Baltimore Democrats blasted Gov. Robert Ehrlich on Thursday for not doing enough to combat a proposed liquid natural gas plant at the Sparrows Point shipyard in Dundalk.
Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith and Baltimore Mayor Martin O?Malley said they asked Ehrlich to place a state-owned dredge disposal facility on Hart Miller Island off-limits to the shipyard operators who support energy firm AES Corp.?s attempts to build the terminal. Ehrlich has not responded to the request, they said at a news conference within view of the proposed site.
“If our state won?t back us up, we?ll back each other up,” O?Malley said. “If this is hardball, so be it.”
In May 2005, shipyard proprietor Vincent Barletta secured state and federal permits for dredging to accommodate larger vessels at a ship-repair facility. Smith said he supported the move at the time, but now realizes the dredging also will make room for the massive tankers that will carry ultra-chilled liquid gas to the plant.
He called the dredging a “bargaining tool” for plant supporters.
Ehrlich spokesman Henry Fawell called the event “political theater.”
“Any potential dredging for the shipyard is nowhere near what an LNG terminal would need,” Fawell said. “And there won?t be an LNG plant because Governor Ehrlich has made it abundantly clear he will take all steps to prevent it.”
Ehrlich spoke against the project at a public forum and visited the Dundalk-based LNG Opposition Team to offer his support earlier this year.
Opponents cite environmental and security concerns, and the potential effects of a proposed 87-mile pipeline from the plant through private property in Harford County.
AES Corp. officials, who did respond to calls Thursday, have said the concerns are unfounded and election-year tactics. The plant will generate up to $5 million in revenue and 50 permanent jobs, they say.
The company plans in November to formally submit its proposal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which ultimately will approve or deny the plant.
