Today’s Providence Journal has an opinion piece by Working Waterfront Alliance member Julie Gill of the Oil Heat Institute of Rhode Island. Julie’s piece points out the danger to the region’s energy supply if we continue to lose oil storage capacity in the Port of Providence.

Because of the city’s “Providence Tomorrow” plan, we are in danger of losing Sprague Energy, a company that has been a dependable supplier of energy and other products in the state for more than 100 years. We stand to lose more than 20 million gallons of storage capacity — storage we cannot afford to lose. The petroleum industry comprehends the seriousness of this situation.

Why is it that, in Providence, some elected officials want to forge ahead with the “Providence Tomorrow” plan without weighing the consequences? Who will bear responsibility if our storage supply — the lifeblood of our state and indeed of all of southeastern New England — isn’t adequate?