In a recent filing, the Town of Middletown calls for National Grid to play by the rules when it comes to reporting on its Old Mill Lane LNG facility. #NationalGrid #MiddletownRI #OldMillLane
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
MIDDLETOWN OBJECTS TO LACK OF NATIONAL GRID REPORTING ON OLD MILL LANE PROGRESS
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (MARCH 15, 2022) – Middletown is taking National Grid to task for its lack of reporting on progress of its Old Mill Lane liquiXied natural gas plant.
According to a Xiling earlier this month, Town attorney Marisa A. Desautel said the utility giant is supposed to be submitting monthly progress reports on its controversial proposal to intensify usage of the Old Mill Lane site, which is in Portsmouth near the Middletown line.
In her March 3 “formal objection” to the state Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB), Desautel wrote National Grid has “provided little to no indication that it has proceeded to develop the detailed analysis of non-infrastructure initiatives required by the EFSB, nor is there an indication that the forecasting detail needed to support that analysis (which includes the scenarios both with and without a moratorium) will be forthcoming."
“There are rules in place for a reason and National Grid isn’t following them,” Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said. “While it might seem like a minor step in this huge process, it isn’t for us and the people of Middletown, especially those who live near Old Mill Lane and the surrounding neighborhoods. We need to know speciXically what’s going on and without information from National Grid, that’s next to impossible.”
The development is the latest in an ongoing saga between the Town and the utility giant over the handling of the LNG site on Old Mill Lane, which is near the Middletown line.
Even before National Grid Xiled plans late last year to center its LNG operations on Old Mill Lane, the Town, neighbors and others expressed serious reservations about that proposal.
Saying it was only asking for more trouble and would adversely impact the northeast section of Town unfairly — and potentially dangerously — Middletown asked National Grid to consider other options, not merely the cheapest alternative.
Prior plans from National Grid indicated there were several options being considered to address potential natural gas shortages on Aquidneck Island. Among others, those included intensifying use of the Old Mill Lane site, creating an LNG center at the Navy base, forming a new barge system in Narragansett Bay and building a new LNG pipeline.
National Grid has said amplifying use of the Old Mill Lane facility was the most timely and least expensive alternative at $53 million.
To review those plans, visit https:// mdl.town/NationalGridLNG online. To see a copy of the presentation from National Grid about the project, visit https:// mdl.town/ OMLStakeholder online.
The future of National Grid’s LNG service has been an object of local interest since a January 2019 shutdown left more than 7,000 customers without gas service during the coldest time of year.
Even though the Old Mill Lane site isn’t in Middletown, the Town has say in the process because of the potential impact of the project on the community.
However, unlike neighboring Portsmouth where the LNG facility is based, Middletown does not have zoning oversight. Rather, it’s up to the Town Council only to provide Middletown’s ofXicial feedback.
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/4125/NYCU-LNG-Objection
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