13 intervenors named in Downeast LNG case

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AUGUSTA – State environmental regulators on Thursday granted 13 parties intervenor status in the pending application to build a liquefied natural gas facility in Robbinston.

Designation as an intervenor will give the groups or individuals the right to offer testimony and present evidence as well as cross-examine other parties during the state Board of Environmental Protection’s review of Downeast LNG’s application.

Downeast LNG hopes to build an onshore import terminal and storage facility in Mill Cove in Robbinston capable of supplying up to 625 million cubic feet of natural gas a day to the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline.

Members of the BEP granted intervenor status to the following entities:

. Town of Robbinston

. City of Eastport

. Professional Manners and Waterway Users of the Passamaquoddy Bay Region

. Town of Robbinston residents

. Eastport Port Authority

. Save Passamaquoddy Bay and individual members

. We Take Care of Our Land and individual members

. Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission

. New Brunswick Fishermen’s Associations

. Harris Point Shore Cabins and Motel

. Bear Creek Investments

. Quoddy Bay LNG

. North East Energy Development Co.

The two latter groups are actually competitors with Downeast LNG in the race to receive state and federal regulatory approval for gas facilities in or near Passamaquoddy Bay.

Quoddy Bay LNG has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build a facility at Split Rock on the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation. Quoddy Bay, which is still working on its state paperwork, hopes to build a facility capable of carrying up to 2 billion cubic feet of gas daily.

North East Energy Development, which wants to build an LNG facility in Calais, has yet to file with either the state or FERC.

Rob Wyatt, a spokesman for Downeast LNG, said Thursday that he expected more intervenors on the application. But he said the list approved by the board represented a wide spectrum of interests on the projects.

With most of its initial paperwork on file with both state and federal regulators, the company will now largely be responding to requests for more data, he said.

“I think for right now the federal review and the state’s review are pretty much hand in hand, which is nice,” Wyatt said.

Downeast’s and Quoddy Bay’s proposals have generated intense debate in the border community about whether Passamaquoddy Bay is a suitable location for an LNG operation.

Critics claim the shipping corridor is too narrow and treacherous for the mammoth tankers.

Some local residents and organizations have suggested that the tankers could harm populations of endangered Atlantic right whales, discourage tourism and hurt commercial fishermen.

Supporters view the facilities as a potential source of well-paying jobs as well as safe, cleaner-burning natural gas for the New England market.

In recent weeks, Canadian officials have stepped up their opposition to the two leading Maine projects.

The Canadian government has sent letters to FERC expressing concerns about the environmental impact and safety of the projects. And earlier this week, the New Brunswick asked FERC to terminate its review of the two applications.

The New Brunswick government also has sought intervenor status in the FERC review process.