Group calls on BEP to reject Downeast LNG's application -- The Quoddy Tides, Eastport, Maine

A group of concerned residents on April 10 called on the Maine Board of Environmental Protection to reject an application filed by Downeast LNG to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Robbinston. In filing a motion for denial with the board, the residents say that, in its race to capture a portion of the highly competitive natural gas market, Downeast LNG has failed to meet the basic requirements put forth by state regulators. Those thresholds exist to avoid "wasting time and scarce public resources in reviewing applications designed merely to gain speculative marketplace advantage," the residents note.

The motion was filed by attorneys Ronald Shems, Rebecca Boucher and Ronald Kreisman on behalf of Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtahkomikumon (We Take Care of Our Land); Save Passamaquoddy Bay; Fundy North Fishermen's Association; and Fundy Weir Fishermen's Association. The motion would not preclude Downeast LNG from refiling a future application.

Downeast LNG is one of more than 17 U.S. competitors vying for limited development licenses to establish LNG import terminals along the East Coast.

In its filing, the group calls on the board to reject Downeast LNG's application based on: Downeast LNG's failure to show that any financial entity has committed to funding the construction, operation or maintenance if the permits were to be obtained; the Canadian government's recent decision to prohibit LNG tankers from passing through Head Harbour Passage, which would be Downeast LNG's sole supply route for natural gas; the improbability that Downeast LNG's proposal could be constructed in the time period required by state regulations, which call for permit holders to begin construction within two years and complete it within five years.