October 13, 2006            

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Steve Adamske 202.225.7141

Fall River, MA – Congressman Barney Frank charged inappropriate collusion between federal officials at the Department of Interior and attorneys representing Weaver’s Cove Energy, based on new documents obtained by the Congressman’s office.  Frank is troubled by inappropriate action by federal officials whose job it is to protect the environment and representatives of the company seeking to construct a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) off-loading facility on the Taunton River in Fall River.  The attorney for Weaver’s Cove sent a timeline and a course of action to political appointees at the Department, and federal officials responded promising to keep the “… practical considerations of high importance to Weaver's Cove Energy” in mind as they worked to approve necessary permits.  Frank noted it is the job of the Department to protect the environment, not work in the best interest of energy companies.  Frank responded to the documents in question by sending a letter to Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, demanding he put a stop to the inappropriate collusion of federal officials.

“I was particularly troubled by these documents in light of a recent report by the Department of the Interior’s Inspector General regarding problems with inappropriate contact between government officials and industry,” Frank said.

The text of Congressman Frank’s letter follows:

October 13, 2006

Dear Secretary Kempthome:

I am disturbed by what appears to be inappropriate collusion between the legal representative of Weaver's Cove Energy corporation and the Department of Interior with regard to the ongoing deliberations on whether to approve a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Fall River, Massachusetts. Obviously, it is legitimate for the company to make its views known to the Department, but I am particularly disturbed to see that in a letter from one of the corporation's lawyers Weaver's Cove appears to be attempting to dictate both the substance and the procedures that will be followed in the Department's permitting process.

Even your department seems to be responding not from the perspective of its environmental mission but "to meet resource protection objectives in a manner more cognizant of the practical considerations of high importance to Weaver's Cove Energy".

The job of the Interior Department is to protect the environment, not to focus on the "practical considerations" of private companies applying for departmental permits. This inappropriate contact between the company and the Department needs to be stopped immediately, and a fairer, open process that does not involve this sort of unethical collaboration should be initiated.

Thank for your time and attention, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Barney Frank

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The relevant documentation is available here.

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