Politics & Government

City Council Votes to Appeal Sea-3 Project

City councilors unanimously supported the motion to take legal action.

The Portsmouth City Council has voted to appeal Newington's approval of a Sea-3 project to reconfigure its terminal to accommodate Liquefied Petroleum Gas shipments via rail.

Assistant Mayor Jim Splaine made the motion and the council unanimously supported the vote to appeal.

The move to pursue legal action was met with applause by those in the audience in council chambers.

Portsmouth city councilors signaled they were intent on fighting the Newington Planning Board's action. They directed staff, two weeks ago, to start building a framework for potential legal action.

Sea-3's site plan calls for reconfiguring its terminal at Shattuck Way in Newington to accommodate LPG shipments by rail, in addition to existing shipments by vessels and by truck.

Residents have urged Portsmouth to protect the community on public safety and environmental grounds. Larry Drake was among those asking councilors to act.

"I just think it's a terrible idea," Drake said. "I don't know what the people of Newington were thinking."

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