the adjacent state does not object to the license, with silence denoting approval.
| 
