Environmental Activists, protesting changes to National Grid’s Greenpoint Hub, for more than a year are claiming a Legal Victory.
Following a Court Order, National Grid last week, Stopped Construction work at the Brooklyn Site that could be used to Load and Unload Trucks containing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
National Grid proposed bringing LNG to its Greenpoint Facility from outside the City through The Bronx and Queens.
LNG is predominantly Methane Gas cooled to Liquid State and kept at minus-260 degrees, nearly as Frigid as Saturn.
The Process reduces the Gas’ Volume, making for easier Transportation.
But Trucking the Combustible Gas within the City has raised concerns around Environmental and Safety Risks.
A State Supreme Court Judge on, July 27th, ordered National Grid to Temporarily halt Construction that would Support possible LNG Trucking to its North Brooklyn Site, which is also at the Center of a controversial Pipeline Plan.
The move came after the Sane Energy Project and Cooper Park Resident Council Sued the City, the Fire Department, and National Grid to Stop the work. The Suit alleges required Approvals haven’t been Obtained and that an Environmental Review of the Impact of Trucking-related Activities hasn’t been Completed. “Any moment they’re not moving forward with this is more of a chance we can stop it for good,” said Lee Ziesche, Community Engagement Coordinator for the Sane Energy Project.
But the Utility is pushing back, in a Legal filing submitted Thursday, National Grid argued against the Restraining Order and suggested Environmental Groups are Misunderstanding its Plan for the Greenpoint site. The work, National Grid Spokesperson, Karen Young said, has been “undertaken in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.”
In November 2016, following up on a previous Application, the Company asked the FDNY for a “transport variance”, since trucking LNG is Illegal within City Limits, but the Request has Not been Granted or Denied.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice, Karen Rothenberg, found that Construction related to National Grid’s Variance Petition must Stop until the Case is Decided.
In a Legal filing, the Company indicated the Variance Petition was Old and related to a Project that never came to fruition. National Grid sent a Letter to the City Law Department and Fire Department, on Tuesday, saying it wanted to formally Withdraw its Application. If in an Emergency the Company would want to Truck in LNG, it would have to Apply to the City for an “Event-Specific” Variance, rather than a General One.
The company was building the “fully and lawfully permitted” Truck Unloading Station, according to the Filing, in order to be prepared for such an Emergency Event, and the Construction was about half complete.
A Lawyer for the City, argued in a Filing, that the Complaint filed by the Environmental Groups doesn’t implicate the City or its Fire Department and supported National Grid’s Motion to Dismiss the Case.
The work is part of National Grid’s Plans to Update its Greenpoint Facility and make Investments the Company says are necessary to ensure Reliability, especially in the Winter when demand for LNG is high.
The Project is part of a Rate Case before the State Utility Regulator about whether the Company can Raise its Customers’ Bills to Pay for Facility Upgrades and New Gas Infrastructure. That includes the In-Progress Metropolitan Reliability Project, a Pipeline that will run nearly Seven Miles from Brownsville to North Brooklyn. Construction started on the Pipeline in May 2017, but remains Unfinished.
In addition to thePpipeline, the Utility Company proposes a slate of other Investments including: Two New Vaporizers that would Heat the LNG to turn it back into gas, and Inject it into the Pipeline to provide Homes the Gas they’re expected to need.
The Company will need Permits from the City and State to Install the New Vaporizers. That could prove tricky: Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) has promised to Not Permit New Gas Infrastructure in the City. He also came out Against the Pipeline, and the City filed Comments Opposing the Company’s Proposal.
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