News Articles
about
Passamaquoddy Bay & LNG

2007 June

Quoddy Bay LNG, selectmen debate payment of legal fees — Quoddy Tides, Eastport, ME

"…The bill in question is in the amount of $2,304.09 and was submitted by Erik Stumpfel of Eaton Peabody, attorney representing the Town of Perry during that recount." Smith said, "The bill does not necessarily fall within the scope of that agreement, as it involved internal town affairs. However, in consideration of the fact that this issue came about as a result of the vote on the Financial Framework Agreement, Quoddy Bay has determined that it would be appropriate to reimburse the town for this additional expense, regardless of the fact that Quoddy Bay is not obligated to do so." (Jun 8)

LNG testimony looks at risks, fishery impact — Quoddy Tides, Eastport, ME

Lars Lund, a retired master mariner who lives in Seelye's Cove, N.B., stated that taking the calculated risk of bringing the LNG tankers into Passamaquoddy Bay "is pushing the envelope beyond good sense." (Jun 8)

Quoddy Bay plans new vaporization process — Quoddy Tides, Eastport, ME

"This technology will result in the Quoddy Bay facility being the most advanced and environmentally friendly onshore LNG import facility in the world," said Donald M. Smith, president of Quoddy Bay LNG. (Jun 8)

Webmaster's Comments: And yet, Mustang Engineering has a process — Air Vaporization (PDF download) — that uses ambient air to warm up LNG.

Quoddy Bay LNG to hold second meeting — Quoddy Tides, Eastport, ME

An earlier public meeting was held on May 23 in Perry, but letters of complaint were sent to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) stating that Quoddy Bay LNG's notice of the meeting was inadequate. A small ad was placed in the daily newspaper but not in any newspapers in the immediate area of the proposed LNG project. Information concerning the May 23 meeting was mostly by word of mouth. A survey of landowners that would have the pipeline on their property also showed that notice was not sent to property owners who would be impacted by the pipeline construction. According to DEP rules, the processing of applications requires permit applicants to provide adequate public notice of their intent to submit an application to the DEP. The Sunday, June 10, meeting is to satisfy the notice requirements. (Jun 8)

Cruising troubled waters — Telegraph-Journal, Saint John, NB

Charlotte County environmentalist Janice Harvey, who has taken a leading role in opposing the LNG terminals, said the simulation study may have shown safe passage through the channel is "possible - but it's another thing to say it's prudent."

Master mariners who've captained tankers have told her group that in an area as unpredictable as Head Harbour Passage, only the quick responses and instincts of a captain can keep the ship safe - but that there's no margin of error.

"Nobody has said it's not possible to take ships through - it's taking them through regularly and always in the absence of human error that we worry about," said Harvey.

Webmaster's Comments: The LNG industry, itself — through its best practices-arm, SIGTTO — advises against siting LNG terminals subjected to the numerous hazardous conditions in Passamaquoddy Bay. Human error is always a possibility.

SIGTTO states, "The recommended site selection process removes as many risks as possible by placing LNG terminals in sheltered locations remote from other port users…where other ships do not pose a (collision) risk and where any gas excape cannot affect local populations."¹ [Bold emphasis added.]

SIGTTO lists the following General Requirement for LNG Carriers: "Short approach channels are prefereable to long inshore routes which carry more numerous hazards."² [Bold emphasis added.]

Despite simulations and pilots' skills, the hazards in the long, winding, passage into Passamaquoddy Bay remain, just waiting for someone to make a mistake. Why take that unnecessary risk? It makes more sense to site LNG terminals in short-approach locations that have few hazards. Offshore fits that scenario.

---

"Site Selection and Design for LNG Ports and Jetties," Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators Ltd, Wales, UK, 2004, §6.2, p 6.

Ib., Appendix, p 23.

LNG on the ropes — The Herald News, Fall River, MA

FALL RIVER — Citing Coast Guard concerns on the safety of the waterways to a potential liquefied natural gas import terminal at Weaver's Cove, the state Department of Environmental Protection has halted its permitting process. (Jun 5)

Challenges to LNG plant argued in court — Providence Journal, Providence, RI

Attorneys general from both states [Massachusetts & Rhode Island], plus lawyers for the city of Fall River, the Conservation Law Foundation, and a private citizen have filed lawsuits in federal court against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Washington, D.C., agency that approved the LNG proposal in July 2005.

This case is about the agency “avoiding its responsibility,” said Robert S. Taylor, an attorney representing the city of Fall River and the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, speaking yesterday before a three-judge panel of the appeals court. [Bold emphasis added.]

Bill would require local approval of any LNG safety plan — EastBayRI.com, Bristol, RI

SAKONNET AREA — Rep. Raymond E. Gallison has introduced legislation requiring General Assembly and municipal approval for any emergency response plan developed for the transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Narragansett Bay and/or Mount Hope Bay. (Jun 7)

Maryland Commission approves prohibition on LNG facilities in sensitive coastal areas — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

Maryland's Critical Areas Commission approved a measure Wednesday that prohibits LNG facilities from being built in environmentally sensitive coastal areas. (Jun 8)

Dow Chemical waiting for LNG surplus — Reuters

"There're a lot more liquefaction plants being built than regasification terminals, and that will create a supply-demand imbalance in LNG that will enable us eventually (after early 2008) to take advantage of that regasification facility," he said. (Jun 4)

Senate approves bill establishing LNG approval process — Malibu Times, Malibu, CA

The bill now moves to the Assembly for a hearing in June or July.

SB 412 requires the California Energy Commission to conduct a needs assessment of the state's energy market by projecting future energy supply and demand. The CEC will focus on projected demand while analyzing conservation, climate change impacts and efficiency potential, as well as the ability of the state to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy supplies over time. (Jun 6)

Panel: Early investors have advantage as LNG construction costs soar — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

"The facilities we have under construction, and others under way, definitely have a cost advantage to any new projects." (Jun 8)

Security tightened at Trinidad and Tobago's LNG facility — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

Police in Trinidad and Tobago announced that security has been tightened at the country's key energy facilities. (Jun 7)

Webmaster's Comments: The majority of LNG currently imported into the US comes from Trinidad & Tobago.

MARAD signs training standards agreement with maritime academies and unions, seeks to set global standards — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton signed an agreement with the major maritime academies and seafaring unions to establish training standards for crews operating vessels carrying LNG. (Jun 6)

WorldLink tunnel across the Bering Strait

Webmaster's Comments: Russia is proposing an undersea tunnel between Siberia and Alaska, containing rail transport, electricity generated from tidal power plants off Russia's coast, plus oil and natural gas pipelines. The plan would also include participation by the governments of the US and Canada, plus private enterprise.

For additional information, refer to the April 19 Moscow News article cited on this website on May 14.

Will Canada join the rail and nuclear renaissance? — Executive Intelligence Review, Leesburg, VA

With Russia's recent proposal that Canada and the United States join it in building a tunnel across the Bering Strait, a question of great historical importance has been set before the Canadian people: Will Canada join the growing chorus of nations that are denouncing the neo-liberal ideology of free trade and globalization, or will Canadians blindly follow the dictates of lunatic environmentalists such as David Suzuki and Al Gore? (Jun 8)

"Tunnel to Peace?" Russians bring Bering Strait tunnel project to G8 this week [Press release] — Executive Intelligence Review, Leesburg, VA

In an op-ed entited "A Tunnel to Peace? Bering Strait Tunnel Advocates To Make Pitch at G8 Summit," published in the June 3 Juneau Empire, the former publisher of the Ketchikan Daily News, Lew Williams Jr., says that tunnel supporters will be asking the G8 for $120 million to sponsor a feasibility study of the "World Link, a tunnel and rail lines that help unite four of the world's six continents."

Williams notes that promoters of the the tunnel project, which is estimated to cost $65 billion, says it could repay its construction cost in 15 years. (Jun 5)

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

Bush is also pressing the Senate to ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty, which gives the U.N. jurisdiction over the high seas and includes a provision for a global tax (or fee) in order to exploit ocean resources. Some think Bush sees passage of this treaty as another part of his “legacy.”

Whatever changes the treaty has undergone, constantly present has been Third World pressure for financial transfers. President Reagan was right to torpedo the Law of the Sea Treaty two decades ago. Creating a new oceans bureaucracy is no more attractive today. (Jun 8)

…the UN has little oversight and, therefore, little accountability. Who, after all, oversees a world body?

The United States should not surrender sovereign powers to world organizations or tribunals when doing so has the potential to weaken our military or economic posture and subjects us to the whims and fancies of regional and political blocs that may be hostile to the U.S. and its interests.

Ronald Reagan refused to sign the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNLOSC) in 1982 because of what he felt were basic conflicts with free market principles….

Why would the world’s paramount naval power surrender flexibility in this vital area and subject itself to the jurisdiction of a UN regulatory agency without transparency or accountability? (Jun 8)

Special Reports: Sustainability and the sea: Sovereignty and responsibility – Who rules the waves? — Ethical Corporation, London, UK

An international legal framework of rights and responsibilities over the oceans’ resources was codified a generation ago. But whether there are the judges and police to enforce it is another matter.

The lesson is simply this: that the international agreements on any aspect of the law of the sea are only as good as the implementation of those agreements by individual states. [Red emphasis added.] (Jun 7)

Time to Ratify the Law of the Sea — Foreign Policy in Focus, Silver City, NM

Until the United States ratifies the treaty its rights at sea will lack international recognition.

When nations disagree on boundaries, mineral claims, or other aspect of the convention, the LOS contains a unique dispute resolution mechanism that obligates nations to peacefully settle their difference through one of four methods: the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, adjudication by the International Court of Justice, binding international arbitration procedures, or special arbitration tribunals with expertise in specific types of disputes. Binding arbitration, the preferred U.S. approach, is the default mechanism if parties don’t agree to another. All of these procedures involve binding third-party settlement, except for sensitive cases involving national sovereignty. In such circumstances, the parties are obliged to submit their dispute to a conciliation commission, but they will not be bound by the commission’s decision. [Red & bold emphasis added.] (Jun 6)

FERC says no to NB — Saint Croix Courier, St. Stephen, NB

"Timing is everything. The province should stay alert because there may be another opportunity. They should be stating concerns over the impact on the bottom which they have jurisdiction over. They have jurisdiction over the bottom of our portion of Passamaquoddy Bay. They should be greatly concerned about the dredging, pile driving, etc., because the impacts will be on provincial property.

"There are some unique invertebrate animals located in that area and there is a well known and important overwintering area for ground fish and herring right off where Quoddy Bay LNG (the other company proposing an LNG terminal in Passamaquoddy Bay) plan to build their terminal.

"That particular population is really the foundation of the spring fishery for groundfish and herring — so the province should be protecting the bottom on behalf of the residents of New Brunswick."

Perry: Quoddy Bay to hold Perry public hearing — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME

"If Quoddy Bay LNG truly [were] responding to the DEP’s expectations, they would, as we have suggested, hold a public information session in each of the 10 communities that could be affected by the project."

On Sunday, Adam Wilson, Quoddy Bay LNG’s deputy project manager, will give a presentation similar to the one given by Quoddy Bay LNG project manager Brian Smith at the last meeting. A project manager from TRC Cos., the Boston-based engineering and environmental consulting firm hired by Quoddy Bay LNG, also will attend Sunday’s meeting, Smith said Tuesday. [Red emphasis added.]

Building of LNG port and pipeline begins — Gloucester Daily Times, Gloucester, MA

Construction has started 12 miles off Gloucester on the region's first liquefied natural gas port — a controversial project opposed by fishermen and hailed by its operator as a new source of clean energy.

There are few signs in Salem Harbor that work has begun on what Excelerate is calling the world's second deepwater LNG port, a project it says will dramatically increase the supply of natural gas in New England. (Jun 1)

Webmaster's Comments: Offshore, away from people, using technology tested in the North Sea, and without need for a protected harbor. (Note: The first Excelerate offshore terminal, in the Gulf of Mexico 100+ miles from the Louisiana coast, offloaded its entire LNG cargo during Hurricane Katrina.)

Study: Ocean alternative to LNG project could be built — The Day, New London, CT

The report looks at placing a floating gas terminal or using a different technology — an undersea offshore pipeline that would be supplied by tankers and connected to facilities on shore — at three locations in the Atlantic just south of Long Island and east of northern New Jersey. Wind and wave action there, the report said, is about as intense as it is in areas off the Massachusetts coast where similar projects have been approved.

Esposito said the alternative locations would be less environmentally problematic than putting a terminal in a sensitive estuary like the Sound, would have fewer security demands and place fewer demands on the Coast Guard. [Red emphasis added.]

LNG plant owners cry foul — Petroleum News, Anchorage, AK

The various issues raised about the proposed extension of the LNG terminal all come down to one basic question: Is there enough gas available from the Cook Inlet basin, on and offshore, to supply both the LNG terminal and other Southcentral Alaska gas users? (Week of Jun 10)

Massive gas pipe may skim Mac — News-Register, McMinnville, OR

A 36-inch pipeline with the capacity to move 1.5 billion cubic feet of revaporized natural gas a day is being proposed by a virtually unknown energy firm called Oregon LNG. And it has chosen a route traversing the northern outskirts of McMinnville, barely outside city limits. (Jun 7)

Another part of this “legacy building” is [President Bush's] decision to seek ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a dangerous document that transfers control of the oceans and much of the land area of the world as well to a U.N. bureaucracy. It finances its activities with a global tax. The pact is endorsed by some of the same groups and individuals involved in the Global Leadership Campaign.

This time, it can be anticipated that Bush Administration opposition to global taxes will completely collapse. After all, the White House has already endorsed a global tax scheme through the Law of the Sea Treaty. [Bold emphasis added.] (Jun 1)

As many readers may know, Ottawa and Washington are at loggerheads — politely, so far — on how the international boundary should extend north into the increasingly ice-free Arctic waters from the land border between the Yukon and Alaska. (Jun 1)

Statement by Admiral Thad Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard, on the Convention on the Law of the Sea — AllAmericanPatriots.com

"The convention greatly enhances our ability to protect the American public as well as our efforts to protect and manage fishery resources and to protect the marine environment." (May 21)

…thanks to Howard Phillips, Phyllis Schlafly and others I began to realize that this Treaty, sometimes disparagingly called “LOST,” approvingly called “UNCLOS,” would give our sovereignty away. That alarmed me.

Meanwhile, the extraordinary researcher Cliff Kincaid has produced a monograph linking global warming with the Treaty and demonstrates that if the Treaty were ratified it would be far easier to bring cases against the United States. In another paper, “The Secret Agenda behind the Law of the Sea Treaty,” he says the Treaty is so extreme that former UN Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick stated that “it was viewed as the cornerstone of Marxist-oriented New International Economic Order.” According to Kincaid, “This was conceived as a scheme to transfer money and technology from the United States and other developed countries to the Third World.” He points out that Kirkpatrick strongly opposed the Law of the Sea Treaty. (May 29)

Asserting that the U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz are violating the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), [former Iranian representative to the United Nations Disarmament Commission Ali Khorram] explained that the U.S. warships are passing through the water between Iranian islands and not international waters, and their passage is neither an innocent nor a transit passage. (May 28)

World government would be less disgusting -- but not much so -- if its disciples weren't human-rights hypocrites. Sink the treaty. (May 26)

Just recently, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) urged the United States to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea in order to counterbalance Moscow's claims to polar energy resources. (May 25)

Save Passamaquoddy Bay • PO Box 222 • Eastport, ME 04631