River label complicates LNG plan

WASHINGTON – The House on Wednesday approved extending federal “wild and scenic” environmental protection to the lower Taunton River in Massachusetts, dealing a blow to developers who want to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on an urbanized stretch of riverbank.

The 242-175 vote, split largely along party lines, came amid Republican complaints the bill was a backdoor way for Democrats to block a proposed LNG plant in the city of Fall River, Mass. at a time when such facilities are sorely needed. GOP lawmakers said the measure underscored how Democrats aren’t serious about tackling skyrocketing energy costs.

Bill critics also took aim at the commercialized riverbank area where developers want to build the terminal, saying it was more urban than wild and scenic. On the House floor, they displayed photos of Fall River to press their point.

“If this qualifies as a wild and scenic river … then downtown Manhattan can be a national forest,” said Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, mocked Fall River’s graffiti on bridges and elsewhere, which he blamed on gangs.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., shot back that working people and immigrants in places such as Fall River deserve the same environmental protections as wealthy communities.

Frank, who opposes the terminal, said efforts to protect the river began in 1999, three years before the LNG plant was proposed.