Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Pierluisi Advocates for Vía Verde Project in Letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

San Juan, Puerto Rico-The Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, has urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue to process the permit application for the Vía Verde Project in accordance with all applicable procedures and requirements, given the Project’s potential to reduce the cost of electricity in Puerto Rico and to strengthen the Island’s economy.

Pedro Pierluissi

In a letter to the Corps’ Deputy Commanding General, Major General William T. Grisoli, the Resident Commissioner refuted the argument that the Vía Verde Project has not been the subject of sufficient environmental study or public scrutiny.

In the letter, Pierluisi observed that the Puerto Rico Electric and Power Authority (PREPA) has proposed to build the Vía Verde Project, a pipeline that is designed to transport natural gas from the EcoEléctrica liquefied natural gas terminal on Puerto Rico’s southwest coast to three PREPA power plants located on the Island’s north coast.

“PREPA currently generates the vast majority of its electric power using liquid petroleum fuels. The cost of electricity in Puerto Rico—and therefore Puerto Rico’s economy—is dramatically affected by increases in fuel oil costs, as is presently occurring. The Project will allow units at the three PREPA power plants to be converted to dual fuel, so they can use natural gas, fuel oil, or a mixture of both,” explained Pierluisi.

The conversion of these units, the Resident Commissioner noted, will improve the operational flexibility of PREPA’s system, and allow PREPA to generate electricity at the lowest possible cost.

“This Project is an important step in PREPA’s plans to generate electricity in an efficient and environmentally-sound manner,” Pierluisi emphasized.

From the perspective of the Resident Commissioner, it is very important that natural gas is cleaner than oil or coal, and that its use will significantly reduce the carbon emissions that are adversely affecting our environment.

In his letter, Pierluisi rejected the notion that the environmental review process for the Vía Verde Project has been circumvented or compromised as a result of the “Declaration of Energy Emergency” issued by Governor Luis G. Fortuño on July 19, 2010. He noted that, although the relevant executive order provided for an expedited review process for the development of energy projects in Puerto Rico, this expedited process was used in connection with the Vía Verde Project only with respect to the evaluation terms that were provided to Puerto Rico agencies.

Pierluisi noted that PREPA has been working cooperatively with the Corps of Engineers and other Federal agencies—including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service—to provide additional information on the Project, to minimize or eliminate adverse environmental impacts, and to ensure that the Project complies with all applicable environmental and resource protection criteria.

“I understand that, once this supplemental information is reviewed by the Corps, the Corps will evaluate the permit application for the Project in coordination with the applicable Federal resource agencies, and only then will the Corps make a final determination on the permit, in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act and NEPA,” wrote the Resident Commissioner.

A copy of the letter was sent to Representative John R. Mica (R-FL), Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV), the senior Democrat on the Committee.