BREWER – Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, which ships natural gas through Maine to Massachusetts, is hoping to triple its capacity with a new pipeline and is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fill in approximately 1 acre of wetlands.

The proposed gas pipeline would include construction of five new compressor stations, including one in Brewer, which is where 0.73 acres of the project’s unavoidable waterway impacts would occur.

The Army Corps is accepting comments on Maritimes & Northeast’s proposal until Jan. 19.

To offset the impact to the wetlands, Maritimes & Northeast is proposing off-site compensation.

“This work includes the preservation of approximately 81 acres of mixed upland and wetland off Wilson Street and adjacent to Felts Brook in Brewer,” a press release from the Army Corps states. “The applicant is proposing these measures seeking to lessen the project’s impact on aquatic resources.”

Another 7.16 acres of wetlands will be temporarily disturbed during the construction, but will be restored upon completion of the work, the press release states.

Maritimes & Northeast is installing 1.7 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline loop adjacent to Maritimes & Northeast’s existing right of way from the Canadian border to Baileyville in Washington County.

The $250 million expansion project, referred to as the Maritimes Phase VI Project, would triple the capacity of the company’s 850-mile pipeline system built in the late 1990s.

The existing Maritimes & Northeast pipeline ranges from 24 to 30 inches in diameter and it runs from Sable Island, Nova Scotia, to Baileyville and on through New Hampshire before connecting to a network of natural gas pipes in Massachusetts.

The Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline also has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to expand and to connect with markets in the Northeast, including possible future LNG facilities.

If FERC approves the application, construction could begin in 2007.

Maritimes is owned by affiliates of Duke Energy Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., and Emera Inc. Duke Energy, through its subsidiary M&N Management Co., will oversee the development and operation of the Maritimes pipeline.

More information about the proposed pipeline can be found on the company’s Web site at www.mnp-usa.com.

Public comments on the Maritimes & Northeast’s permit request must reference the request number, File NAE-2005-1618, and must be mailed by Jan. 19 to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Maine Project Office (ATTN: Jay Clement), 675 Western Ave., No. 3, Manchester, ME 04351.

After receipt of all comments, the Corps will obtain any additional information from the applicant and determine whether the proposed measures make sense and would mitigate the project’s unavoidable impact.

The public notice is available at the Army Corps’ Web site at www.nae.usace.army.mil by selecting “regulatory/permitting” and then “weekly public notices.”

Additional information is available from Jay Clement, Army Corps permit project manager for New England District, at 623-8367.