Quoddy Bay LNG inks deal with tribe

PLEASANT POINT – The Passamaquoddy Tribe signed a contract Thursday to sell a 308-acre parcel of land to liquefied natural gas terminal developer Quoddy Bay LNG for $1.5 million.

The signing was a follow-up to a voting process in March at the Indian Township reservation near Princeton and at the Pleasant Point reservation. Both votes approved the sale, with a 120-54 vote at Indian Township, and a 137-72 vote at Pleasant Point.

The land is west of Quoddy Bay LNG’s proposed tank site in Perry, and may be used during the construction and early operation of the proposed LNG facility in Washington County. Quoddy Bay LNG wrote in a prepared statement that it doesn’t expect to locate any major equipment on the land.

“We may not even utilize the land, and even if we do there will be no long-term impact to it,” said Smith. “No matter what, the tribe still gets the money from the purchase, but more importantly we will sell it back to the tribe in the same or better condition for $1 when we remove the facility.”

Plans call for Oklahoma-based Quoddy Bay LNG to build a multimillion-dollar LNG facility at Split Rock on tribal land. An underwater pipe across Half Moon Cove near Route 190 would connect the pier at Pleasant Point with a tank farm in nearby Perry.

The parcel of land will be sold to Quoddy Bay LNG if its project receives approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the state Board of Environmental Protection.