Canada town against LNG St. Andrews opponents unite

ST. ANDREWS, New Brunswick – American liquefied natural gas developers may need to spend more time courting their Canadian neighbors if they hope to site LNG terminals in Washington County.

Some Canadians are adamantly opposed to having LNG supertankers sailing through their waters.

And what waters. Situated on Passamaquoddy Bay, St. Andrews is home to several prominent Canadians.

While fishing communities in Washington County are dotted with lobster boats, St. Andrews Harbor has yachts – and lots of them – bouncing on the waves next to its fishing fleet.

Visitors to this small community are drawn from the Who’s Who of the world.

Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana visited here on several occasions. The Prince of Jordan and his wife spent several days here a few years ago.

Million-dollar homes are not unusual, and, of course, they face the bay.

So it was no surprise Monday night when the St. Andrews Town Council said it didn’t want an LNG facility in its backyard.

“We’ve decided as a town we have to work together with other communities to stop supertankers from going through Head Harbour Passage,” Mayor John Craig said. “It’s dangerous, and it could mean the end of life as we know it.”

So far two developers have put their cards on the table. Oklahoma-based Quoddy Bay LLC earlier this year entered into a lease agreement with the Passamaquoddy Tribe to site an LNG terminal at Split Rock in Pleasant Point, with the possible addition of an 8-mile underwater pipeline running to a storage tank farm in Robbinston.

Just recently, Washington, D.C.-based Downeast LNG announced plans to build a terminal and storage tank facility at Mill Cove in Robbinston.

Both projects have received mixed reviews in Washington County.

Although they said they are opposed to any and all LNG proposals, the St. Andrews town councilors, after some debate, agreed to host a meeting for the public with representatives of Downeast LNG at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22, at the W.C. O’Neill arena.

Invitations will go out to communities on both sides of the border. “This will give people the opportunity to ask questions about the LNG project,” the mayor said.

Meanwhile, town officials are going to be busy. They are exploring the possibility of hiring attorneys to do battle with the developers.

They also plan to ask their federal government to deny the transportation of LNG supertankers through Head Harbour Passage at neighboring Campobello Island, past East Quoddy Bay Lighthouse. The tankers would have to travel through Canadian waters on their way to the terminals.

The council also met with representatives of their various federal political offices on Monday night.

Craig read a letter from Member of Parliament Greg Thompson.

“I have written to the prime minister and all relevant cabinet ministers outlining the reasons LNG terminals should not be allowed to travel through Head Harbour Passage,” Thompson said in his letter.

Thompson then listed what he said would be the risks: to the environment, to Canadian citizens, and to the area’s traditional industries – fisheries, tourism and aquaculture. He also said the facilities might invite the risk of terrorism.

Thompson noted that the Canadian government published studies in 1974, 1976 and 1979 and issued an official statement in 1982 in which it said no to the transportation of oil tankers through Head Harbour Passage.

“The danger was clear then and it is clear today as we talk about the shipping of even more dangerous goods,” he said. “I agree that the Canadian government must take affirmative action now.”

The council also met with Art MacKay, executive director of the St. Croix Estuary Project. MacKay announced that LNG opponents are opening an office in the Adventure Centre cluster at the head of the wharf in St. Andrews.

MacKay said the office would become the “hub” and the central repository for all those groups opposed to LNG terminals in Passamaquoddy Bay.

“We now have a momentum going which works to our advantage,” MacKay said.