Idea for gas terminal off East Coast rankles fracking foes
EATONTOWN, N.J. (AP) – Plans for an ocean terminal to import liquefied natural gas off the coast of New York and New Jersey are generating a heated debate.
Liberty Natural Gas wants to build a $600 million docking station 19 miles off Jones Beach, N.Y., and 29 miles off Long Branch, N.J.
The company says the Port Ambrose project will lower home heating prices in the region, and business and labor groups generally support it.
But many environmentalists oppose it, saying the region is already awash in cheap, domestically produced natural gas.
They fear the project could easily be converted to an export facility to sell gas produced by hydraulic fracturing to overseas markets.
Two federal agencies still must approve the plan.