Massachusetts and fishermen there have reached a $23 million settlement with an LNG company attempting to site a terminal off the coast. The money is to compensate the fishermen for loss of livelihood and gear or to compensate them for giving up their fishing permits. With two different LNG terminals being permitted in Passamaquoddy Bay, we have read nothing about a pay out to our area fishermen, let alone what the environmental impact will be over 20 to 30 years.

I realize Robbinston only has a handful of fishermen plying the bay for their livelihood and Downeast LNG has contacted some fishermen individually about compensation for the loss of fishing, but a solid commitment to these fishermen has never been followed up. Our few fishermen are only a fraction of the people fishing Robbinston waters.

Only eight miles away is another LNG project attempting to gain permits. These two terminals will affect a large area of good fishing ground involving individuals from all over the area. I don’t recall hearing these LNG firms offering any pay out either.

The local Washington County LNG developers have stated their ships in transit and terminal will not affect fishing in the bay or the environment. Fishing would go on as always with very little interruption, therefore compensation for fishing would be very minimal.

It seems that Massachusetts and its fishermen believe there will be definite damage not only to lobsters and fishing but also to the ocean environment and marine life. They negotiated $23 million in total funds to cover a 20-year life of just one terminal. The site in question is 13 miles offshore, not even involved in local shipping or inshore fishing.

Our developers are pushing two sites in tiny Passamaquoddy Bay. LNG tankers will be passing in and out of the bay on a daily basis. The LNG cargo vessels are expected to be at least 1,700 feet in length and at least 250 feet wide.

There will be four or five ocean-going diesel tugs involved in moving each LNG tanker in and out of the bay and up to Perry and Robbinston. These LNG tankers draft 55 feet when loaded and the terminal pier for Robbinston is stuck out into the bay 4,300 feet.

How will the fishermen, let alone tour boats, be able to work around this situation. What will the impact be on the lobster, crab and marine industry after 20 to 30 years of this type of development?

LNG tankers in this situation are being forced on our Canadian neighbors. The fishing communities on the other side of the border have absolutely no leverage in gaining any compensation for their losses. The impact of the LNG ships is more far-reaching. Because of the area involved in the transit through Canadian waters, the livelihoods of the approximately 17,000 people are affected on the Canadian side. Not only a thriving fishery, the islands have established a healthy tourist industry. Both would most definitely be affected by the daily tanker traffic through their waters.

Dean Girdis of Downeast LNG has tried to compare the LNG tankers to the passage of cargo vessels docking at Bayside, N.B., to fill up with gravel and stone. These vessels are approximately 280 feet long and most times do not use the Head Harbor passage for transit.

There is a big difference between these vessels and what the LNG developers are proposing. The LNG tankers have to be turned 90 degrees at the entrance to the Head Harbor passage, pass through the narrows and past Deer Isle, then turned 90 degrees in front of Eastport to head up river.

This route is in Canadian waters and involves all these small fishing towns. What will the effect be on the entire estuary? Why is the state of Maine not looking at the big picture here in Washington County? Our representatives on all levels seem to be nonexistent. Shouldn’t our state take some notice of what is conspiring here in Washington County and Passamaquoddy Bay? Where is the support from Augusta for our fishermen and the environmental impact on the whole bay over the next 30 years?

The Passamaquoddy Tribe has already entered into a contract with the Split Rock developers for $15 million to $17 million in royalties per year. The proposed contract for the town of Robbinston, dated December 2005 with Downeast LNG, is asking for $1,200,000 annually with a percentage of town taxes paid, and a list of miscellaneous extras. Both LNG projects when operational will make billions in profits for the oil and utility companies per year. I see no mention of compensation for any fisherman’s loss of income, loss of gear or decline in fishery stocks.

Perhaps it is time for these two host towns to realize the lasting impact and what the magnitude of these projects mean to the lives of all the people in the bay, not just for the 500 people in Robbinston or the struggling Passamaquoddy Tribe. I realize that there will be the potential of jobs on the tugs for some U.S. fishermen, but what about the people who have made a living on the bay for generations? What about a way of life?

These developers need to be held accountable for the future of this bay. With or without help from the state government, the towns chosen as sites for LNG need to take the responsibility that appropriate compensation is made by the LNG companies for the jobs that will be lost in the bay on both sides of the border. Please wake up people; this really is the big picture.

Mark Wren lives in Robbinston.