State Sen. Linda Ujifusa is urging the Portsmouth Town Council to support a moratorium on new gas hookups on Aquidneck Island, arguing it’s necessary to close a temporary liquefied natural gas facility that has operated in a residential neighborhood for nearly six years.
In a memorandum sent Tuesday to both the Town Council and the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board, Ujifusa, D-Portsmouth, said the moratorium would help ensure closure of the Old Mill Lane LNG storage facility, lower consumer costs and move toward more reliable and sustainable renewable energy sources.
The facility, located in a residential neighborhood, was not intended for permanent use, Ujifusa said. The island needs to decrease demand for natural gas to end its use and move toward more sustainable and economical heating sources.
The facility returned to use after the island experienced a gas crisis in January 2019 caused by upstream problems including a misprogrammed valve at an Enbridge/Algonquin station in Weymouth, Massachusetts, backup failures at National Grid’s Providence LNG vaporization plant, and record demand during extreme cold.
Local Portsmouth residents have reported noise and light pollution, heavy truck traffic, lingering smells and air pollution from the facility. They have also expressed concern that property values have dropped.
The temporary status allowed the facility to bypass many safety and siting rules at federal, state and local levels, according to Ujifusa’s memorandum. At the federal level, it was classified as “mobile/temporary,” exempting it from full LNG plant standards. At the state level, it avoided the “major energy facility” licensing process.
Ujifusa was a member of the Portsmouth Town Council in 2020 when the council voted unanimously to support a moratorium on new gas hookups, though no ban was imposed by regulators.
The senator said she understands some council members are considering reversing this decision and requested they present evidence and reasoning that justify such a change prior to voting.