Suffolk County Legislative Majority Leader Jon Cooper (D-Huntington) was a special invited guest at an event on the boardwalk here, where New York State Governor David A. Paterson made public his decision to direct state agencies under his charge to deny Broadwater the permits necessary to place a liquefied natural gas barge in the middle of the Long Island Sound. Cooper hailed Paterson's announcement as a positive early omen for the future of his administration.

"I cannot commend Governor Paterson strongly enough for today's decision," said Cooper. "Lesser elected officials would have abdicated their responsibility to the public by hedging on this all-important issue. If this is how decisive the Governor is out of the box, I can't wait until he really hits his stride."

Paterson's decision effectively sinks the proposal for the 1,200-foot-long, floating liquefied natural gas processing plant, unless Shell and TransCanada can successfully appeal the state's decision to the U.S. Department of Commerce or the courts.

From the beginning, Cooper had been skeptical as to how much, if any, energy cost savings Long Islanders would derive from the barge. He was even more dubious about Shell/TransCanada's claims that the terminal would pose no security, health or environmental risks to the Long Island Sound's fragile ecosystem.

"Since day one, Shell and TransCanada have been less than honest with the people of Long Island about the relative benefits and risks of their proposal," said Cooper.

Cooper, a long-time advocate of finding out-of-the-box solutions to Long Island's energy crisis, also applauded Paterson's establishment of a state energy planning panel to help promote energy conservation and alternative energy initiatives.

"For the better part of a decade, I have been advocating a renewable energy revolution on Long Island," said Cooper. "Our long-term economic sustainability is tied hand in hand with our environmental viability."

Since authoring legislation that made Suffolk County the first governmental body to formally oppose the LNG barge in 2005, Cooper has been a leading figure in the fight to block Broadwater. Working with environmentalists and community activists of all stripes, Cooper helped keep the pressure on state and federal officials through the numerous hearings, public comment periods and various governmental reviews.

"This is a momentous day in the fight to preserve the environmental viability of Long Island," Cooper said. "When future generations look back on this chapter of our history, they will see it in the same light as our efforts to preserve the Pine Barrens and shut down the Shoreham nuclear power plant. Today all Long Islanders can feel good about the environmental legacy we are leaving our children and grandchildren."