Projo Biz Blog

Federal regulators today approved a request by Weaver's Cove Energy LLC to extend by five years the company's conditional permit to build a liquefied LNG facility in Fall River.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the extension after one was requested by the company earlier this month. The permit issued by FERC to Weaver's Cove in 2005 was to expire in July 2010. The company was required to have the facility built and operating by then.

Weaver's Cove said it was taking longer than anticipated to obtain the necessary state and federal approvals from various agencies, and asked FERC to extend the permit until November 2015.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch and officials in Massachusetts said they opposed granting the extension because many of the permitting delays were the result of a finding by the U.S. Coast Guard that LNG tankers may not be able to safely navigate the Taunton River.

The commission did not offer an explanation for its decision.

"Based on the facts presented in your request, Weaver’s Cove and Mill River are
granted an extension of time until November 1, 2015, to complete their facilities and
make them available for service," the commission wrote in a letter to Weaver's Cove.

Mill River is the company that would build a pipeline to the terminal.

It was signed by J. Mark Robinson, director of the Office of Energy Projects for FERC.

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