Federal regulators have begun assessing the impact on coral reefs, mangroves and sea turtles of a proposed gas pipeline that would run from the Bahamas to southern Broward County.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has scheduled a public hearing Dec. 3 on environmental issues raised by AES Corp.’s plans to construct a 95-mile pipeline to supply natural gas to the state’s power plants.
The pipeline would run from Ocean Cay, an island south of Bimini, to Dania Beach. From there, it would travel underground to connect with the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline system just west of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Along the route, the pipeline would pass through three rows of coral reefs, the habitat of manatees, sea turtles and other endangered species.
Two other companies are trying to build pipelines from the Bahamas to South Florida to serve the state’s growing demand for power. El Paso Corp. has proposed a pipeline from Grand Bahama to the Port of Palm Beach. And Tractebel North America Inc., a division of a French utility company, plans to build a pipeline from Grand Bahama to Port Everglades. In all three projects, ships would bring liquefied natural gas to the Bahamas, where it would be converted back to a gaseous form and shot through the pipelines.
In a notice issued last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stated that the major issues so far in the AES project include the impact on coral reefs, sea grass, mangroves and endangered species; the impact on West Lake Park; potential fuel spills; noise and other issues. The public hearing will be at 7 p.m. at the I.T. Parker Community Center, 901 NE Third St., Dania Beach. The hearing is intended to take comments from the public, as the commission’s staff begins to prepare an environmental impact statement.
Don Bartlett, vice president of AES Coral Inc., the company’s South Florida subsidiary, said the company has worked hard to find a pipeline route that would leave the reefs and other environmental resources unharmed. The 24-inch pipeline would be threaded through gaps in the reefs or routed under them through horizontal drilling, techniques that will leave the coral communities undisturbed, he said.
“We’re committed to doing this in a fashion that the majority of people are happy with,” he said. “I go to the beach, too. I don’t think any one of us wants to see anyone there with backhoes digging it up.”
The energy commission will take a few months to draft the environmental impact statement, after which it will schedule hearings. The final decision on whether to approve the project will be up to the commission, a five-member board appointed by the president.
In making its decision the commission will look at the need for the project, whether the rates will be reasonable and whether it will harm the environment, said Tamara Young-Allen, spokeswoman for the commission. While few projects are actually rejected for environmental reasons, the commission often requires extensive modifications as a condition of approval, she said.
Company executives also met last week with officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
“Our major issues are with coral reefs and with mangroves,” said Willie Puz, spokesman for the department.
By David Fleshler, The Sun Sentinel
