2 Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities Are Approved

Plans for new liquefied natural gas terminals in Massachusetts and Texas won federal approval on Thursday. An LNG project in Rhode Island was rejected as regulators said they tried to balance energy needs with public safety.

It was the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s first such rejection. Seven other projects have been approved since 2003.

Commissioners approved the Weaver’s Cove Energy project for Fall River, Mass., by a 3-1 vote. They said the plan met safety standards and would provide critically needed energy in New England. Residents and government officials have said the project would put the community at risk.

Commissioner Suedeen Kelly, the lone dissenter, said the project would damage the environment. She said tanker traffic along the narrow Taunton River would raise safety concerns and disrupt the community.

The commission unanimously approved construction of the Golden Pass LNG terminal and 120-mile pipeline in Jefferson County, Texas, on the Gulf Coast. The commission chairman, Pat Wood, who said he owns property less than three miles from the site, said environmental concerns were handled well. The company agreed to restore wetlands to offset those lost due to the project.

By a 4-0 vote, the commission rejected the KeySpan LNG proposal to convert its LNG storage tank in Providence, R.I., into an import terminal. The commission said the project did not meet current safety standards.

Company officials have said they met applicable safety standards and that further upgrades would be costly.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island officials, who opposed the New England projects, said they would go to court, if necessary, to fight the Fall River approval.

“We’ll kill this project with a thousand paper cuts,” said Fall River Mayor Edward Lambert.