Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) praised today’s decision by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to deny a dredging permit to Weaver’s Cove Energy, LLC. The agency said the company’s application to dredge 230,000 cubic yards of sediment from the federal navigational channel in Mount Hope Bay was “incomplete and insufficient.”
“This news is a positive development for opponents of this proposal, and I hope the Army Corps of Engineers draws on DEM’s work as the Corps makes its own permitting decisions,” said Reed.
“DEM’s decision recognizes the significant risks LNG tanker traffic would pose to the ecological health of Narragansett Bay and the safety of surrounding communities,” Whitehouse said. “I’m committed to doing all I can to help stop this facility.”
According to a DEM news release, Weaver’s Cove did not provide essential information on the projected impact of dredging on water quality and marine life, and significantly expanded the proposed number of tankers that would transit the Bay after a deadline had passed.
###
