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Gibbstown Logistics Center – LNG & NGL Exports Proposed

Proposed LNG & NGL Export Facility, Repauno site, Gibbstown NJ: “Gibbstown Logistics Center”

Delaware River Partners, LLC is proposing to build a new deepwater port at 200 N. Repauno Avenue, in Gibbstown, Greenwich Township, Gloucester County, NJ on the Delaware River.  Dubbed “Gibbstown Logistics Center”, the port would be located on the former Dupont explosives manufacturing site known as the Repauno Plant.  The applicant wants to use the site to store and transport natural gas liquids that would be brought in by freight rail cars (rail exists on the site currently) from points west (including the Marcellus shale region in Pennsylvania), offloaded to tanks and an underground cavern located on site that was used for explosives by Dupont, and then shipped out through a new port located on the Delaware River federal navigation channel.

May 28, 2019, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network wrote a scathing letter to the federal and state regulatory agencies of the region for failing to disclose that Delaware River Partners was also seeking approval to use the site for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports.  While obfuscating on the issue initially, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network’s letter and press efforts resulted in the agencies finally publicly admitting the LNG goals for the site.  

The Delaware River Basin Commission Unanimously Approved the Permit

The Delaware River Basin Commission, despite strong opposition from the public, unanimously approved the permit for the Gibbstown Logistics Center on June 12, 2019.  The vote was rushed through without any disclosure in the public notice that the terminal would handle LNG in addition to the other products at the terminal, which is currently under construction. DRBC hastily added a public hearing for the docket approval on June 6, where the DRBC verbally admitted LNG was a planned cargo.  DRN’s comment to DRBC is provided below.

EMPOWER NJ

EMPOWER NJ, a coalition of New Jersey organizations who are working for a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects and the development of clean., renewable energy sources has taken on the Gibbstown Logistics Center as one of the projects the coalition is fighting. Organizations from throughout the region, including Delaware and Pennsylvania, have joined the opposition to turning the Delaware River into an export port for LNG and are dedicated to fighting the Gibbstown Logistics Center.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed a new rulemaking that would allow Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to be carried in rail tank cars on the nation’s railways. The rulemaking is in direct response to an Executive Order by President Trump to make it legal to carry LNG by rail across the U.S., which is not allowed at this time. The proposal does not require specially designed tank cars to transport the highly flammable and super-cooled LNG but proposes to simply allow current DOT-113 cars to be used without any new safety testing or changes. There are many other problems with this reckless proposal that will endanger communities along train routes across the nation that are similar to the issues presented by the proposed Special Permit 20534 application made in PHMSA Docket 2019-0100. You can read DRN’s comment on that permit proposal here. That permit was requested by ETS Logistics company, New Fortress Energy’s subsidiary that is planning  to build a processing plant for LNG in Wyalusing Twp., Bradford County, PA and rail the LNG to Gloucester County, NJ on the Delaware River where they are proposing to export it from the Gibbstown Logistics Center (hundreds of miles) overseas for sale. DRN issued an action alert with more info and submitted a comment against the rulemaking by the deadline of December 23, 2019. You can read the proposal and submit comment directly to PHMSA here. PHMSA extended the comment period deadline to Jan. 13, 2020.

PHMSA approved the Special Permit for New Fortress Energy’s subsidiary Energy Transport Solutions transport of LNG in rail cars from Wyalusing to Gibbstown in December 2019.  The rail cars designed 50 years ago, USDOT specification 113C120W tank cars, will be allowed without any design changes. There are no speed limits and the exact route is not disclosed.  There are conditions in the permit that may require some time for the company to meet; the permit expires 11.30.2021.  This approval will be the first use of rail cars to move LNG ever in the United States and basically use the people along the railway as guinea pigs since this is a new and untested mode of transport with no proof of safety.  

DRN’s filed hearing request legally challenging the approval was accepted by a vote of the Commissioners of the DRBC. A Hearing will be set in the coming months. NJ Department of Environmental Protection approved the Waterfront Development Permit and the Water Quality Certificate for Dock 2 in September. Delaware Riverkeeper Network appealed the permit in October, court proceedings will occur over the coming months. Other permits and approvals are needed in order for the project to proceed.

Also, here is an update on the Gibbstown Logistics Center proposed export terminal, as of December 17, 2019:

Currently, the local community is opposing the truck traffic that is plaguing Gibbstown every day as the site is readied for the use of Dock 1. The small town of Gibbstown has backyards adjoining the Gibbstown Logistics Center property and the entrance to the facility is down a residential street that is plagued dawn to dusk by incessant construction truck traffic for the Dock 1 project for almost a year. EMPOWER NJ has held public forums about the proposed LNG terminal to inform the region of the project; the next forum is in February in Chester, PA. EMPOWER NJ is committed to opposing the project as a dangerous and polluting fossil fuel project that should not be approved by NJDEP, that violates clean and renewable energy goals and does not advance a green economy for the state.

FERC FOIA Appeal 

DRN submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to get information about just what Delaware River Partners and New Fortress Energy were telling FERC about their plans for LNG export at the Gibbstown Logistics Center and to find out if they had received any approvals. After FERC denied DRN’s FOIA request, DRN filed an appeal in July 2019.  In September 2019, FERC’s Office of General Counsel ruled in DRN’s favor. Documents secured by DRN from FERC as a result of this legal challenge show how the agency failed to: 1) provide meaningful review of its jurisdictional authority over the proposed Dock 2, instead relying only upon industry representations regarding the project, and 2) publicly disclose the information thereby avoiding public scrutiny or challenge of the determination.  DRN posted the files on our website for public viewing (see below links) and shared them widely with the media. The public disclosure of this information has been important in our advocacy and advancing our challenges to the Dock 2 LNG export project.  It exposes that New Fortress Energy worked behind closed doors with FERC to avoid their jurisdiction and public disclosure of their true plans.  Between this and other efforts to avoid regulatory review, New Fortress Energy has basically escaped scrutiny of the full effects of its project and there has been no comprehensive analysis of the public safety and health impacts associated with the unique handling, transloading, and transport of LNG, a hazardous and flammable substance.  No agency with direct LNG experience has been involved in the approvals for this project.  And many have turned a blind eye to the peril which the public and the environment would be exposed.

Public Engagement Grows

Since the hearing, DRN worked with partner organizations to draft a letter to the DRBC opposing the proposed LNG export terminal.  This letter was signed by 126 diverse organizations representing hundreds of thousands of members from geographically broad regions and submitted to the DRBC Commissioners and staff.  DRN and partners also announced the launch of a petition addressed to the DRBC that will be circulated throughout the summer for individuals to sign. Also being launched is a municipal resolution campaign focused on Pennsylvania and New Jersey communities where the LNG trucks and/or trains would travel; most communities are unaware of this looming threat.  The goal of these campaign actions is too publicly influence the voting members of the DRBC – the Commissioners – to cancel their premature and rushed approval of the Dock 2 terminal that would export LNG.  Public opinion has been fairly taken into account by DRBC Commissioners in the past and, once all the facts are revealed about the project to the Commissioners in the upcoming Hearing record and Hearing Officer’s report, and once the huge public opposition to the project is clearly demonstrated, the DRBC could withdraw their approval. 

The Allied Coalition Working Collaboratively

Groups from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York have grown the movement over the past year to stop the Gibbstown LNG Export Terminal in an allied coalition of organizations.  This collaboration has brought together diverse organizations from many different geographic regions from throughout the LNG supply chain from cradle (fracked gas wells and LNG processing) to grave (end use burning of LNG overseas) reflecting the wide footprint of New Fortress Energy’s LNG project.  With the firm resolution that working together from start to finish will expose the massive and destructive impacts of this project, should it be approved, we are allied in our goal of replacing this unsustainable and polluting export project with truly clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency and conservation on a global scale.

In late summer, the DRBC Hearing Officer issued his report based on the record that had been produced (the May 2020 adjudicatory Hearing, legal filings, expert reports, etc.) as a result of Delaware Riverkeeper Network’s appeal of the DRBC permit, called a “docket”. The report recommended that the DRBC uphold its earlier approval for the Dock 2 docket, which would be used for LNG export.

On September 9, the Delaware River Basin Commission, referring to the Hearing Officer John Kelly’s recommendation and report, passed a resolution to keep in abeyance the approval of the permit. The attorney for DRBC Ken Warren recommended they do so. New York introduced the resolution and the representatives for New York, New Jersey and Delaware voted for the delay, Pennsylvania abstained, and the federal representative from the Army Corps of Engineers voted no. The approved resolution delayed the decision on whether or not to approve the permit so the Commissioners could further assess the voluminous record and take a “careful look” at complex issues involved and, importantly, it enacted a stay on project construction until final permit decisions were made by the DRBC Commissioners with a public vote. 

The Newly Emerged Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Issue

This part of the story starts in Puerto Rico, where New Fortress Energy has an LNG import terminal. On June 18, 2020, FERC issued an Order to Show Cause that directed New Fortress Energy to show why the “liquefied natural gas (LNG) handling facility it constructed adjacent to the San Juan Combined Cycle Power Plant at the Port of San Juan in Puerto Rico is not subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act” (https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/C-4-061820.pdf). New Fortress Energy responded defending their decision not to seek a decision from FERC. New Fortress contended that the Puerto Rico terminal was exempt from FERC jurisdiction. The issue has not been officially resolved. However, it was brought up at the January 25, 2021 FERC public meeting and statements were made by FERC Commissioners, including the new chair Richard Glick, that FERC does have jurisdiction and New Fortress Energy must go through the FERC approval process. However, because the LNG is now being regasified and used for fuel at the power plant, the terminal, which is operational, was not shut down by FERC, unfortunately. A formal vote was not taken on FERC’s Order at this meeting.

In its Sept. 11 Petition regarding the Gibbstown facility, DRP asked FERC to ignore Congress’s command in the Natural Gas Act and look the other way while DRP and its affiliates transport natural gas in interstate commerce and export natural gas in foreign commerce without a certificate of public convenience and necessity, and contrary to the public interest. DRN and several other organizations filed Motions to Intervene and submitted comments and a “Protest” in opposition to DRP’s petition, saying that federal law requires FERC jurisdiction. DRN issued an action alert to spur public participation in the FERC docket process; individuals and organizations filed Motions to Intervene, showing broad public interest and controversy.

Discovered Through a Freedom of Information Act Request 

In August, 2022 DRN discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request that Executive Director Steve Tambini unilaterally approved the extension of the permit for Delaware River Partners for the proposed Gibbstown LNG Terminal Project without any public disclosure. The revelation set off a series of letters and submissions from representatives of the Delaware River LNG Coalition demanding the approval be rescinded, that there be full public disclosure and agency transparency, that a public hearing be held, and that any final determination be voted on by the DRBC Commissioners, as required by DRBC regulatory procedures. The Commission took up the matter at their September 8 Business Meeting, approving a resolution that rubberstamped Mr. Tambini’s approval, over the outcry of opposition from the watershed community. Ken Kosinski, acting for New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, proposed a resolution to delay the vote until after a duly noticed public process but the motion died for lack of a second. New York also stated they have deep concerns about the LNG export terminal for environmental and climate reasons and asked fellow Commissioners to consider these serious issues. There was no opportunity for public comment before the vote and the resolution was not made public prior to the meeting. DRN and the 4-state LNG Coalition and members of the public blasted DRBC for shutting the public out and approving the unjustified permit. Unfortunatly, the DRBC approval prevailed. To see the details and communications related to this injustice see the Supporting Documents below (web page 2).

On April 24, 2023, the work and public outcry that had been invested by countless people and organizations, elected officials and municipalities and led by Delaware Riverkeeper Network since 2019 when the Special Permit was issued, culminated in success. The Special Permit for the transport of LNG in rail cars from the proposed LNG processing plant in Wyalusing PA to Gibbstown NJ for export overseas was denied by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

A Key Way

Webinars have been a key way for DRN and the local and regional LNG Coalition to continue to communicate, educate, engage, and mobilize, carrying forward campaigns to stop the Gibbstown Export Terminal and its various components. DRN has participated in, organized and hosted several during the pandemic and after (2020 to 2023) (see links to presentations/webinars below). Public forums, virtual, in person and hybrid continue to effectively expand this struggle.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network commissioned an analysis from Synapse Energy Economics entitled “Gibbstown LNG Export Terminal: Lifecycle GHG Emissions Analysis” to quantify the extent of greenhouse gas emissions produced from operations related to the Gibbstown Wyalusing LNG export project, from extraction to end use. On May 8, DRN released the report and hosted a public webinar with the authors to delve into its findings.

The GHG Report and related documents are below under “Supporting Documents”. 

List of Permits Required

Running list of permits required for the Gibbstown Logistics Center Proposed LNG Export Terminal (includes Dock 2): Permits in RED are already granted but could require extensions as expiration dates approach:

Permits in Hand

Delaware River Partners and New Fortress Energy have not moved ahead with construction of the proposed Gibbstown LNG Export Terminal as of the end of January 2024. They do have the permits in hand to dredge the river and construct Dock 2, the dock they need for the export of LNG overseas. But they cannot operate the export terminal without additional approvals.

While there has not been any construction of the LNG project, Delaware River Partners has been working to garner approvals for land infrastructure for use for LNG operations and for the existing Liquid Hazardous Gas (LHG) facility that currently stores and exports natural gas liquids. These include two major development projects on the Gibbstown Terminal site: new rail infrastructure and new underground storage caverns.

Perfluorooctanoic Acid

About Perfluorooctanoic Acid Issue

Per – and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of human-made compounds that are now recognized as one of the world’s greatest threats to human health and ecosystems. Some of the most commonly found PFAS are Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA). There are hundreds of these compounds in use today; the story below explains the beginnings of these chemical compounds, how some of the long-carbon chain substances have been phased out of use in the U.S., and how the worldwide problem of these “forever chemicals” is being tackled by individuals, communities, organizations, and local and state governments, with the federal government shamefully lagging behind.

A Class-Action Lawsuit

Cover of the book titled Exposure
by Robert Bilott

A class-action lawsuit was brought against Dupont at their West Virginia Washington Works Plant by residents represented by attorney Robert Bilott, exposing willful pollution releases by Dupont of PFC to the environment and a cover up of the issue, setting a fire that eventually led to a sensational expose.  PFOA was found in the drinking water in the region, people in West Virginia and Ohio in the region around the factory were found to have excessive amounts of PFOA in their blood (298 to 369 ppb but some had ppb levels in the thousands); stories of local illness and disease were brought to light. To read the entire story of how Rob Bilott’s litigation changed the world of PFAS, starting with Dupont, read his book “Exposure”, a hair-raising page-turner.

Federal Report

A federal report by an independent scientific review panel, the Science Advisory Board, acknowledged in a report dated May 2006 that the compounds are a “likely” cause of cancer.  EPA-SAB-06-006    SAB Review of EPA’s Draft Risk Assessment of Potential Human Health Effects Associated with PFOA and Its Salts  The Centers for Disease Control and John Hopkins reported health impacts in newborn babies such as low birth weight and reduced head circumference (Benjamin Apelberg, Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, August 2007). The documentation of damning evidence of serious health effects was building.

A Landmark Paper

A landmark paper by New Jersey scientists was published in 2009. Gloria B. Post*Judith B. LouisKeith R. CooperBetty Jane Boros-Russo§ and R. Lee Lippincott, Division of Science, Research and Technology, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, P.O. Box 409, Trenton, New Jersey 08625, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Drive, Room 218, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901, and Bureau of Safe Drinking Water, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, P.O. Box 426, Trenton, New Jersey 08625, “Occurrence and Potential Significance of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Detected in New Jersey Public Drinking Water Systems”, http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es900301s More studies and reports have been and continue to be published, in the thousands at last count. 

Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) Work

Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) has been working on the problems posed by the presence of perfluorinated compounds in our local environment since 2005 when our staff collected tap water samples from homes in the neighborhoods close to DuPont’s Chambers Works facility in Deepwater, New Jersey on the Delaware River. We suspected that there may be a problem because of news reports about the Bilott lawsuit that had been brought in West Virginia against Dupont for releasing PFOA into the environment. Our sampling revealed the presence of PFOA in the drinking water being used by people in the local community. 

NJDEP Occurrence Study for PFOA in New Jersey

NJDEP published its first Occurrence Study for PFOA in New Jersey public drinking water in 2007 and established a PFOA drinking water guidance level of 0.04 ppb (40 ng/L) based on lifetime health effects. 

DRN Letter Urges to Make Information Public

DRN filed a letter with DEP calling for immediate action to address this and to make the information available to the public. DRN published the data on our website with the documents and notified news media. The data revealed the highest level of any PFAS in raw groundwater in New Jersey to be a long chain PFAS, Perfluorononanoate acid (PFNA or “C9”), in the water well that supplies drinking water to the Borough of Paulsboro, Gloucester County, on the Delaware River. DRN brought this to the attention of NJDEP and the public, notifying Paulsboro and the local community. DRN held several local meetings in the area around Paulsboro and West Deptford to raise awareness and spur action by municipalities.  Several letters to DEP, also available on this website, didn’t move DEP to action in the weeks following the expose of the information. But DRN persisted to loudly rung alarm bells.

EPA Sets a Federal Provisional Health Advisory Level

IN 2009, the EPA set a federal Provisional Health Advisory Level for short-term drinking water exposure to Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) of 0.4ppb and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) of 0.2ppb, two of the most widely distributed PFAS.

Due to widespread presence in the environment and people’s blood and due to the highly toxic and persistent nature of these compounds, EPA took several actions to stop the use of PFAS in the United States. Of importance was the establishment of the stewardship program to phase out the manufacture and use of long-carbon-chain PFAS and the requirement by EPA that PFAS use must be reported by dischargers and users to the agency. 

EPA Adds PFOA & 5 Other PFAS to the List of Contaminants

In 2012, EPA added PFOA and 5 other PFAS to the list of contaminants to be monitored in a selection of public water systems across the nation. See Third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule.

Taking Action On Their Own

Meanwhile, in 2013/14 Gloucester County municipalities were taking action on their own as a result of DRN’s expose of the Solvay PFNA contamination; people came out by the hundreds to public meetings demanding the pollution be addressed.  

The Biden Administration

In 2022-2023, the Biden Administration started to take actions that have been long overdue regarding PFAS. Policies and regulations based on up to date science have been pushed by public advocacy and federal legislation but the most directly effective changes are still being made at the state level (as of 2023, 10 states have adopted statewide MCLs, for instance), through litigation (see for example July 2023 $13+M 3M settlement of lawsuits brought by water providers – even though this is only a beginning to the huge costs to clean up all PFAS: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/22/3m-settlement-municipal-water-systems-pfas-contamination), and through advocacy to stop the use of PFAS in consumer products (see Safer States: https://www.saferstates.com/toxic-chemicals/pfas/).

Most Recent

Other regulatory action was taken in January 2022 by NJDEP to address Cl-PFPECA. NJDEP established an interim specific ground water quality criterion for ClPFPECAs of 0.002 µg/L. “The ISGWQC applies to the total concentration of CIPFPECA congeners in ground water and will be the enforceable standard for CIPFPECA, until the specific ground water quality standard for CIPFPECA is established by rule at N.J.A.C. 7:9C.” as explained at https://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/supportdocs/NewSupportDocuments.html. This essential regulatory standard will be used in remediation and sampling of groundwater contaminated with this compound.