Rhode Island House Approves Exclusion Zones Around LNG Vessels
The Providence Journal reports that legislation that would regulate LNG vessel transit through Narragansett Bay cleared the state House on Wednesday. The bill creates an exclusion zone that would prohibit LNG vessels from transiting near residential areas and certain infrastructure. “We have to protect the people and the other assets of the state of Rhode Island,” said Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr. (D-Bristol), who sponsored the measure. Responding to Gov. Donald Carcieri’s concerns that the bill may trump federal authority over interstate commerce, Gallison referred to a federal law on waterways safety that suggests that states are permitted to implement “higher safety standards than those which may be prescribed by [federal] regulations.” The bill has been forwarded to the state Senate.