Not In Barney Frank’s Backyard

You’ve heard it all before… the price of energy is going through the roof and a little relief would be much appreciated. So why is it the Rep. Barney Frank is trying to use the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to keep an LNG out of the Taunton Riverfront? The Wall Street Journal wonders the same thing.

Behold the Taunton River in Fall River, Massachusetts, pictured nearby. Congressman Barney Frank thinks your family would love to visit this scenic wilderness. Among its attractions are the fuel-storage tanks along the eastern shore. The container ships and piers are always a hit with the children looking for a place to romp.

This could be America’s next “wild and scenic river,” if Mr. Frank gets his way. Last month the powerful Congressman pushed a bill through the House Natural Resources Committee that would give the Taunton River that designation under federal law. The bill could come up for a vote on the House floor soon. If you’re beginning to sense that there may be more going on here than love of nature, keep reading.

The 40-year-old Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was passed to protect certain rivers from development. To qualify, says the law, a river should “possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values.” If they are designated under the act, the rivers and their “immediate environment” are then protected from development or industrial uses. We’ve got nothing against container docks, but the Taunton River would not seem to qualify as wild, much less scenic, under any of the law’s descriptive qualities.

So why is Rep. Frank making this laughable association?

Mr. Frank’s real agenda can be spied on the right-hand shore in this picture. This is the proposed site of a terminal for importing liquefied natural gas (LNG). The terminal would be located right about where those five white storage tanks are at the top of the picture – hardly untrammeled wilderness. The Congressman, whose district includes part of Fall River and the Taunton River, has long opposed the LNG port.

Mr. Frank claims that the wild and scenic designation has nothing to do with the terminal. But six months before the terminal was first proposed in 2002, Mr. Frank had advocated dredging this not so pristine landscape to preserve its viability as an industrial port. Suddenly, he’s discovered its wild, natural beauty. Mr. Frank has also blocked the demolition of the Brightman Street Bridge just downriver from the site, with the aim of blocking ship access to any LNG terminal.

What about helping out your constituents to get cheaper energy? I’d say Rep. Frank has a case of NIMBY, but it’s not like there are not other fuel storage tanks on the riverfront–I get he doesn’t want any more fule storage tanks?

But let’s get serious…is this a “wild and scenic river”?

Didn’t think so. More from the Boston Herald.

Aaron Margolis is a life long resident of the Bay State, and works at an architectural firm north of Boston. Aaron has a Master of Architecture Degree from Boston Architectural College and is currently in the process of becoming of a Registered Architect.