Gas terminal project needs Harpswell OK

HARPSWELL – A plan to develop a $350 million liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline at a former Navy fuel depot has hit a snag and may be abandoned, a spokesman for the project says.

Peter Micciche said the Fairwinds venture may be dropped unless the town holds a timely vote to lease land at the site to project backers.

“We are in a race to provide energy to folks in Maine and New England,” Micciche said. “The difference here could be a matter of hours. We may not have weeks or months.”

Harpswell selectmen canceled a vote that had been set for Jan. 27, citing disagreement on terms of the lease and accusations that the company tried to slip something past the town.

Micciche said time is a key factor because seven other LNG projects are in the works on the East Coast.

Selectmen, however, say they cannot negotiate a fair deal for their constituents if their backs are against the wall.

“In looking at that lease we found some things that were very troubling,” Selectman Gordon Weil said, citing a provision in which Fairwinds changed language regarding an environmental impact study. “In my view it was clearly an attempt to slip something past us.”

Micciche expressed confidence that the sides can iron out their differences and reach a final agreement.

“Harpswell is our primary site. This is where we want to be,” Micciche said. “We don’t have another project office up the road. But we need an answer and we need it as soon as possible.”

Fair Play for Harpswell, a citizens’ group opposed to the LNG project, has called on Fairwinds to withdraw.