He came offering an apology, but by the time Bruce Hughes, president of Southeast LNG, finished his presentation, Savannah City Council members were even more determined to oppose the company's proposal to truck liquefied natural gas through the city.
Hughes met with the City Council in a workshop session Wednesday to make amends for not meeting with any city officials to discuss a proposal to move LNG from the Elba Island storage facility down Truman Parkway and along DeRenne Avenue, which would carry it past the city's two hospitals, Hunter Army Airfield and a half-dozen residential neighborhoods.
Southeast's initial plan calls for about 10 double-hulled trucks by late 2012, with up to 58 trucks within a decade. Each truck would haul 13,000 gallons.
Company officials, at the urging of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, had a public meeting last month. While several city officials attended, it did not allow the thorough review and discussion Mayor Otis Johnson and other Savannah officials hoped for.
Two responses by Hughes confirmed to the mayor and other council members the lack of communication.
When the mayor asked when company officials planned to meet with the first responders who would be called out should an accident occur, Hughes replied they had been invited to the public meeting.
When Alderman Jeff Felser asked whether Memorial University Medical Center, the area's only trauma center, had been approached, Hughes said no, adding: "The process doesn't include talking to every resident or business along the proposed route."
If the company really were sincere about communicating its plans, it would have met with officials from the city of Savannah and Chatham County, Johnson said.
"I'm prepared to struggle against this on principle alone until you're prepared to sit down together and have a real, honest discussion about this proposal," Johnson said. "... We have an obligation to the citizens who elected us to protect them from hurt and harm and undue risk."
Johnson said he wants to bring in a consultant to help the city work with the company and its proposal. He conceded that, with its financial resources and Washington lobbyists, the company likely would get the outcome it wanted, regardless of the city's efforts.
Alderman Tony Thomas also asked how many state and federal elected officials the company had met with. Hughes said he did not know, but as he and his group left, Thomas said, Oney Temple - the regional director of state government affairs for El Paso Pipeline, a partner in the trucking proposal - told Thomas he had met with both congressmen, both U.S. senators and three state legislators.
"They've been talking to everybody but us," Thomas said. "Why haven't we heard anything about it?"
After the meeting, Hughes addressed the council's concerns about providing information.
"We haven't done a good enough job of communicating," he said. "That was made crystal clear today."
Safety concerns
Despite Hughes' repeated assurances that liquefied natural gas cannot explode and is not combustible, council members and Savannah Fire & Emergency Services Chief Charles Middleton had concerns about what could happen if the liquid escaped as a vapor. That, too, poses little risk, Hughes said, because the vapor, being lighter than air, quickly rises.
In 40 years of LNG trucking across the United States, and with more than 750,000 trips, there have been fewer than 30 accidents. Only one, according to data the company provided to federal regulators, resulted in the liquid vaporizing. In that incident, no one was hurt.
Hughes also reminded the council that state and federal regulations govern truck transport. Middleton said he had not talked to any other cities that have LNG transported, nor had Southeast officials made themselves available to talk about their proposal. He wants to know more about when deliveries would be scheduled, the planned destinations and discuss response methods.
Acting City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney told council that in 2001, then-City Manager Michael Brown had an agreement from Southern LNG - which was seeking to reactivate its Elba Island terminal - that the liquefied gas would not be trucked to and from the facility.
In two memos provided to the Savannah Morning News, Brown documented that concern and added that he had asked Southern, the U.S. Coast Guard and other appropriate officials to brief the city's hazardous materials staff.
"In my opinion, it bears further examination," Small-Toney said. "We need to be very diligent in determining how safe the transport of LNG is through any part of the city or anywhere in the region or Georgia, really."
What's next
Company officials hope to have federal approval for the trucking plan by February. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the primary body overseeing the application, is planning another public meeting in Savannah, possibly later this month.
A date has not been finalized, Tamara Young-Allen, a public affairs specialist for the commission, said Wednesday.
The meetings will provide the public an opportunity to ask questions about the LNG proposal. Citizens also will have an opportunity to submit written comments.
http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-09-09/savannah-city-council-blasts-lng-trucking-response 
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