PLEASANT POINT – Proponents of a $400 million liquefied natural gas terminal on reservation land at Gleason Cove soon will have their say.

The Passamaquoddy Tribe and project developers, Quoddy Bay LLC of Tulsa, Okla., this week released the dates of four public information sessions.

The sessions will be held from Monday, Feb. 21, through Thursday, Feb. 24, in Perry, Pleasant Point, Indian Township and Eastport.

A timeline for construction of a new LNG facility also has been proposed.

According to the tribe-company Web site, necessary permits are expected to be granted by next summer and construction is expected to begin within a few months. “The facility should become operational in the summer of 2008,” the Web site said.

Last year, when the question of an LNG terminal was placed before tribal members, the majority who voted said they favored such an endeavor.

Since then, opponents on both sides of the border have held information sessions and rallies in opposition to the LNG terminal. Armed with questions, opponents plan to be at the information sessions.

“We believe the substantial economic benefits from this project far outweigh the limited risks, which have been exaggerated by vocal critics of the project,” Passamaquoddy Gov. Melvin Francis said in a release on the Web site. “The fact is, LNG facilities have an exemplary safety record in this country going back more than two decades. There have been no serious accidents, injuries or loss of life at LNG facilities in the U.S. for more than 25 years – a safety record that many of our current local industries cannot match.”

LNG is not a new energy source; it has been used in the United States for the past 60 years. The product is brought in by ships from foreign countries including Algeria, Indonesia, Libya, Oman and Tobago, to U.S. terminals where it is processed.

There are four import terminals: Cove Point, Md.; Everett, Mass.; Elba Island, Ga.; and Lake Charles, La.

The Pleasant Point facility, according to the developers, will have state-of-the-art warning and protection systems, and, while U.S. regulations require protection distances for LNG storage, the exact distances for this facility are not yet known. “The proposed LNG import facility will have no exemption from these codes and every effort will be made to ensure the safety of the facility’s environment, employees and neighbors,” the Web site said.

One concern raised by opponents of the project is the impact the terminal would have on the fishing industry. “The LNG terminal will have negligible effects on the local fishing or wildlife, and every attempt will be made to ensure the local environment will be undisturbed,” the Web site said.

And there would be economic benefits. Millions of dollars will be spent during the construction phase and, once completed, the facility would employ upwards of 70 people with an average annual salary of $80,000, the Web site added.

There also would be a financial ripple effect. “The Maine State Planning Office performed a study to measure these ripple effects for a similar proposed project early last year. The study concluded that the project would create more than 1,0000 jobs in the retail, services, wholesale and construction trades in addition to the permanent high-paying jobs at the site itself,” the Web site said.