BANGOR – Six members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point said they will file a federal lawsuit involving liquefied natural gas development issues today against the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior at U.S. District Court in Bangor.

The news was announced Tuesday evening by the group Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon (We Protect Our Homeland). The Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon members, whose names were not released, form the Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point affiliate of Save Passamaquoddy Bay, an alliance of those in Washington County and New Brunswick who oppose LNG development within Washington County.

The lawsuit is focused on the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of Interior’s June 1, 2005, approval of a “ground lease” to the Quoddy Bay LLC to allow construction of an LNG terminal at Split Rock on the Pleasant Point reservation.

A more complete announcement will be released today at 11 a.m., after the group’s complaint is filed. Tribal members also will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, at Split Rock.

The siting of LNG facilities within coastal Washington County has become a divisive issue in the last 18 months among those who live locally. Passamaquoddy leaders announced in June 2004 they were partnering with Quoddy Bay LLC, a development group out of Oklahoma, to put an LNG terminal on tribal land.

The proposal has split tribal members, friends and neighbors. Some seek the jobs and the money that such a development would bring; others believe the heavy industry would negatively affect the quality of life around the Passamaquoddy Bay.

Save Passamaquoddy Bay was formed in opposition to the arrival of Quoddy Bay principals and their partnership with Passamaquoddy leaders.

Since Quoddy Bay and the Passamaquoddy began their work together, two other development teams are also eyeing towns just up the coast from Pleasant Point – Perry, Robbinston and Calais – for separate, additional LNG projects.

For the projects – in the $400 million to $500 million range – to be built, permission must come from Washington, D.C., and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

A FERC official told an audience in Robbinston last month that if all three developers present applications that meet all the federal safety standards, all three LNG plants could be built within an 8-mile range of one another.

The announcement of the suit was embargoed until 6 a.m. today but the Bangor Daily News was given permission to publish limited details.