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Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington DC 20590

August 12, 2013

To whom it may concern

Please accept these comments from the Belford seafood Cooperative Inc. concerning the
Liberty Natural Gas application for a deep water port facility called Port Ambrose, in and around our
historic fishing grounds. The Fisherman's Dock Co-op consists presently of 18 members and 18 fishing
vessels whose average size is 40 to 75 feet. We are the oldest continuously operating fishing co-op in
the United States, incorporating in 1952. We pack anywhere from 2 to 10 million dollars worth of
seafood a year, and directly employ about 50 people year round. We also pack out and service dozens of
local and out of state vessels.
Since our inception we have had to deal with government permitted dumping of sewerage
sludge, toxic dredge spoils, burning barges and the wreckage of pilings and old docks, acid wastes, and
even old military ordinance, all in our fishing grounds. The utter carelessness of these operations are
now, with hindsight unbelievable. Our industry has been fighting for 30 years to stop the madness and
total disregard of our ocean's environment, and the marine species we rely on to feed the American
public. Hence it is appalling to us that, a proposal wrapped in lies on top of lies, that has been denied by
your department, and vetoed by New Jersey's governor just 2 years ago has risen from the dead, and is
rolling full steam ahead with the full support of MARAD and the US Coast Guard. I attended and
testified against Liberty Natural Gas at the Edison NJ hearing, [and at previous ones over the last 5
years] and could not believe my ears to hear US government officials, outright lying to 300 members of
the public by stating that this proposed facility could never be converted into an export facility. We are
not morons, and we expect for our government to make an honest attempt to tell the truth about
something like a private enterprise attempting to create a billion dollar industrial facility on public
property.
President Obama has pledged to double US exports over the next few years, and LNG will be the
leading commodity. A number of LNG import facilities have already been granted approval to export
LNG and many more are now lining up for the huge windfall profits expected as we sell our cheap
domestic gas into a hungry world market where it sells for more than 3 times as much. Our country is
totally self sufficient in our gas production and use. We have absolutely no need to import any LNG. As
a matter of fact a few years ago there was a facility built on fishing grounds off of Boston to receive
imported LNG. They just closed down for the next 5 years as they have only received a couple of
shipments since being built. So how can anybody in the US government support a proposal that is based

on lies? Liberty Natural Gas is a front company that does all the dirty work to get a facility like this
approved, when they accomplish that task they will then sell it to another company that will
immediately apply for a permit to convert into an export facility. By working this way, the conversion of
the permit to export would avoid new public hearings, not need an environmental impact study, and by
pass any NEPA requirements. By intense lobbying and the right amount of campaign contributions to
our integrity challenged politicians, proposals like Liberty's get approved. Its truly disturbing to see the
US Coast Guard have to be a part of this sham, as I have the utmost respect for the life saving work they
do. But I guess when an important politician, on an important committee, [who has received X amount
of campaign contributions] tells them that they have to go along with this or their budget will be cut, I
guess integrity no longer matters. It is all about the Benjamin's.
It doesn't matter that the fishing industry has been fishing these grounds before there was even
a United States, the Oil industry now runs our country, and watch out anybody who stands in their way.
So the hundreds of fishing industry jobs that could be lost by this project doesn't matter because liberty
will create a few temporary ones, and about 5 long term jobs. Sounds like a good trade to me.
So here is a list of reasons why this project should not be approved;
1, It has already been vetoed by Governor Christie.
2. The proposal is based on lies, there is absolutely no one in their right mind who would spend the huge
e~mount

of money needed to, build this facility to import LNG when there is absolutely no need to import

LNG into this country. The facts speak for themselves. The Marcel los shale deposits are sitting just a
stones throw away from the NY bight, and big energy is just itching to get our Natural Gas into the over
seas market, where they will accomplish a double whammy of profits by selling for 3 times more then
they get in the domestic market, and because of that, driving up the domestic price as demand
internationally increases, and they refuse to sell cheap domestically.
3. The fishing industry will suffer severe and maybe even catastrophic consequences from the
construction, operation and any "accidents" that take place at Port Ambrose, or its pipeline. New
Jerseys commercial fishing industry contributes over a billion dollars a year to our economy and feeds
millions of people with one of the healthiest foods on the earth. This is apparently a matter of our jobs
are better then yours because we can contribute more money to politicians.
4. After decades of hard work cleaning up the New York bight from years of government approved
degradation, we would be right back at square one with a huge, dangerous natural gas pipeline/facility
that is an accident waiting to happen. What are the impacts of a pipeline rupture? Can the facility
withstand a direct hit by a cat 4 hurricane? Do we want the NY bight to turn into the polluted waters of
the Gulf of Mexico?
5. The facility is sited between two major shipping lanes, an accident waiting to happen.
6. The LNG tankers will be a terroristtarget, as it wouldn't be tpo hard to blow one up with a speed
boat full of explosives and a fanatic looking to meet god. Since the blast zone would be five miles it

would be visible from both NJ and NY serving the purpose of terrorizing our citizens, while also causing
hundreds of millions in economic losses.
7. To prevent such an attack it would be required to have a huge security zone around the facility
anytime a LNG tanker was present, and a number of CG vessels and possibly even the navy.
8. The local marine environment not only supports both huge commercial and recreational fisheries, but
also is home to many endangered species that could suffer harm from its construction and operation.
These include Northern Right Whales, Fin Whales, Loggerhead, kemps ridley, leatherback, and green
sea turtles, along with other threatened species including many other Whales and dolphins.
9. This facility will speed up the production of natural gas in Pennsylvania and New York state and
because it is produced by Fracking, could contaminate the drinking water of 40 million people. If this
was not so, there would have been no need to have Vice President Cheney ram through legislation that
absolves the gas companies from any legal responsibly if ground water contamination occurs from
tracking. This is known as the Haliburtion exemption to the clean water act, which was paid for fair and
square by the oil companies, who, thanks to the Supreme Court are now considered people.
10. LNG export facilities will have a negative effect on the US economy, as it will force domestic gas
prices up to the international level, and force already struggling families to choose between eating and
heating. While oil/gas company executives laugh all the way to the bank, which they also own besides
our politicians.
11. There are absolutely no benefits to this proposal except the oil/gas industry gets to grease a few
palms, and those lucky few palms, may trickle some of that money down to the rest of us.

In conclusion; SHOW A UTILE INTREGRITY, DENY, DENY, DENY.

Thanks, Roy Diehl