Opponents of LNG proposal fear potential loss of habitat

CALAIS – Biologists expressed concern Wednesday about how massive tanker ships and a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal could affect lobster, endangered whales, Atlantic salmon and other wildlife in Passamaquoddy Bay.

During more than nine hours of testimony to state regulators, several panels of researchers and biologists detailed potential habitat loss, disrupted migration routes, and other environmental problems if Downeast LNG is permitted to build a liquefied natural gas facility in the Mill Cove area of South Robbinston.

This was the Board of Environmental Protection’s third straight day of marathon hearings on the Downeast LNG’s proposal for a terminal, storage facility and pipelines in the area south of Calais.

Downeast LNG, which is also seeking federal permits for the project, presented its formal case to the BEP during meetings Monday and Tuesday. The majority of citizens who spoke at a public hearing in Robbinston Tuesday night also supported the project, largely on economic grounds.

But Wednesday was a chance for a group of formal opponents, organized under the moniker “Save Passamaquoddy Bay,” to lay out their environmental case against the proposal.

The board heard several hours of testimony and cross-examination on the LNG facility’s potential impact on lobster and the commercial fishermen who make a living off the iconic Maine crustacean.

Robert Steneck, a University of Maine researcher who has spent decades studying lobster, said one of the world’s largest concentrations of mature, reproducing female lobsters is just 20 miles from Robbinston.

Steneck said that, due to ocean currents, offspring from these larger, older females spread out throughout the Maine coast. He argued that these clusters of females are likely critical to Maine’s lobster fleet, which has become the backbone of the state’s fishing industry.

He stated that the Robbinston LNG site could host similar clusters of large, reproducing females also key to Maine’s overall lobster population. But without additional surveying – and he recommended a 2-year study – Steneck said he would not feel comfortable moving forward with the project.

“The burden of proof has to be on the applicant in showing that this activity would have no effect rather than assuming it will have no effect,” Steneck said.

Researchers also testified that the facility could have more dramatic – and long-lasting – impacts on other endangered species.

Frederick Whoriskey, vice president of research and environment for the Atlantic Salmon Federation, suggested that intense lighting on and around the terminal pier could disorient juvenile salmon headed to the ocean for the first time or it could make them easier prey.

Biologists with the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission, while not taking a stand on the overall project, have also cited concerns about the project’s impacts on local populations of salmon protected by the Endangered Species Act.

But Downeast LNG attorney Matt Manahan questioned the impact lights from the pier could have on salmon, adding that the pier will not be brightly lit most nights. Under cross-examination, Whoriskey said ASF has not documented juvenile salmon in Mill Cove.

Canadian researcher Heike Lotze, meanwhile, predicted that the tanker traffic and facility could have far-reaching impacts on a number of other rare or threatened species, including the humpback and right whale.

Right whales, in particular, are prone to deadly ship strikes because of their slow speed and habit of sleeping at the water’s surface. Researchers believe there are only about 350 North Atlantic right whales left.

Lotze, who is the research chairwoman of marine renewable resources at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, described Passamaquoddy Bay as a “hot spot of species abundance and diversity” for the entire North Atlantic.

Powerful currents and dramatic tides create upwelling in the water column, providing food to countless species, she said. Additionally, Passamaquoddy Bay stood out in her research as one area largely untouched by development.

Taking LNG tankers, measuring up to 900 feet in length, through Head Harbor Passage will only increase stress on these animals in an area critical to feeding, breeding and raising young.

“A lot of the species we are talking about here, they depend especially on the Quoddy region for survival,” Lotze told the board.

Biologists with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the state Department of Environmental Protection also discussed concerns about the facility’s location near feeding and roosting areas for fragile migratory shorebirds. Both departments continue to work with Downeast LNG to address their concerns.

Save Passamaquoddy Bay will continue its case against the LNG project today, focusing on potential impacts on commercial fishing, Native American tribes and safety.

The BEP will also hear comments from the general public during a hearing scheduled for 6:30 tonight at Calais High School. The board is not expected to make a decision on the application until later this year.