Maine tribe to allow LNG terminal on reservation
Maine's tiny Passamaquoddy tribe voted Tuesday to open its coastal land to a new liquefied natural gas terminal, embracing an industry that other New England communities have loudly rejected.
The vote, which passed 193 to 132, culminated a two-month lobbying effort by tribal leaders in favor of the terminal, which would receive tankers full of supercooled liquid natural gas, convert it to vapor, and feed it into the region's natural gas pipeline. Only four such facilities currently exist in the United States, although more than 25 are proposed.
Though residents of communities such as Fall River and Harpswell, Maine, have fought against similar proposals out of safety and environmental concerns, Passamaquoddy leaders consider the deal an economic boon that could bring $4 million to $20 million a year to the impoverished 1,600-member tribe.
"People see this more as an opportunity than a liability," said Craig Francis, tribal general counsel, who supports the terminal. "This is going to improve conditions in the community."
The terminal could be completed at the tribe's Pleasant Point reservation as early as 2008, according to an official for Quoddy Bay LLC, the company negotiating a deal with the tribe. The company will begin finalizing an agreement with the tribe within weeks, and it expects to apply for a permit with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by late winter. Construction of the terminal will require three years and 1,000 workers, according to Quoddy Bay, and once completed, the facility will employ 70 full-time workers. The energy company that would run the terminal has not been identified.
Opponents both on and off the reservation promised yesterday to fight the terminal, worried that it will harm the coastal environment and diminish tourism in the picturesque towns nearby. A few protesters lined the road to the reservation in Perry during Tuesday's vote, while at least one resident of nearby Eastport wore a T-shirt with an anti-LNG slogan.
Environmentalists, meanwhile, renewed their call for a regional board to coordinate LNG sites for New England, hoping to end what they call a free-for-all as energy companies scramble to find sites for terminals. There are five LNG proposals currently on the table in the region.
LNG sites "are moving forward in a rapid and haphazard manner," said Philip Warburg, president of the Conservation Law Foundation. "We need a more systematic review."
Energy specialists predict that liquefied natural gas -- shipped from gas fields in Trinidad, Africa, and the Middle East -- will become an increasingly important part of the nation's energy system, as the American energy appetite grows and as nearby supplies in Canada are exhausted. The only LNG terminal in New England is the Distrigas terminal in Everett, which receives tanker shipments about once a week under heavy Coast Guard escort.
Analysts estimate that the region needs two more large terminals or several smaller ones to support its growing demand for the fossil fuel. But LNG companies have faced difficulty in trying to win community acceptance. The Everett terminal has come under criticism because it is so close to dense neighborhoods, leading residents to worry about what would happen in a catastrophic accident or terrorist attack. Seven communities have been asked to allow the terminals, and protests have arisen in all of them. In Fall River, a terminal proposal is slowly moving through the federal approval process on private land, despite widespread local protest.
It is still too early to know how the Passamaquoddy vote might affect other LNG proposals, said energy specialists. There are also two Canadian proposals moving through the approval process, one in New Brunswick and one in Nova Scotia.
"It's a race, but the fact that someone crosses the tape first doesn't mean the other guys stop running," said Bob Ineson, director of North America natural gas for
On the reservation, the terminal has caused some dissent. One tribal member interviewed yesterday said she learned about the vote only last week, giving her too little time to weigh the pros and cons of the proposal.
Another complained that leaders shut out some of the tribe's members by restricting the vote to the several hundred members who live closest to the reservation. Tribal leaders said they limited the vote so those who would be most affected by the terminal would be voting on its siting.
"We have people in a deep grieving state," said Deanna Francis, a tribal member who is against the project. "We are determined to stop this; it does not belong in this pristine place."
Tribal members who wanted the terminal rejoiced that jobs, always hard to find in Maine's poorest county, may come to them if the facility is built. Still, both Quoddy Bay and the tribe must answer regulators' questions about a host of concerns before the proposal can be approved, such as environmental impacts and navigational issues. It is unclear whether the tribe's sovereignty will make permitting easier.
For many on the reservation and off, there is still a wait and see attitude.
"When we learn more in September, we'll poll our members," said Roland LaVallee, volunteer director of the Eastport Area Chamber of Commerce.
"Some people are running on rumors. We just haven't had time to take in the positives and negatives."
Beth Daley can be reached at bdaley@globe.com. 