Although the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Maritime Administration has already issued a draft environmental impact statement finding the project would not cause major safety or environmental problems, activists from both New York as well as New Jersey are opposed to a large construction project ready to go underway.
The project is the creation of a liquid gas terminal near New York Harbor, first proposed in 2008 and expected to produce 800 construction jobs. With the concern over the environmental impact of this program, it’s easy to see why construction firms should have the right NJ Construction Pollution Liability policy in place, as well as other NJ Contractor Liability Policies.
The company spearheading this project, Liberty Natural Gas, aims to create a deep-water port in federal waters 19 miles off Jones Beach, New York and 29 miles off Long Branch, New Jersey. The goal behind this project is to lower home-heating prices by brining additional natural gas into the New York area during times of peak demand. Activists, however, see this as an unnecessary environmental danger as well as a potential terrorist target.
Any accident that damages this terminal, activists say, would pollute the Atlantic Ocean’s waters. In addition, some say that the coastal Rockaways, which is the neighborhood closest to the proposed terminal, is still struggling to recover from the damage inflicted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Officials and Liberty Natural Gas, however, have disputed environmental concerns and presented the $650 million privately funded project as a safe and cleaner alternative to fracking.
Despite the votes against this project, the terminal is supported by many business and labor groups in both the New York and New Jersey area. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has not weighed in yet on this new project, although he did veto an earlier form of the project, which would have had pipes running through the Garden State’s waters.
No matter your view on this project, at Provident Protection Plus Insurance Agency, we understand the risks faced by construction workers from Clifton to Wayne and beyond, and provide a complete suite of insurance products and services to the broad contractor segment. These coverages include property liability, NJ Construction Workers Compensation, and other key coverages. To learn more about our products and services, please contact us today at (888) 990-0526.