Rand Snell was concerned that an underground pipeline that is part of a proposal for a $1 billion deep-sea port in the Gulf of Mexico might impinge upon Reeder Farms.

"We have an interest as property owners," Snell, a Washington, D.C.-based representative of the farm's owners told officials during a public meeting Wednesday at the Manatee Convention Center.

They officials were gathering comments from the public about the project, which involves a proposed deep-sea port 28 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico that would convert liquid fuel to gas aboard tankers and then send it to shore through a 42-mile pipeline.

Port Dolphin Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Hoegh LNG, based in Oslo, Norway, has proposed the port, which features a system of submersible, permanently moor- ed buoys off the southwest coast of Tampa Bay. However, an environmental study and federal approval are needed before the project can be built.

Snell, who was one of only three speakers at Wednesday's meeting, said it was not clear from maps exactly where the pipeline might go. He hoped it would be located along an existing pipeline, so it would not disturb Reeder Farms' 240 acres of citrus just south of Port Manatee.

"If they move it south, it would split our property," he said after the meeting, which attracted about 45, including local residents and dozens of business executives and government officials.

Another speaker, Dan White, who works for the Seminole Electric Cooperative of Tampa, applauded the project because he said it would provide diversity in supply.

"We'd like to see the competition," he told representatives of the U.S. Maritime Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and e2M, a consulting firm helping with the environmental review of the project.

Others attending an open house before the meeting were less enthusiastic.

"The verdict is out," said Betsy Roberts, chapter chair of Sierra Club, Manatee County. "I worry about gas, the fragile Gulf and our sea grasses, which are nurseries for our fish."

A director for ManaSota-88, an environmental watchdog group, noted Wednesday that there had been a fire at a gas facility in Dallas.

"I think it bears extra watching," said Joan Perry. "There's a lot of fragile water out there."

A fisherman also attended, but came away reassured.

"I think it looks pretty good," said Glen Brooks, president of the Gulf Fishermen's Association.

Copyright (c) 2007, The Bradenton Herald, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Related Project
Port Dolphin Project
Facility Type: LNG Owner: Port Dolphin Energy LLC (subsidiary of Hoegh LNG AS)
Scope: New Construction Location: offshore Tampa Bay, FL United States