HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut's attorney general proposed Thursday that a commission be formed to protect parts of Long Island Sound from development and find the best ways to meet the region's energy needs.

Richard Blumenthal announced the plan at a regional energy summit in Hauppauge, N.Y., on Long Island.

He said a joint Connecticut-New York commission should look at environmental and energy issues, following the two states' rejection earlier this year of a $700 million liquefied natural gas terminal proposed for the middle of the Sound.

Blumenthal says the commission should consider designating parts of Long Island Sound as off-limits to development, supporting new sources of renewable energy, increasing energy conservation and efficiency and backing liquefied natural gas facilities in better-suited areas off the New York or New Jersey coasts.

``The states of the Northeast, and particularly Connecticut and New York, share many important resources, and face many critical challenges,'' Blumenthal said.

``Long Island Sound is one of the most precious from every standpoint -- environmental, aesthetic, and economic,'' he said. ``It joins our two states irrevocably, provides billions of dollars in economic and other benefits, and must continue to be the focus of a shared commitment to its protection.''

Blumenthal said the commission would consist of citizens and government officials, representing businesses, environmental groups, utility regulators, consumer advocates and commercial and recreational users of the sound.

``Joining together both sides of the Sound, this commission can work to develop a regional consensus about environmental protection, energy needs, and ways and means to meet all concerns,'' Blumenthal said.

The proposed commission would not replace current state and federal licensing and environmental authorities, but could help provide long-term planning, Blumenthal said.


     (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)