Robbinston votes in favor of LNG terminal in town

ROBBINSTON – Voters Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a referendum question that now gives a Washington D.C.-based liquefied natural gas developer the green light to move forward with plans to build a $400 million terminal in this Washington County community.

The vote was 227-83.

Asked if he was satisfied with the vote, developer Dean Girdis of Downeast LNG said “it’s not necessarily a question of being satisfied, it’s a question of the community expressed their opinion.”

Opponents Richard and Kathy Berry, who in November presented a petition to the Board of Selectmen asking for a delay in the vote until a study of Passamaquoddy Bay was complete, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The terminal would extend into the bay and ships carrying LNG would travel through the bay’s waters.

The project would provide 300 construction jobs and 78 permanent jobs once the terminal is operating, according to the developer.

First Selectman Tommy Moholland said he viewed the vote as validation of the selectmen’s efforts. “It makes you feel like you’re representing the town. I’ve been criticized quite a bit for saying that I was for it and it makes all the hard work that me and many other residents put into this worthwhile,” he said.

Girdis said the next step will be to continue with the environmental permitting process. “As well as filing all the permits at the local, state and federal level,” he said. He said although a request had been filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, he did not know when FERC would act on it. “If they do accept it, FERC would sponsor meetings in February,” he said.

The polls opened at 1 p.m. and more than 311 of the town’s 459 registered voters cast their ballots. One ballot was declared invalid when counters discovered that both the yes and no boxes had been checked.

Voting the first hour was brisk like the weather with nearly 100 residents casting their ballots.

Robbinston resident Audrey Geagan of Mill Cove was one of the first 10 people to cast her ballot. She said although she believed the terminal would be visible from her property, she favored the proposal. “I think anything coming into this town would be an improvement for all of us,” she said.

But neighbors Bob and Bobbi Henkel were less enthusiastic. “It could really affect this town over the long run and I don’t think people realize what change is up here,” Bob Henkel said. “I don’t think it’s going to happen because I think we are too far behind the Canadians and other people in putting in these kinds of plants. This might just be an exercise.” Two terminals are in various stages of development in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

When Girdis and his partner Rob Wyatt showed up in town last year with plans to build a facility at Mill Cove near Route 1, it polarized this tiny community. They immediately kicked off an education campaign.

Now, months later, Girdis and Wyatt have kept to their goal of educating the public about their proposal. They’ve also bought copious amounts of advertising on local radio stations and in weekly newspapers.

In the past few months they’ve sweetened the pot. Just days before the election they sent out a newsletter that listed what they planned to pay for in the community including all expenses associated with maintaining and upgrading fire equipment. They said they also would pay for any additional emergency service and security protection.

And a new school may be in the town’s future. The two said they would fund construction of a new school estimated to cost around $5 million and construct an outdoor multisports recreation complex and playground. Area residents fear that the existing school may be in harm’s way if a mishap were to happen at the plant.

They said they would turn the existing school into an assisted-living facility if that was what the town wanted. They also said they would study the feasibility of providing LNG or natural gas at its wholesale Northeast market price to residents.

Not everyone liked the Girdis-Wyatt plan.

In November, the Berrys presented the town with a petition asking for a delay of the vote until a study of the bay could be conducted. More than 70 people signed the petition. They said they planned to raise $50,000 to hire Yellow Wood Associates of Vermont to do the study.

That same month, selectmen were presented with another petition signed by nearly 190 residents asking that the vote be expedited and shortly after that, a vote was scheduled. Three days after Christmas a public hearing was held.

The Mill Cove plan is one of three that has been proposed for this area. The Oklahoma-based Quoddy Bay LLC has proposed a similar venture at Pleasant Point and Calais LNG is working on a proposal to build a terminal and storage tank facility in Red Beach, south of the Calais downtown area.