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New York Governor David Paterson announced today that his state will not authorize the Broadwater Energy natural gas project proposed for Long Island Sound. The decision comes just weeks after federal authorities approved the project.

Governor Patterson spoke on Long Island. He announced that the New York State Department of State determined Broadwater’s floating liquefied natural gas terminal doesn’t meet the criteria of the Coastal Zone Management Act.

Opponents have waited a long time for this day. Governor Jodi Rell and others celebrated in Milford. The same place where the public fight against the project was launched on a breezy day nearly three years ago

“If you just look out over this Sound you see beautiful Charles Island in the distance but just imagine a floating.. or a barge out there that is 200 feet wide, that’s four football fields long and ten stories high.

In September 2005 Milford Mayor Jim Richetelli, along with dozens of other Connecticut public officials and environmentalists, pledged to stand together against Broadwater.

“Think about the damage that it’s going to do to all of the species that are in Long Island Sound. Think about what it will do to all of the recreational uses and all the uses for the people that rely upon the sound for their employment. It’s bad. And we’re all here to let you know that we’re going to continue to fight it. And this is not going to go away. It’s not something the cities, our state representatives, our federal representatives are going to let go away.”

And they didn’t. On a cold night in January last year hundreds gathered for a hearing in New London before the federal energy regulatory commission. Including Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal

“It is an environmental atrocity, an unacceptable security risk, an aesthetic monstrosity !”

Despite stiff opposition in Connecticut, there are supporters in New York, such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. And some in the business community on Long Island. The President of the Long Island Association said “the burden shifts to the Governor to make sure that Long Island's future energy needs are met”.

But environmentalists say there’s more than enough natural gas from an LNG project under construction in Canada and others proposed for the coasts of New York and New Jersey. Adrienne Esposito of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment says New York State’s decision feels like a rebirth for democracy.

“The general public has fought the corporateTyrannosaurus rex of the global world and we won ”

But Broadwater, a partnership of Shell Oil and Transcanada Corporation, hasn’t backed down yet. John Hritcko of Broadwater says he believes the project is consistent with New York’s coastal policies and shouldn’t be rejected.

“By cutting off Broadwater you’re cutting out one of the major pieces of the puzzle in which to solve our energy problem .”

Broadwater will decide in the next month whether to appeal New York’s decision to the U-S Secretary of Commerce or whether to drop the project.