No LNG in St. Andrews

I would like to comment on recent remarks aimed at Canadians over liquefied natural gas proposals in Passamaquoddy Bay. According to Councilor Billy Delmonaco Jr of Calais and Fred Moore III of Pleasant Point, residents of St Andrews are living off the fat of the land with nothing better to do than hinder the economic progress of Washington County.

Many communities in Maine have already resisted the development of LNG terminals in their neighborhoods. And from the meetings I have attended, it is all too apparent that Moore’s and Delmonaco’s views do not have the local backing they would like us to believe they do.

LNG is a dangerous substance. Not only is shipping it into Washington County a threat to Passamaquoddy Bay, one of the world’s most precious ecological sites, but the proposed terminals along the St Croix River would require a high level of security. And this element alone creates a type of pollution that has proved difficult to live with in other locations. And that is not taking into consideration the restrictions that will be imposed on every person residing in both countries along the only possible tanker route through the narrow waters of Head Harbor Passage.

Canadians are not about to deny Americans the right to LNG. In fact, Canada provides more energy to the United States than Saudi Arabia. In the foreseeable future, no leader of either country is about to get bogged down by petty retaliation over how energy is transferred between our two nations. But there is no point in having access to affordable fuel if our joint environment becomes untenable in the process.

It should also be noted that if the publicity material that has been released on the Web sites of LNG developers is to be credited, the sum of these projects would create only a few hundred jobs that would be to the detriment of the thousands of jobs that already exist on both sides of the border in the aquaculture, fishing, boating and tourism industries.

The economy in St Andrews depends largely on tourism. Those involved in this industry have only 100 days each season to make a living. A situation, I am sure, the residents of Camden and Bar Harbor can easily identify with. It is no wonder the possibility of a vast, dangerous and highly visible industry being sited almost in the middle of our harbor has filled residents with fear for their very survival.

Despite what Delmonaco and Moore would have you believe, St. Andrews is not a wealthy community, but I concur it is a rich one. It is rich in land, sea and air; rich beyond compare in an environment that doesn’t belong to just us alone. Passamaquoddy Bay benefits both sides of the border and it is up to all of us to see that it is preserved not only for us but for our children and their children to come.

Mary Louise Kane lives in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.