After the Vote

Now that the majority of voters on the Passamaquoddy reservation at Pleasant Point have approved a proposal to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on their land, the real work begins. The small community in Washington County is the first in the state to welcome such a facility. However, that welcome is far from unanimous and has yet to extend to the communities surrounding the reservation.

The project, which must undergo feasibility studies and years of regulatory review, is far from a sure thing. However, if its backers want to increase its chances of success, they must immediately step up the work of assuaging the fears of their opponents. Naturally, they will not win over everyone who opposes LNG, but explaining to the broader public the benefits of the project and the measure that will be put in place to minimize risks will win some converts. Those who object to the project also have an obligation to be open to learning more about it and, maybe, finding out that it was not as dangerous or unpleasant as they thought.

Backers need to do a better job of answering questions as to the ease of transporting tankers through the bay’s large tides. Absent this, there are many good reasons to be in favor of an LNG terminal – it will bring jobs with decent wages to an area of the state that desperately needs them while also increasing the supply of a cleaner-burning source of energy. There are also good reasons to be opposed – the 42-acre facility will alter a portion of the reservation’s environment and will likely displace some clamming and sweet grass gathering.

These downsides, however, can be mitigated. Tribal officials, for example, have already secured assurances from the company that it will help to cultivate a bigger sweet- grass field, said tribal Rep. Fred Moore. Company officials should also broadly share their plans for building a terminal and directing ship traffic in ways that will minimize environmental and terrorism risks. Such plans are required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has ultimate approval authority over the $300 million terminal.

Other benefits are to be negotiated, but tribal officials should ensure their reservations and neighboring communities get as much benefit as they can from the deal. For example, Quoddy Bay LLC, the Tulsa, Okla., company behind the project, has promised discounted prices for natural gas for local communities. Tribal Rep. Moore has said that natural gas could be used by reservation residents for cooking and heating, which he says could save the community of 650 people $1 million a year in utility costs. There is also the prospect that the reservation could generate its own electricity from the gas. Since natural gas is cleaner burning than oil and coal so using it to generate electricity would reduce pollution locally and regionally.

Because terminals in Atlantic Canada have already received provincial government approval and others on the East Coast are also moving forward, the Passamaquoddy facility may never be built. In the event it is, laying the proper groundwork now should minimize future conflicts.