State Senate Candidate Dan Hill Calls For Changes In Lng Terminal Permitting

With a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanker from Yemen now sitting in Boston Harbor, attorney Daniel C. Hill, Democratic candidate for the open state senate seat vacated by Anthony Galluccio in the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex district, today called on the Governor and the General Court to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the state’s “Coastal Zone Management Plan” to ensure that future LNG terminals are not permitted and built in densely-populated areas. The Yemeni LNG shipment was authorized by the federal Department of Homeland Security a few weeks ago.

"Given the intelligence estimates of a ‘certain’ attempted terrorist attack within the next 3-6 months in the United States, I question the wisdom of continuing to allow LNG tankers from Middle Eastern ports to enter Boston Harbor when there are other alternatives,” Hill said today. Hill noted that for new LNG ports the Coast Guard requires “security zones” restricting movement within 1,000 yards on either side of an LNG tanker, a standard that could not possibly be met in Boston Harbor. “I find it disturbing that safety requirements for new facilities apparently do not need to be met for existing facilities."

Hill called for a multi-prong approach for dealing with the security risks in the future. “We need to get to work on improving our ability as a state to block future LNG shipments in populous areas, and we need to redouble our efforts to shift our state energy policies away from fossil fuels and towards safe and clean renewable energy.” In a position paper released on February 9th, Hill called for the following:

  • A comprehensive audit of the state’s Coastal Zone Management Plan to ensure that the state has sufficient legal grounds to object to any new LNG terminals in the state.
  • Advocate with other states to push Congress and the President to amend the Natural Gas Act, to give federal and state regulators the authority to revoke or phase-out licenses to operate LNG terminals in densely-populated areas.
  • Fast-track state facilitation, investment and development in the renewable energy sector, so that we can eventually disconnect ourselves from terrorist-linked nations.

Mr. Hill has been practicing law for 10 years in Boston and Cambridge, specializing in state and local government law with a concentration on land use development and environmental regulation. His office is in the Charlestown Navy Yard, and he lives in Charlestown with his wife, a middle school science teacher, and their two children.

In the position paper, Hill criticizes the federal Department of Homeland Security for announcing its decision to allow tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the terrorist-linked nation of Yemen into Boston Harbor just days after federal intelligence agencies testified in Congress that an attempted terrorist attack against the United States is “certain” within the next 3-6 months.

“The Coast Guard should reconsider its decision in light of the intelligence community’s security assessment,” Hill said today. A terminal in Everett owned by the Distrigas corporation is a major port for LNG shipments. A ship originating from Yemen is expected to arrive at the Everett facility sometime this month. Ships sailing to the facility pass by the densely-populated neighborhoods of Charlestown, Chelsea, and Everett, which are in Hill’s state senate district.

Hill called upon the Governor and the legislature to thoroughly audit the state’s Coastal Zone Management Plan to ensure that the state has sufficient legal grounds to object to any new LNG terminals in the state. He also promised to form a multi-state caucus of legislators and governors to press Congress and the President to amend the Natural Gas Act, to give federal and state regulators the authority to revoke licenses to operate LNG terminals in densely-populated areas. He called on the Everett facility to be “phased out” and for the state to “double its efforts” to “stimulate investment and development in the renewable energy sector, so that we can eventually disconnect ourselves economically from terrorist-linked nations.”

Hill noted that for new LNG ports the Coast Guard requires “security zones” restricting movement within 1,000 yards on either side of an LNG tanker, a standard that could not possibly be met in Boston Harbor. “I find it disturbing that safety requirements for new facilities apparently do not need to be met for existing facilities.”

Mr. Hill has been practicing law for 10 years in Boston and Cambridge, specializing in state and local government law with a concentration on land use development and environmental regulation. His office is in the Charlestown Navy Yard, and he lives in Charlestown with his wife, a middle school science teacher, and their two children.