KeySpan Energy Development Corp. proposes to construct and operate a new gas turbine facility called the Glenwood Landing Energy Center. This project is one of five included in Long Island Power Authority's, (LIPA's), Powering Long Island project. The facility will be located on land currently owned by KeySpan on the east side of Shore Road where part of the former LNG, (liquefied natural gas), storage tank was located. This waterfront site falls under the recent moratorium on development imposed by the Town of Oyster Bay. Glenwood Landing Energy Center will consist of two General Electric LM6000 Sprint simple cycle combustion turbines. There will be two stacks, each 145-feet tall and, according to KeySpan, they won't be visible to most residential areas of the community.

The total new electrical power from these two combustion turbine generators will be limited to a net output of 79.9 MW to the electric grid. And that's one of two issues that has local environmental groups steaming-the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor, in particular. By making the net output 79.9 MW, this project is just a hair under the 80.0 MW that requires the compilation, by the applicant, of a comprehensive environmental impact statement. The other issue of concern is that LIPA has served as the lead agency for their application. Lead agency status implies that no other government agency is needed to share in the decision making process of this application. The contention of the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor and several residents is that since the project is located in the Town of Oyster Bay it should be under the scrutiny of the Town's zoning laws and the Oyster Bay Town Board should have lead agency status.

Last month, within hours of declaring lead agency status, LIPA determined the project would not result in any significant adverse environmental impact. This negative declaration was made on Nov. 13, after LIPA's board of trustees approved a comprehensive Environmental Assessment assembled under procedures required by the State Environmental Quality Review Act, (SEQRA), for its Powering Long Island project. The 2,000-page assessment reviews the potential environmental impacts of all five new projects. An environmental assessment is a DEC check-off list to guide government in the application process. The environmental groups raising concerns regarding the Glenwood facility maintain that an environmental impact statement, a major document as compared to an assessment, should be compiled for that project.

A public hearing on the proposed facility was held by the DEC on Dec. 6 at the North Shore Middle School. An administrative law judge, who will not have jurisdiction on the proposed project, was the moderator for the hearing and cautioned potential speakers that the session was not a question and answer venue. First to comment on the record was the maintenance director of North Shore Country Club who wondered if the proposed facility needed a building permit from the Town of Oyster Bay. Brian Brown, a Sea Cliff resident and member of the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor, said LIPA's complaints about being able to keep the lights on next summer were unsubstantiated. He said the DEC had followed an unreasonably short schedule for the environmental review of the project that was carefully crafted to avoid Article 10 stipulations. "Local residents have been shut out of the comment and review process which is an affront. The letter of the law may have been followed but not the spirit. The DEC has given KeySpan concessions," said Mr. Brown.

Skip LeBlang, a member of the Coalition's board of directors said the Coalition has thousands of members who are concerned with the cumulative gaseous and particulate emissions of the proposed facility in a location where the town has imposed a moratorium. "We must speak long and hard when this company wants it, [the facility], built yesterday and doesn't like provocative public scrutiny. It's hard to believe the lead agency, [LIPA], is genuine about wanting to hear what the public has to say. LIPA is in a great hurry. By issuing a negative declaration the same day LIPA designated lead agency status they eviscerated any stringent, full-blown environmental impact study and scooping session. The Coalition found the environmental assessment prepared by LIPA to be shockingly similar to that of the ten proposed plants. It is deeply flawed. If a fight is necessary to ensure the community has rights, we will engage and revel in it. The Town of Oyster Bay has made an extraordinary effort to take away lead agency status from LIPA-LIPA has no accountability. We ask that LIPA be replaced as lead agency with those who are accountable to voters," said Mr. LeBlang. Patrice Benneward of the Glenwood/Glen Head Civic Association who added a suggestion to form an advisory committee of all concerned parties echoed Mr. LeBlang's comments. Norm Parsons of the North Shore Environmental Alliance said the lumping together of all the Long Island proposed generating facilities should not have been done. "The community might be willing to live with a brownout this summer but we will have to live with the turbines for years. What's the rush?," said Mr. Parsons.

A spokeswoman from Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto's office spoke on the record and said the town's position is that a proper environmental review had not occurred and the process had been circumvented by LIPA.

The record will remain open until Dec. 16 for additional comments.

According to information issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the combustion turbines will fire natural gas as the primary fuel with limited hours of kerosene firing as a backup during times of natural gas curtailment. The units will operate in simple cycle mode, (no heat recovery), to provide electric generation particularly during periods of high demand. The turbines will use water injection and selective catalytic reduction to control nitrogen oxide emissions. Since it is air cooled, no water will be drawn from Hempstead Harbor. Upon leaving the turbines, the exhaust will be directed into separate stacks. The DEC permits applied for by KeySpan are an air pollution control permit, an acid rain permit, and a modification to the existing Glenwood Gas Plant's State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, (SPDES), permit. The modification is to accommodate the additional process water and stormwater from the new facility. This additional wastewater will be discharged through the existing outfalls.

Powering Long Island 2002 turbine projects are scheduled for Far Rockaway at 44.0 MW; Glenwood at 79.9 MW; Shoreham at 79.9 MW; Brentwood at 79.9 MW; Port Jefferson at 79.9 MW and Calpine Bethpage at 44.0.

"Long Island cannot afford to go through another summer without adding a significant amount of new on-island generating capability," said LIPA chairman Richard Kessel in announcing the five new turbine projects. "We came within less than 100 megawatts of running out of supply during this year's heat wave. If we don't add new on-island generation, it's almost a certainty that we would have rolling blackouts under the same conditions this August. Long Island's power demand has been growing at a rate of about 100 megawatts per year in recent years." The five new turbines added to those previously announced brings the number of turbines to ten that will be capable of generating a total of 407.6 MW.