Long Beach energy project halted

The city cancels plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal. Many had voiced safety concerns.

After four years of scrutiny, Long Beach officials Monday pulled the plug on a controversial energy project that promised an abundant new source of clean-burning liquefied natural gas for California but posed insurmountable safety concerns.

In a unanimous vote, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners decided to end an environmental review of the project that was launched more than two years ago but had slipped far behind schedule. The action effectively terminates the effort by the port and a partnership of Mitsubishi Corp. and ConocoPhillips to build a $700-million liquefied natural gas plant inside the busiest cargo port in the nation.

“The project is dead,” said Doris Topsy-Elvord, a commissioner and former Long Beach councilwoman. “It’s been a long haul, we’ve worked hard at it, but it is at a standstill. I do not think there’s a possibility it will come back,” she said.

The project has roiled the community while underscoring the challenges in providing fuel for rapidly growing California.

LA Times