Citizens of Three Nations Fight Quoddy Bay, LLC Terminal in Downeast, Maine

Despite Quoddy Bay LLC claims to have worked from "the bottom up" to carefully side step opposition to their planned Liquid Natural Gas Terminal at Gleason's Cove on the Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation strong opposition has formed. This opposition comes from Washington County, the Passamaquoddy Indians and Maritime Canada those who see the terminal as a catastrophic threat to the pristine eco-system of the area as well as its economic life.

(PRWEB) October 17, 2004 -- The citizens of Washington County, Maine, Maritime Canada and members of the Passamaquoddy tribe have joined together to fight the determined efforts of Quoddy Bay LLC to construct a liquid natural gas terminal on the pristine waters of the Quoddy Loop (an area in the easternmost coastal region of Maine and maritime Canada.)

This June the Passamaquoddy tribal government announced that there would be a feasibility study for a terminal to be built on ancestral land. In August, the Passamaquoddy voted in a non-binding referendum 193 to 133, in favor of such a terminal. Members of the Passamaquoddy tribe who oppose the terminal on both practical and religious grounds, point out that the referendum was rushed, the voters ill informed and the voting time selected excluded many possible voters.

Almost immediately after the vote opposition began organizing while Quoddy Bay LLC put out press releases affirming that they were "welcomed" in the area.

Opposition to the terminal crosses many boundaries, the boundaries of nationality and the boundaries separating different interests groups. Opponents see the terminal and pipeline slated to run through Moosehorn Wildlife Refuge (home to thousands of migratory birds and nesting place of bald eagles) as a threat to the people, the environment, the wildlife, the culture of the Passamaquoddy community, the culture of Downeast, Maine and the developing economy.

Canadian opponents are angry that no consideration has been shown to Canadian concerns. Deer Island in Maritime Canada is only 2 km away from the proposed site, as is the seaside town of St. Andrews (the first seaside resort in Canada) and Campobello where of Franklin Delano Roosevelts summer homeis preserved as international park.

Environmentalists suggest that the location of such a terminal would be an ecological catastrophe. The waters of the Quoddy Loop are home to seals, porpoises, puffins, and whales, including the endangered right whale. Environmentalists and scientists, like natural gas expert Dr. James A. Fay retired M.I.T professor, point out that this area has the most profound tidal shifts in the United States and the largest whirlpool in the world, making it a dangerous location to bring in explosive gas. say an expert in the field has said that this location is a very poor choice for such a terminal.

Business people on both sides of the border fear the terminals affect on developing tourism, a large part of which is eco-tourism. Homeowners fear the devaluation of their property. In a study put out in Harpswell, Maine during a similar threat, it was noted that when LNG terminals are built there could be as much as a 50% drop in property value. Fishermen fear the impact on their livelihood from giant tankers invading these pristine waters. Everyone fears the possibility of a pipeline explosions like the ones that have already taken place in Algeria, Beijing, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Summer residents and those who came here to retire in order to enjoy an environment that is rare in our industrialized world, fear the destruction of that very natural resource. The Passamaquoddy people fear the loss of their land and their heritage.

Save Passamaquoddy Bay has been founded to stop the terminal. Opposition in each nation is being organized and solidified. The Canadian government has been strong in its support.

As Julie Keene, a commercial fisherman in Trescott, Maine says, "I stretch my hand to my next community to grab on to encircle the bay- to protect this life, way of life from the godawful LNG. The creatures, trees, and sea life are not given a vote or a choice to live or die and neither are my children. It is oppression of the worst kind , this dominance of man and greed over the very reasons that make me want to get up in the morning...beautiful Cobscook and Passamaquoddy Bays and the life sustaining resources that I harvest from their shores. How dare they?" Opponents to the LNG terminal from three nations echo these words and prepare to fight.

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