During the past week, in a letter to Town Council President David Long and in a press release, State Attorney General Patrick Lynch scolded Jamestown officials for not joining financially with other Narragansett Bay communities in a lawsuit as part of the fight to block liquefied natural gas facilities and tankers from transporting LNG in Narragansett Bay.

In his statements, Lynch equated the Town Council’s action on the lawsuit with not opposing the proposed LNG facilities.

In an interview Monday, his office said Lynch “looks forward to seeing how Jamestown will address the issue, and the attorney general is available in any way he can in order to keep the mammoth LNG tankers out of the (bay) waterways.”

Lynch’s spokesman also referred to at least one published report late last week that Jamestown’s Town Solicitor Lauriston Parks had backed away from his ruling that led the council to reject taking part in the multitown lawsuit. Parks said Monday that he did not know how anything he said was interpreted as “backing away” from his ruling. Parks emphasized he is standing firm on his ruling that led to the council vote against joining the lawsuit.

No to tankers, yes to LNG

When the councilors voted Sept. 12 to not join the lawsuit, they repeatedly stressed their opposition to efforts to build LNG facilities in Fall River, Mass., that would result in various dangers and economic impacts of 1,000foot tankers clogging the East Passage of Narragansett Bay.

The councilors cited their strong stand against the tankers ever since they were identified as a factor in proprosed plans for local LNG facilities more than a year ago.

Opponents of the Fall River plan here and elsewhere have suggested that offshore LNG facilities, without the kinds of dangers and impacts created by tankers traveling in heavily populated areas, were the appropriate place to store highly volatile LNG.

Lynch “stands pat” Notwithstanding Jamestown’s position on the issues, Lynch’s spokesman suggested Monday that the attorney general was standing by his statements that last week’s vote against joining the lawsuit was “a short-sighted decision,” and that Lynch still questions Jamestown’s interpretation that it could not justify joining the lawsuit all the other communities. “None seems to have had the difficulties that Jamestown has had” in joining in the lawsuit, Lynch’s spokesman, Michael Healey, said.

“The attorney general respects that every town has to follow the approach that is legal and in the interest of the best public policy,” but other towns have not found the problems that Jamestown did, Healey added.

Involved is a several-month effort to develop a legal strategy against LNG proposals for Providence and Fall River, Mass. The Providence plan was rejected early this summer by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which the same day authorized the Fall River plan to proceed. Since then, the FERC has put on hold its schedule that would have required it to rule by Sept. 15 on lawsuits for rehearings that were filed by Aug. 15 about one or both FERC decisions. A new schedule for FERC’s next action has not been posted yet.

Lynch’s position

Lynch said he “regrets Jamestown’s failure to take action. A consolidated legal process is in place to strike a blow at the heart of big energy interests intent on usurping Rhode Island’s rights and ignoring the will of the people by siting LNG in our area. It’s mystifying to me how the Jamestown Town Council can proclaim its opposition to fight LNG that is embraced by other Rhode Island coastal communities, yet at the same time, turn their backs on joining the wellconceived and concerted” lawsuit. If ‘this isn’t their battle,’ what is? Now is not the time to maintain neutrality or turn their backs on this fight.

“If the massive supertankers start making their way along the Jamestown coastline and shut down the Pell (Newport) Bridge and other bridges so vital to emergency routes, overall public safety and the economic viability of the island, the leadership had better be ready to answer to their constituents,” Lynch continue in his press release and in his letter to Long.

“Even if Jamestown decided not to participate in this (legal) brief . . . that does not absolve the town’s failure to oppose this illconceived facility before the FERC, especially when the town is Rhode Island’s only coastal community that has rejected any opportunity to oppose this project,” he wrote.

Lynch said the town does have options to draft an independent lawsuit, and can do so through its town solicitors or by interviewing other lawyers. But he predicted either approach would be much more expensive than the option of joining the multi-town lawsuit for a fee of $25,000.

The process of choosing a lawyer and the cost to do so combined to lead the council to decline to join that action. Parks said that state and local law combined to specify that the process by which the town can hire a professional, such as a lawyer. The job must be put out to bid. The Washington, D.C. law firm hired for the multi-town legal action, ultimately was chosen by Fall River officials. The firm required a $5,000 down payment and a commitment to pay up to $20,000 more as to be billed.

Lynch recommended that firm to other towns. In his original presentations earlier this year, Lynch characterized the lawsuit as being produced by his office, and that the cost to the town would be independent and voluntary. Lynch’s staff said he did not want to speak at this time to the issue of reports that the attorney general originally told the Town Council that decisions about the lawsuit and about the cost were independent, and that one could be chosen without committing to the other.

Parks “stands pat”

In his letter to the council, Parks noted he was asked to confirm in writing that Town Solicitor J. William W. Harsch accurately relayed the Parks ruling on the matter at the Sept. 12 council meeting. Parks maintained that joining the lawsuit “would violate . . . town policy on procurement. The town is precluded from entering into a proposal which would amount to a sole-source, non-competitive procurement.”

In the interview Monday, Parks said he did not know how his position was misunderstood to be a “backing away.” He noted that he wrote his letter in response to the council’s request for confirmation that Harsch had relayed his findings accurately.

Lynch to Long

In his letter to Council President Long, Lynch said he believes Jamestown councilors acted on misinformation. He said Jamestown’s joining the multitown lawsuit “is critical.”

Lynch said he and his staff were working closely with the D.C.based law firm, and that they would have welcomed Jamestown’s voluntary help with any aspect of the preparation. He believes the way the lawsuit is being done “is consistent with both state and local laws,” Lynch wrote.

The attorney general said Jamestown could have pursued its own legal actions that “would avoid the reasons publicly given for failure to join its coastal neighbors.”

Lynch listed some of the reasons that Jamestown needs to do something, whatever the financial cost, to act against the Fall River plan. Jamestown is “well within the zone of incineration danger . . . in the event of accidental or intentional release of LNG. All residents risk death or serious bodily injury,” he wrote.

He said the required bridge closures would impact emergency vehicles and “cause severe traffic congestion” every time a LNG tanker passed under a bridge, which would be about 140 times a year. Security costs would also be high, economic development would be hampered, and the town’s tax base could erode, Lynch pointed out.

He challenged the council to develop and file its own law brief against the Fall River LNG proposal. He sent two affidavits filed by town emergency personnel for the multi-town lawsuit to be used if the town also files a legal action.

Long responds

Council President Long responded to Lynch’s press release and letter in an interview Tuesday, noting that he was speaking only for himself. He expected other councilors would speak about Lynch’s comments at the next council meeting Monday, Sept. 26, he said. Long said he would ask his colleagues about the town’s taking further action to reinforce its previous strong opposition to LNG proposals in Providence and in Fall River, Mass.

“I don’t know why the attorney general is making those false allegations about Jamestown,” Long said. “We purposely did not scold Mr. Lynch for his misleading the council, but now that he has made such allegations, I will respond and expect the others will too,” the council president said. “No good deed goes unpunished,” he repeated a few times during the interview. “He’s attacking the island that has been on record against the (LNG) plans. We should all be in this war together, not fighting each other,” Long added.

“The attorney general’s letter to me is disturbing, inaccurate, and confrontational. Jamestown is on record as opposing (LNG proposals). We have constantly reiterated our opposition. And we are not the first to decline” the measures proposed by Lynch, Long said.

“He misled us about the law brief and the $25,000 being distinct and separate options. It changed. Now we are told that to sign onto the brief, we have to pay a D.C. law firm. That is not as presented originally by Mr. Lynch,” Long said.

“If he really cared about the LNG problems, he would want all of us without a price tag. I still do not know why he does not get the money for this brief through the Statehouse or through the governor. This involves and impacts the state as a whole, not just some communities,” Long said.

“Jamestown has the energy and money and wants to make sure they are used in the right direction. I think our people know this,” the council president continued. He suggested that other towns may have been able to approve participation in Lynch’s plan through Fall River, without violating any state laws, or laws in effect in those towns. Long said the process would have violated Jamestown’s procurement rules, as adopted this past year to prevent spending without adequate bidding or review of a bidders qualifications.

“I do not understand why he is making such allegations because we are not joining him in his plan. He did not make allegations about others, such as North Kingstown, that declined his plan, He misled, us but we did not say so in public (last week), and now he is dragging Jamestown through the mud,” Long said.