California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday rejected a liquefied natural gas (LNG) port off the Southern California coast proposed by Anglo-Australian mining company BHP Billiton.
The rejection was expected. The US$800 million Cabrillo Port project has been on its last gasps since April 12, when the 12-member California Coastal Commission unanimously rejected it.
The governor is a supporter of LNG for California as a way to diversify energy sources. But Mr Schwarzenegger said an 'LNG import facility must meet the strict environmental standards California demands to continue to improve our air quality, protect our coast, and preserve our marine environment. The Cabrillo Port LNG project, as designed, fails to meet that test'. There are no LNG ports on the US West Coast and none approved.
BHP is disappointed by Mr Schwarzenegger's rejection, said Patrick Cassidy, spokesman for the company. 'For four years, BHP worked cooperatively with federal and state officials,' Mr Cassidy said. 'We designed and redesigned our project along the way to meet the concerns that regulators and members of the public expressed at the hundreds of meetings we've held throughout the state since 2003.'
The rejection was expected. The US$800 million Cabrillo Port project has been on its last gasps since April 12, when the 12-member California Coastal Commission unanimously rejected it.
The governor is a supporter of LNG for California as a way to diversify energy sources. But Mr Schwarzenegger said an 'LNG import facility must meet the strict environmental standards California demands to continue to improve our air quality, protect our coast, and preserve our marine environment. The Cabrillo Port LNG project, as designed, fails to meet that test'. There are no LNG ports on the US West Coast and none approved.
BHP is disappointed by Mr Schwarzenegger's rejection, said Patrick Cassidy, spokesman for the company. 'For four years, BHP worked cooperatively with federal and state officials,' Mr Cassidy said. 'We designed and redesigned our project along the way to meet the concerns that regulators and members of the public expressed at the hundreds of meetings we've held throughout the state since 2003.'