By Joan L. Krajewski, Anna C. Verna and Frank DiCicco
This
op-ed was written by Joan L. Krajewski, Anna C. Verna and Frank
DiCicco, City Council members who represent the river wards. IN THE
VERY near future, Philadelphia Gas Works will announce that it has
found a developer to partner with in its efforts to expand its
Liquefied Natural Gas terminal in the Port Richmond section of the city
into the Freedom Energy Center, an import shipping terminal for LNG. By
now, you have heard much about this proposal and, as elected
representatives, we want to make our views very clear.
Since
November 2004, we have been working with our riverfront communities,
which will be affected by this project, hosting and participating in
meetings, briefings and updates so that residents can be and educated
on the complexities of LNG. Due to fierce opposition from our
individual constituents and community organizations, we have sponsored
a resolution in City Council opposing this project and any other
proposal to create an LNG import terminal in the city. And we are very
optimistic that we will have the necessary votes in Council to
guarantee its passage. Since, after review by the Philadelphia Gas
Commission, the LNG proposal must come before Council for final
approval, this resolution should effectively end all debate on this
issue. We find it is difficult to imagine a worse location for an LNG
terminal than Port Richmond. We also find it hard to imagine a worse
route for tankers loaded with LNG than to have them passing the densely
populated residential neighborhoods of South Philadelphia, Whitman,
Pennsport, Queen Village, Society Hill, Old City, Northern Liberties
and Fishtown (as well as communities in New Jersey). Docking and
unloading LNG ships in the Port Richmond and Bridesburg areas would
complete the journey. Other risks include passing under highly traveled
Delaware River bridges and near Philadelphia International Airport, oil
refineries, the pro sports and entertainment complex, as well as Center
City, with its commercial and historic significance. Our commitment to
the revitalization and redevelopment of the riverfront with recreation,
residential and open space for public access was in place prior to any
talk of an LNG terminal. Our vision of giving the Delaware back to the
people of Philadelphia does not include football-field-sized LNG
tankers floating up our river hauling potentially dangerous chemicals
vulnerable to spillage or attack. We believe the risks outweigh the
advantages and that the time to act is now, before a problem develops.
While a terrorist attack on an LNG tanker facility is unlikely, the
reality of the post-9/11 world is that if the Port Richmond terminal is
built, the city and region will need to incur extraordinary expenses to
guard against possible attacks and be ready to respond to the
unimaginable should preventive measures fail. There are only four LNG
terminals in the continental U.S., the closest in Everett, Mass., a
suburb of Boston, which has similar demographics to Philadelphia. It
costs Boston approximately $80,000 every time a tanker arrives. Once a
tanker enters the harbor, the Coast Guard maintains command and
control. The state and city police, as well the state environmental
police, meet the tanker for escort. A state police helicopter hovers
above the tanker and all bridge and maritime traffic stop. Flights are
also redirected at the airport. City police must take regular patrol
units out of service and place them along the shoreline for security.
Before the tanker's arrival at the terminal, a team of nine state
police dive the pier and adjacent waters. While the ship is in port,
both state and city police maintain a 24-hour detail inside the
facility and its surrounding area. We don't believe in scaring our
constituents or creating doomsday scenarios for political gain, but no
one can deny that the consequences of an LNG accident, while unlikely,
are grim and disastrous. Despite an estimated economic benefit of as
much as $500 million, we cannot and will not put a price tag on the
lives and livelihoods of our constituents.
