Surfrider Foundation - CT Chapter
Broadwater
BIG NEWS: Broadwater was denied! Read more and see a short video at the Hartford Courant website. Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to stop this project and save the Long Island Sound. With this, the CT Chapter has given Surfrider their 80th victory. Please click this link to view the write-up. In addition it links back to our website.
Please read the article about Broadwater as seen in the New York Times on March 31, 2008.
After working with the Surfrider Foundation national office, we now have Broadwater as a feature campaign of the SF Action Network. This is significant as we fight to stop the Broadwater project. Through the action network individuals can send their message of opposition directly to our representatives in both CT and NY. Please follow this link to the SF Action Network and have your voice heard!
As many of you might have heard FERC has approved the Broadwater project. You can read the full article here. This was expected as FERC is in the "back pocket" of every major oil company. FERC's Chairman, Joseph Kelliher, was an attorney for the same firm now representing Broadwater, a conflict of interest indeed, if not an outright set-up. See this article for more on this.
Regardless of FERC's decision Broadwater in not a done deal! Connecticut and New York will continue to fight this project. Gov. Spitzer's resignation will probably delay action by NY State. But CT's Attorney General Blumenthal has vowed to fight this to the Supreme Court. In the meantime we need to continue our fight against Broadwater!
How you can help: Express your opinion to your local newspaper by emailing letters to the editor. Email Newsday [letters@newsday.com], the Hartford Courant [letters@courant.com], or the Journal News [letters@thejournalnews.com], depending on your location. Here are some things to consider in your email:
Include your name, address, and phone number;
Keep the letter under 200 words;
Pick one or two messages and stick to them. Keep it concise.
Be personal. The editor should know how and why the issue affects you, your family, and your community.
Please send a quick email to newhaven@citizenscampaign.org or to farmingdale@citizenscampaign.org with any response you receive from the Governor’s office or if your Letter to the Editor was printed. It helps keeping track of progress on the issue.
Thank you all for your hard work fighting Broadwater. Because of your pressure, Broadwater energy is on the defensive – again! Broadwater bombarded the airwaves throughout Connecticut and New York telling us not to worry about the 28 story tall industrial complex they want to erect in the middle of the Long Island Sound. Maybe Broadwater thought they needed an advertising blitz, because:
- A NY Department of State report leaked to the press showed that an ocean-based alternative to the Broadwater LNG facility could be built.
- A consultant to gas users, producers and distributors told an audience at an industry forum that rising US imports of liquefied gas terminals (LNG) and new LNGs are likely to raise natural gas prices, not lower them.
- Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell signed into law a bill requiring approval for any zone established for Broadwater’s project if it will affect Connecticut’s land or water.
- New York legislators from both sides of the aisle and activists came together in Albany demanding Governor Spitzer help stop Broadwater energy.
If you have heard about Broadwater and would like to get more information, start out with the Myths and Facts about the project. Then try the following links:
- The Citizens Campaign for the Environment has excellent information about Broadwater on their website.
- You can also find more information and get active on the Anti-Broadwater Coalition webite.
- The Citizens Campaign for the Environment generated a report titled "Meeting New York's Energy Need Without Broadwater", which explains that New York will be able to provide enough energy to the citizens even without Broadwater.
- There are other excellent articles on Broadwater available at the Sphere blogspot and the Long Island Pulse.
- The Connecticut Fund for the Environment also has some great information.
Thank you again for keeping up the pressure through your support and activism. Remember it is our water, not Broadwater.