Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney orders security review of LNG facilities

BOSTON – Gov. Mitt Romney ordered a security review of the state’s liquefied natural gas storage facilities on Thursday, days after the disclosure that two people managed to cut through a fence and climb to the top of the storage tank at a plant in Lynn last week.

The review, which will be conducted by a joint inspection team from the Department of Telecommunications and Energy and members of the State Police’s Critical Infrastructure Assessment Unit, is precautionary and will take about 30 days, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

Authorities wouldn’t disclose for security reasons how many LNG facilities are in the state.

State officials learned earlier this week about the Aug. 16 security breach at a KeySpan Corp. storage facility in Lynn. Authorities said there was no evidence of terrorism, and the incident remains under investigation. KeySpan has said it is also investigating.

Romney’s review will include an inspection of the facilities’ physical plant, security plans and systems, as well as training records.

“We’re going to verify they are doing what they say they are doing,” said Public Safety Secretary Robert Haas.

The review supplements regular inspections that take place at LNG storage facilities every two years, Haas said.

A state audit last year found that at the time, the Department of Telecommunications and Energy was not exercising sufficient oversight of safety and security procedures at 20 LNG storage facilities across the state. The review said the agency wasn’t following the required schedule for inspecting LNG plants, nor was it enforcing a requirement that the operators develop and submit fire study and prevention plans, evacuation plans and annual operator training reports.

There was also a wide variance between the amount of cooperation between LNG plant operators and police and fire officials in their respective communities, the audit said.

State Auditor Joseph DeNucci’s office said Thursday the audit prompted improvements at the agency, but the latest incident in Lynn shows more needs to be done.

Nicole St. Peter, spokeswoman for DTE’s parent agency, said that after the audit, the agency checked its inspection schedule with federal regulators and was told DTE was conducting inspections within an appropriate time period of two calendar years.