N.B. moves to halt LNG terminals

The government of New Brunswick has submitted a motion to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requesting that the commission terminate its review of two liquefied natural gas terminals proposed on Passamaquoddy Bay in Washington County.

“In the interest of administrative efficiency and preserving the limited resources of the Commission, the Province, and all parties to these proceedings, the Province of New Brunswick respectfully moves to suspend the regulatory review of the December 15 applications,” the document states.

New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham submitted the document to FERC yesterday while on a trip to Washington, D.C., to discuss passport regulations, his spokesman said. The New Brunswick government has been granted intervenor status in FERC’s review, meaning FERC recognizes New Brunswick as a legal party in the proceedings.

The motion will have no immediate effect on FERC’s review of Quoddy Bay LNG in Perry and Downeast LNG in Robbinston, according to FERC spokeswoman Tamara Young-Allen. Young-Allen confirmed her office had received the motion Tuesday, but could offer no comment.

“The commission will respond in due course after the review of the record,” Young-Allen said.

The motion comes about two weeks after the Canadian government sent a letter to FERC declaring its opposition to the projects, citing concerns about the environmental and safety risks of LNG tankers passing through the marine and coastal areas of Canada’s Head Harbour Passage. The letter stated that Canada would not permit LNG tankers to pass through Head Harbour Passage.

But Graham had not previously expressed opposition to the LNG projects, saying only that he had “major concerns” about the proposed terminals. At a Feb. 22 meeting with Maine Gov. John Baldacci in New Brunswick, Graham said FERC would have the final say on the projects.

Baldacci responded late Tuesday afternoon to the premier’s apparent change of heart.

“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has a process that takes into account all the issues surrounding proposed LNG terminals, including the concerns of the Canadian government,” Baldacci said in a prepared statement. “We shouldn’t stop that process before it has a chance to look at all the information.

“I understand the premier’s position, but I’m confident that FERC will consider all the appropriate information in making its decision,” Baldacci said.

Quoddy Bay LNG project manager Brian Smith said the motion came as a surprise.

“I’m kind of flabbergasted. … This appears to be in direct contradiction to the premier’s earlier statements,” Smith said. “Either side of this issue would agree that due process is due to the developers. And circumnavigating any sort of process is not the way any development should be treated.”

Downeast LNG President Dean Girdis echoed Smith’s statements, calling the motion hypocritical and disingenuous.

“I think the citizens of Washington County, the citizens of Maine and the citizens of the United States should be very concerned by what the Canadian government is trying to do, which is to stop economic development in Washington County by dictating what sort of developments they want to occur on the U.S. side of the border,” Girdis said.

The intervenors and applicants for each project have 15 days to respond to the motion, and then New Brunswick will have an opportunity to reply, according to Young-Allen.