Oct. 6--Although it's been trampled in the endless stampede of fresher news, the proposal by Broadwater Energy to build a liquid natural gas processing plant in Long Island Sound isn't dead.

Wounded, for sure, by New York State's rejection of the project in April, but not dead.

Houston-based Broadwater still is pursuing regulatory channels in hopes of getting the project permitted. The joint venture between Shell and TransCanada had wanted to have its proposed 1,200-foot-long, 200-foot-wide floating terminal in operation 9.2 miles north of Wading River in 2011.

The company's senior vice president in charge of the project, John Hritcko Jr., said in an interview recently that its appeal of New York's decision, to the U.S. Department of Commerce, is pending, with the federal agency expected to cut off comments by mid-December and make a decision next year.

Hritcko notes that, while local opposition was vocal and widespread, it wasn't unanimous against the barge, which would have accepted shipments of super cold liquid natural gas, heated it to turn it back into a gas, and then piped the fuel ashore for electrical generation, industry or homeowners' heat and hot water.

"There are still a large number of parties in New York and Connecticut who feel the project is one solution to the energy situation in the region," he said.

The Commerce Department can overrule the state. If Broadwater's appeal to Commerce fails, Broadwater still can take its case to the courts. If Commerce rules in favor of Broadwater, project opponents, including Suffolk County and the state of Connecticut, could go to court to try to stop the project.

New York's rejection April 10 was announced by Gov. David A. Paterson, who stood at a podium at Sunken Meadow State Park, with the Sound at his back and declared that approving the barge would, in effect, turn a section of the sound over to a private company to the exclusion of the public and disrupt commercial and recreational fishing and that it failed to guarantee lower-cost natural gas to Long Island.

"Shame on us if we can't develop a responsible energy policy without sacrificing one of our greatest natural and economic resources," Paterson said.

Broadwater opponent Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said she doubts a court would overrule the secretary of Commerce and New York State if it came to that. But, she said, it wouldn't surprise her if the Commerce Department made a quick decision in favor of Broadwater in the waning days of the Bush administration -- "as a holiday gift to Shell."

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