Case Study: Sound Energy Solutions - Liquid Natural Gas Terminal Project

Sound Energy Solutions (SES) was formed to establish the first Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminal on the West Coast of the United States in Long Beach, California. It is a partnership between ConocoPhilips and Mitsubishi Corporation. SES proposes to build a state-of-the-art LNG receiving terminal on 25 acres of industrial land at the Port of Long Beach. When operational, the terminal will provide up to 20% of Southern California’s natural gas supply, providing an important new supply of natural gas to compete with the gas supplied via pipeline from Canada and the South West. LNG ships would call on the terminal to unload the LNG, which would then be stored at the terminal and returned to a gas state and piped to consumers as needed. Additionally, some gas would remain in a liquid state to be used as vehicle fuel; this on-site supply depot would distribute vehicle grade LNG to local and regional fueling stations. SES believes the project will also help to ensure a better local economy and a cleaner environment. Applications for the terminal have been filed and are currently under review by 22 federal, state and local agencies. Diverse Strategies for Organizing, Inc. (DSO) is contracted to provide community outreach services for the project.

Services

The goal of the community work on this project is to reach out to the community in a meaningful way, educate and create a dialogue, and build consensus with the community around the project and then demonstrate support for the project to Elected Officials and other key stakeholders. DSO has been successful in bringing the community together on this sensitive and controversial project.

A key component of the outreach has been community workshops and citywide workshops. These workshops are geared to educate community members about the project while providing the community member with a forum to have his questions, concerns and safety issues addressed. Additionally, the workshops are a venue for identifying possible project supporters.

DSO has done outreach to key stakeholders, including but not limited to businesses, homeowner associations, faith based organizations, schools and community based organizations for the community workshops. Generally, one-on-one meetings with group leaders are held, followed by a presentation at the group’s regular meeting or at a special meeting. Over 250 meetings have been held.

Over 30 citywide workshops have been held, with up to 75 attendees at each workshop. Outreach to special groups and the general public by neighborhood and organizations was conducted for each citywide workshop.

A database of over 1,200 supporters now exists as a result of outreach and educational efforts, and these supporters can be, and have been, called upon to give both oral and written testimony in support of the project at a variety of forums, including City Council meetings, Port of Long Beach hearings, and media events (including print and television). DSO has worked with both private and public entities to mobilize the community and develop this strong foundation of support for the SES LNG terminal project.

Outreach services on this project include residential and business canvassing, outreach phone calls, recruitment activities, assistance with development of collateral material, staffing of workshops, and assistance with media activities, and collaborate with a large team of consultants and SES staff on the project. This is an on-going project.

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