FERC slates visit to proposed LNG site

ROBBINSTON – Staff members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will be in this community on Tuesday, March 28, to visit the site where Downeast LNG hopes to build a $400 million liquefied natural gas terminal.

Anyone who might like to join the FERC staff for a walk about the property should be at the parking lot of the Calais Motor Inn at 8 a.m. Bring your own vehicle as no transportation will be provided.

Although FERC staff would welcome the company, they are not interested in comments. Comments will be collected during a session that will be held at 6:30 that evening at the Robbinston Grade School.

The project is in a pre-filing stage, and no formal application has been submitted to the commission.

Ultimately the commission staff will prepare an environmental impact statement for Downeast LNG Inc. The commission will use the statement in its decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the public convenience and necessity.

The proposed facilities include an LNG import terminal and storage facility, and a natural gas send-out pipeline 31 miles long and either 20 or 24 inches in diameter.

It has been a busy few weeks for FERC.

Last week, the staff issued two notices – one for the Oklahoma-based Quoddy Bay LLC, the other for the Washington, D.C.-based Downeast LNG – of its intent to prepare impact statements for the two LNG developers planning to build plants Down East.

Quoddy Bay hopes to build a facility at Split Rock on Passamaquoddy tribal lands at Pleasant Point with adjoining storage tanks in Perry.

Downeast LNG wants to build a facility in Mill Cove in Robbinston.

FERC officials plan to prepare a statement that will address the environmental impacts of the two projects, while the U.S. Coast Guard will assess the maritime safety and security of the projects.

The comment period deadline for the Downeast LNG project is April 17. The deadline for the Quoddy Bay project is April 28.

FERC will be the lead agency on both projects in cooperation with other federal, state and local agencies.

Upon receipt of a letter of intent from the owners, the U.S. Coast Guard will conduct an analysis that will result in a letter of recommendation. Among the issues that will be addressed are: the physical location and layout of the facility and its berthing and mooring arrangements; the LNG vessels’ characteristics and the frequency of LNG shipments to the facility; commercial, industrial, environmentally sensitive and residential areas in and adjacent to the waterway used by the LNG vessels en route to the facility; and density and character of the marine traffic on the waterway.

Under its review process, the federal agency will look at several factors including impact on geology and soils; water resources; fish, wildlife and vegetation; endangered and threatened species; cultural resources; land use; socioeconomic factors; marine transportation; air quality and noise; reliability and safety; and possible alternatives to the proposed project.

Although FERC is moving forward, opponents of the project from Eastport to St. Andrews, New Brunswick, continue to file letters of objection with FERC. Opponents believe that an LNG facility will destroy the pristine Passamaquoddy Bay.

On Thursday, opponents Linda and Robert Godfrey of Eastport found two tires on their Mazda punctured and a crudely written note on their windshield that suggested they stay away from the reservation. They have turned the note over to the Eastport police, who said they had leads.