Maryland officials vowed to continue fighting a proposed liquid natural gas plant near Dundalk even after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday removed what could be the last major legal roadblock.
Court justices declined to hear Baltimore County’s appeal of a May ruling that overturned a local zoning law banning LNG facilities from environmentally sensitive areas. County and state officials had hoped the law would prevent Virginia-based AES Corp. from building a $400 million terminal at the former Bethlehem Steel plant in Sparrows Point and an 88-mile pipeline to Pennsylvania.
“We’re obviously disappointed,” said Ellen Kobler, a spokeswoman for County Executive Jim Smith. “But citizens can rest assured it’s a very long road ahead with extensive reviews. We remain steadfast in our belief that we will convince the regulators that this would be a mistake — a very dangerous mistake.”
The five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to make a final decision on the proposal by the end of the year. The agency’s staff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez have recommended approval, citing the project’s potential to heat 3.5 million houses per day or generate electricity for 7.5 million houses.
AES officials declined to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision. Supporters including local unions anticipating 400 construction jobs and a revival of activity at the shipyard celebrated the ruling.
“It means we are that much closer to helping Maryland achieve an economic boon and have cheaper utilities,” said Rod Easter, president of the Baltimore Building Trade Council. “We look at the terminal as the center for other possibilities.”
Local officials say the plant could attract terrorists and that dredging in the Baltimore Harbor to accommodate massive tankers would disrupt toxic sediments.
A federal judge in Baltimore upheld a county law banning LNG facilities in its coastal management zone in July 2007. But in May, judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled FERC has the exclusive authority to determine LNG siting.
Monday, Dundalk residents said they plan to file their own suits against the proposal, if only to create additional legal hurdles.
“It’s disheartening,” said Russell Donnelly, an environmental activist. “But if FERC does decide at the end of the day to give it a nod ‘yes,’ then the game is on.”
[email protected]
