Sears Island future debated Friends group seeks to block LNG plans

BELFAST – A fledgling Friends of Sears Island group on Sunday began organizing a response to a liquefied natural gas terminal proposed for the 941-acre island in Searsport.

One of the options the group is considering is a citizen initiative for a statewide referendum on permanently preserving the island.

Late last year, the state Department of Economic and Community Development revealed that a private firm was exploring the possibility of building a LNG terminal on the island.

LNG is in increasing demand in the United States as a clean alternative fuel for power plants and other industrial uses. The fossil fuel is extracted in West African nations, cooled to liquid form, and then transported in tanker ships to terminals where it is reconverted to gas and introduced to a pipeline network.

An LNG terminal is being proposed for Harpswell; a town vote later this year will determine whether the project goes forward.

Some observers believe that if the Harpswell project succeeds, the as-yet-unnamed company interested in Sears Island would not proceed. State officials, however, have said they would be pleased to see both terminals built.

The state Department of Transportation holds title to Sears Island. The state purchased the property after Gov. Angus King dropped the bid to site a dry cargo port there in 1998.

At the time, DOT officials said they wanted to retain the island for future transportation needs.

About 30 people turned out for a meeting at the Belfast Free Library Sunday afternoon, the second meeting of an informal group calling itself – for now – the Friends of Sears Island. Those attending hailed from Verona, Searsport, Belfast, South Thomaston, North Haven and Islesboro.

Susan Lauchlan of Belfast said she had discussed the status of the island’s ownership with Brian Nutter of DOT, and learned that the state had reimbursed the federal government the funds it used to buy the island.

“There’s no strings attached” to ownership, she said.

Searsport residents Ben Crimando and Richard Desmarais reported that town selectmen want the island to be included in a midcoast regional application for designation as a Pine Tree Zone. Such designation would bring tax breaks to businesses operating on certain properties.

Desmarais said that while an early draft of the town’s comprehensive plan showed the island in a recreation category, it was unlikely that residents in Searsport would approve of permanently designating the island as a preserve.

In order to get a referendum on the statewide ballot in a future election, the group needs to get the Attorney General’s Office to approve the language that would appear on the ballot. The deadline for that approval is Feb. 4.

After that approval, more than 50,000 signatures would have to be gathered by December to force the vote at the next general election.

The Friends group also agreed to:

. Investigate the nature of DOT’s title.

. Learn whether the Legislature would have to approve the island’s use by a private business.

. Explore alternative, low-impact uses of the island such as ecotourism that would help the local economy.

. To engage in a dialogue with Searsport residents about blocking industrial uses of the island. The Searsport residents attending agreed that most in town now support the LNG proposal.

Many of those present at the meeting, such as Jim Freeman of Verona, Steve Miller of Islesboro and Richard Stander of Stockton Springs, are veterans of the battle against the proposed cargo port. Several expressed their lack of respect for DOT’s good faith in discussing its plans.

“The fact that the DOT is the lead agency on this scares the hell out of me,” Crimando said.

Miller said the time was right to move on trying to preserve the island in its current, largely undeveloped state.

“Our focus right now needs to be on the permanent protection of the island,” agreed Nancy Galland of Stockton Springs.