A proposed liquefied natural gas terminal at the Port of Long Beach would not pose a safety threat to the port and nearby neighborhoods, according to a draft environmental impact report released Thursday.
The report, the first safety study conducted specifically about the facility, concluded the tanks and pipelines storing the gas could withstand a powerful earthquake, and even if they were breached by a temblor, accident or terrorist attack, the resulting explosion or fire would not harm surrounding communities.
“None of the events have the potential to produce radiant impacts that could affect the public outside of the industrial area” of the project, stated the report, which was conducted by staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Port of Long Beach.
Sound Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp., has proposed the terminal project as a joint venture with ConocoPhillips. The 88-acre project would bring in up to 15 percent of the state’s natural gas supply and up to 150,000 gallons per day of fuel for LNG-powered vehicles such as buses.
Most of the gas, which is cooled to minus 260 Fahrenheit, transforming it into a liquid, would be piped in from two 1-million-barrel storage tanks at the terminal through an onshore 2.3-mile pipeline to the existing gas pipelines supplying Southern California Gas Co.
The report is a key document that must be reviewed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as the port and city of Long Beach as part of their consideration of the proposal.
The commission and the port will hold the first meeting Nov. 19 to hear public comments. Community advocates in the South Bay have expressed concerns about the safety of having the highly flammable liquefied natural gas brought by ship through the port.
The final report will be released no sooner than early 2006, and the project still must be approved by the energy commission, the Harbor Commission, the California Coastal Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard. If approved, Sound Energy wants to break ground in mid-2006 and complete the terminal in 2009.
