Save Passamaquoddy Bay

Save Passamaquoddy Bay
3-Nation Alliance

Alliance to Protect the Quoddy Region
from LNG Development

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"For much of the state of Maine, the environment is the economy"
                                           — US Senator Susan Collins, 2012 Jun 21



 

Notable Quotes


They said it, we didn't!

Outlandish, Dumb, Contradictory & Absurd Statements
Made by the local LNG Developers & US Government
(on separate webpages)

Downeast LNG has made so many outlandish statements that, in addition to their inclusion in the page below, we've created a special page just for those quotes: Downeast LNG said it, we didn't!
2016 Aug 17— Downeast LNG was removed by FERC from Federal permitting, killing the project.

Prior to Quoddy Bay LNG's demise, Quoddy Bay LNG (QBLNG)/LLC's developers vied for the absurd statement award: Quoddy Bay LLC said It, we didn't!
2008 Oct 17— Quoddy Bay LNG/LLC was removed by FERC from Federal permitting, killing the project.
2009 Jun 9 — Pleasant Point Tribal Government ended its relationship with QBLNG/LLC
2009 Jul 29 — FERC removed QBLNG from its maps of Potential & Proposed LNG terminals [PDF files]

Prior to Johnny-come-lately Calais LNG's demise, Calais LNG entered the Goofy-Statement competition: Calais LNG said it, we didn't!
2012 Apr 4 — Calais LNG was removed by FERC from Federal permitting, killing the project.

FERC & EIA (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission & Energy Information Administration) have also made goofball statements — FERC & EIA said it, we didn't!


All Notable Quotes

Dates of quotes for failed projects are shown in red.

Adkins, Marshall ....................................
(Raymond James & Associates energy analyst)
2008 Sep 8 All
Akagi, Hugh ..........................................
(Chief of Schoodic Band Passamaquoddy)
2006 Feb 16 DE
Allen, Tamara Young- ............................
(FERC)
2006 Jan 11 FERC
Allen, Zach ..............................................
(PanEurasian Enterprises)
2008 Sep 1 All
Armitage, Richard ..................................
(former Deputy Secretary of State)
2012 Aug 15 DE, All
America's Natural Gas Alliance ............ 2010 Sep 29 All
Bailey, Dennis ......................................... 2005 Jul 19 QB
Baldacci, John (Maine Governor) ................ 2006 Jun 30
Bennekamper, Bob ................................
(citizen, Brick Twp., NJ)
2013 Oct 1
Bensinger, Peggy ...................................
(Maine Assistant Attoryney General)
2012 May 14 DE
Bernier, Maxime ...................................
(Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister)
2007 Sep 10 All
Berreman, Hugh ...................................
(see also Downeast LNG Said It, We Didn't!)
2006 Mar 16 DE
Berman, Art ...........................................
(petroleum industry expert)
2015 Jan 30 DE, All
2015 Jul 31 DE, All
Bingaman, Jeff — (US Senator and Chairman,
Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources)
2011 Nov 8
Blumenthal, Richard .............................
(Connecticut Attorney General)
2008 Feb 26
Brune, Michael (Sierra Club executive director) .. 2015 May 19 All
Bush, George W. (US President) ................ 2005 Aug 8
Collins, Susan ..........................................
(US Senator from Maine)
2009 Aug 28 All
2012 Sep 21
Congressional Quarterly ...................... 2007 Oct 29 DE
Cooper, Bill .............................................
(president, Center for Liquefied Natural Gas)
2012 Jan 21 All
Craig, John (St. Andrews Mayor) ................ 2006 Jan 24 DE
2006 Feb 16 DE
Cupina, Robert ....................................... 2005 Oct 26 FERC
DeAngelis, Kate ....................................
(Friends of the Earth)
2014 Sep 10 All
Doer, Gary .............................................
(Canada's Ambassador to the US)
2010 Feb 3 All
Downeast LNG ......................................
(see also Downeast LNG Said It, We Didn't!)

2005 Jul 8 DE
2005 Jul 8 DE
2006 Jan DE
2006 Feb 16 DE
2012 May 22 DE
2012 Oct 12 DE
2014 Jun DE
2014 Sep 11 DE

Doyle, Rick ............................................
(Chief of Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy)
2007 Jan 26 QB
Emery, Ian (CLNG principal) .........................
(See also Calais LNG Said It…)

2008 Aug 28 C
2010 Jul 27 C

Energy Information Administration ........ 2012 Jan 23 All
Fairplay Shipping News ........................

2008 Sep 11 All

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC)
2011 Apr 21 All
2014 Sep 16 DE
FERC Protesters .................................... 2014 Jul 14
Finch, "Bud" (Eastport City Manager) .......... 2006 Jan 30 QB
2007 Oct 1 All
Flynn, Brian ...........................................
(US Assistant Surgeon General [USPHS, Ret.])
2007 Nov 12 DE
Food & Water Watch (2012 Nov) ........ 2014 Dec 17 All
Francis, Emily ........................................ 2005 May 14 QB
Francis, Gov. Melvin .............................
(late Passamaquoddy Chief of Pleasant Point)
2005 May 14 QB
Francis, Vera ........................................ 2006 May 23 QB
Gaul, Damien .........................................
(Energy Information Administration)
2010 Aug 26 All
Gelber, Arthur (CLNG principal) ...................
(See also Calais LNG Said It…)
2008 Apr 8 C
2010 Aug 12 C
2010 Dec 10 C
Giffen, Ashleigh (First Nations member) ....... 2016 May14 All
Girdis, Dean (DeLNG President) ..................
(see also Downeast LNG Said It, We Didn't!)
2005 Aug 12 DE
2005 Aug 24 DE
2005 Nov 2 DE
2005 Nov 7 DE
2005 Dec 28 DE
2005 Dec 28 DE
2005 Dec 28 DE
2006 Nov 7 DE
2012 Apr 24 DE
Godfrey, Robert (Save Passamaquoddy Bay) ... 2016 Jan 12 All
Goldman Sachs Group .........................
(Calais LNG financial partner)

2008 Sep 11 All
2010 Mar 30 All

Goudey, Cliff ......................................... 2005 Feb QB
2006 Jan 16 FERC
2016 May 9 All
Gruenspecht, Howard ..........................
(US DOE Energy Information Administration)
2015 Jan 19 EIA
Hansen, Peter ........................................
(CEO of Oregon LNG)
2008 Oct 13 All
Harper, Stephen ...................................
(Canadian Prime Minister)
2006 Sep 26 All
2010 Jan 9 All
Hefner, Robet ........................................ 2009 Sep 22 All
Havens, Jerry, Ph.D. .............................
(Helped develop the federal standards for gas vapor hazards)
2005 Aug 16 All
Hightower, Michael ...............................
(Sandia National Laboratories
US Department of Energy)

2013 Feb 4 All
Hoffmann, Richard ............................... 2005 Sep 30 FERC
Horne, Matt ...........................................
(Associate Regional Director for British Columbia
Pembina Institute)
2016 Mar 20 All
 

Ige, Gov. David ........................................
(Governor of Hawaii)

2016 May 20 All
King, Sen. Angus ....................................
(US Senator from Maine; former Governor)
2014 Dec 12 All
Kvisle, Hal ................................................
(CEO, TransCanada Corp.)
2010 Apr 15 All
Laberge, Normand .................................
(Tidewalker Associates)
2006 Jun 21 All
LDC Forum - Northeast ........................ 2008 Jan All
Lingley, Linda ......................................... 2005 Jul 3 QB
Loveless, Bill .........................................
(Platts Energy Week)
2012 Mar 25 All
Martin, Paul ............................................ 2007 May 23 QB
McCall, Rob .......................................... 2006 All
McClendon, Aubrey ..............................
(Chairman & CEO, Chesapeake Energy)
2008 Aug 24
Michel, Capt. Charles ..........................
(US Coast Guard, Maritime & International Law)
2007 Dec 12 All
McKibben, Bill .......................................
(350.org co-founder & author)
2016 Mar 24 All
Moore, Fred ............................................ 2005 Nov 7 C
Pehlivanova, Biliana .............................
(Barklays Capital LNG commodities analyst)
2010 Sep 3 All
Nelson, Peter .......................................... 2005 Aug 12 QB
Newkumet, Chris ....................................
(Platts Inside FERC)
2012 Mar 18 All
Obama, Barack (US President) ................. 2012 Jan 24 All
Pickens, T. Boone .................................. 2010 Apr 14 All
Pope Francis .......................................... 2015 May 24 DE
Purcell, David ........................................
(Analyst at Tudor Pickering, Holt & Co.)
2010 Oct 21 All
Quoddy Bay LLC ...................................
(see also Quoddy Bay LLC Said It, We Didn't!)
2006 Aug 30 QB
2006 Aug 30 QB
2006 Aug 30 QB
Ragucci, David ......................................... 2005 Mar 26 QB
Romni, Mitt ................................................ 2010 Mar 10 All
van Rossum, Maya ....................................
(Delaware Riverkeeper )
2014 Jun 6 All
Smith, Brian (QBLNG Project Mgr) ..............
(see also Quoddy Bay LLC Said It, We Didn't!)
2005 Jul 23 QB
2005 Jul 27 QB
2005 Aug 12 QB
2005 Nov 7 QB
2006 Mar 28 QB
2006 Mar 29 QB
2006 Apr 19 QB
2006 Apr 19 QB
2006 Jul 13 QB
2006 Aug 10 QB
2006 Aug 28 QB
2006 Aug 30 QB
2008 Mar 14 QB
Smith, Donald (QBLNG President) .............
(see also Quoddy Bay LLC Said It, We Didn't!)
2005 Mar QB
2005 Jun 22 QB
2005 Jun 13 QB
2008 Oct 24 QB
2009 Jun 12 QB
Snell, Mark ..............................................
(Sempra Energy's Chief Financial Officer)
2007 Oct 5 All
Swank, Jerry .............................................
(Managing Partner, Swank Capital of Dallas)
2012 Mar 20 All
Souki, Charif ........................................
(President and CEO, Cheniere Energy)
2012 Feb 28
Spitzer, Mark ........................................
(former FERC Commissioner)
2012 Feb 15 All
Suzuki, David (Environmentalist)............... 2013 Dec 2 All
Taverner, James (IHS analyst in Tokyo)...... 2015 Oct 8 All
Thames, Davis ......................................
(President, Cheniere Marketing)
2011 May 5 All
Thompson, Greg .....................................
(Canadian Cabinet Member)
2006 May 17 All
2007 Sep 10 All
2009 Jan 3 All
Trent, Keith ............................................
(Duke Energy's chief strategy, policy,
& regulatory officer)

2008 Jul 11 All

Ware, Andrew .........................................
(Cheniere Energy spokesman)
2012 Jan 13 All
Weston, Cary ..........................................

2006 Jan 16 QB

Williamson, John ....................................
(Canadian Member of Parliament)
2013 Jan 11 All
Wilson, Adam ........................................
(QBLNG Depty Project Mgr.)

2008 Aug 29 QB

Wilson, Gordon ....................................
(f ormer BC Liberal leader and NDP cabinet minister)
2013 Apr DE
Woodcock, John (US District Judge) ..........

2006 Sep 23 QB

Wood MacKenzie .................................
(Unconventional Gas Research Manager
Robert Clarke)
2010 Oct 4 All
Wyatt, Robert "Rob"(DeLNG) ..................
(see also Downeast LNG Said It, We Didn't!)

2005 Jul 12 DE
2010 Sep 2 DE

Young, Laura .......................................... 2005 Oct 22 QB
Zeihan, Peter (Analyst at Statfor) ..............
2012 Apr 20 All
All = All LNG projects in Passamaquoddy Bay
C = Calais LNG-related quote — FAILED PROJECT
(Previously known as "BP Consulting," "BP Development," & "Saint Croix Consulting.")
DE = Downeast LNG-related quote — FAILED PROJECT
EIA = Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy
FERC = Federal Enery Regulatory Commission quote
QB = Quoddy Bay LNG-related quote — FAILED PROJECT

Newest postings are listed first

Top


Hawaii Governor David Ige

“Any time and money spent on LNG is time and money not spent on renewable energy.”

Utility seeks OK to burn natural gas, Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 2016 May 20.

Top


Ashleigh Giffen, First Nations member

“We don’t have another earth, and I think it is time we save this one.”

May urges people not to abandon LNG fight, The Squamish Chief, 2016 May 14.

Top


Clifford Goudey, marine engineer and friend of Save Passamaquoddy Bay —

“Even in the US, the vast majority of new electrical power generation has been wind or solar because they are simply cheaper. Similar patterns in other countries will keep the value of NG lower than is needed for profitable export by ship. While it is a shame to see good money being wasted on these new export terminals, this is the fate of those still mired in the fossil-fuel age.” [Bold emphasis added.]

Re: The U.S. Natural Gas Export Boom Means Pipelines and LNG, LNG Safety Yahoo Group, 2016 May 9.

Top


Bill McKibben, 350.org co-founder & author —

[F]ossil fuels are the problem in global warming — and fossil fuels don’t come in good and bad flavors. Coal and oil and natural gas have to be left in the ground. All of them.” [Bold emphasis added.]

Global Warming’s Terrifying New Chemistry, Moyers & Company, 2016 Mar 24.

Top


Matt Horne, Pembina Institute Associate Regional Director for British Columbia —

"Stronger climate policies, not increased fossil fuel production, are the climate solution." [Bold emphasis added.]

Natural gas industry could dwindle without LNG facilities,
CBC News, 2016 Mar 20.

Top


Robert Godfrey, Save Passamaquoddy Bay researcher & webmaster —

“We’re headed down a catastrophic path related to climate.” … “Adding more pipelines means more burning, it means we’re becoming more dependent on fossil fuels. … It’s insanity.

Export anxiety: Where will pipeline’s natural gas wind up?, The Recorder, Greenfield, MA, 2016 Jan 12.

Top

James Taverner, IHS analyst in Tokyo —

“The global LNG industry now resembles a game of ‘musical chairs’ with far more projects than the market can absorb.

85 Gas Projects Dying on the Vine as LNG's Promise Falls Short, Bloomberg, 2015 Oct 8.

Top

Art Berman, petroleum industry expert —

“Woops! LNG export from the U.S never made competitive economic sense to me but now, it looks dead-on-arrival.

No Joy in Mudville*: Shale Gas Stalls, LNG Export Dead On Arrival, OilVoice,2015 Jul 31.

Top

Pope Francis

"For [Indigenous Peoples], land is not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors who rest there, a sacred space with which they need to interact if they are to maintain their identity and values. When they remain on their land, they themselves care for it best."

Pope Francis Affirms the Importance of Free Prior & Informed Consent in Indigenous Communities, By Nikke Alex, Last Real Indians, Moorhead, MN; 2015 May 24

Webmaster's comment: The significant Passamaquoddy Tribal cultural and spiritual site upon which Downeast LNG has proposed to site its project has been totally ignored by FERC in the previously-published Final Environmental Impact Statement — in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Top


Michael Brune, Sierra Club executive director

"Natural gas is not a bridge – it’s a gangplank."

Rally against pipelines, Willamette Media, Salem, OR; 2015 May 19

Top


Art Berman, petroleum industry expert —

“The folly of the U.S. model for LNG exports is that the world is holding its breath. Well, guess what? The world has changed.”

“If these guys want to spend all this money to export LNG, let them hang themselves. We (the United States) get it wrong every time and it just seems like we're on track to do it again.” [Bold emphasis added.]

LNG — it's both 'if' and 'when', The World, Coos Bay, OR, 2015 Jan 30.

Top


Howard Gruenspecht, deputy administrator of the EIA (US DOE Energy Information Administration) —

“Contrary to the presentation in the Nature article, EIA does not characterize any of its long run projection scenarios as a forecast.” [Bold emphasis added.]

"U.S. Department of Energy: Our forecasts aren't really forecasts (or are they?)," OilVoice — 2015 Jan 19.

Top

Two Notable Quotes posted 2014 Dec 31

Gordon Wilson, former British Columbia Liberal leader and NDP cabinet minister

"The most compelling reason to be concerned about relying on this golden goose [LNG exporting] is the fact that the markets we are told will buy all we can supply may not materialize as we think, and even if they do, the price they are prepared to pay for our product may be well below what is anticipated." (quoted from 2013 Apr) [Bold emphasis added.]

Rafe: Gordon Wilson finds religion on LNG…for $12,500 a month,
The Common Sense Canadianl, 2013 Nov 4.

US Senator Angus King (ME-I); former Governor of Maine —

"Serving on this committee will give me the opportunity to fight for Maine’s energy future, work hard to protect its beautiful and abundant natural resources, and encourage a cleaner, more deliberate national energy policy."

King appointed to Senate energy oversight panel, Portland Press Herald, 2014 Dec 12.

Top
Posted 2014 Dec 17

Food & Water Watch —

"The United States can transition off of fossil fuels, but it will require remaking the U.S. energy system around proven clean energy solutions: conservation, efficiency and renewables. Such a remaking would underpin broad- based and sustained economic growth, circumvent the environmental and public health costs of extracting and burning fossil fuels and usher in an era of true U.S. energy security, independence and resilience."

PDF fileUS Energy Insecurity: Why Fracking for Oil and Natural Gas Is a False Solution , 2012 November; p 2 (PDF; 1.8MB).

Top

Maya von Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper —

"FERC has been allowing illegal segmentation by pipeline companies for years, it has ignored the pleas of the public for equity and for honest review of impacts, and as such FERC has been complicit with the pipeline companies in their ongoing efforts to avoid the rule of law and to ignore the devastating impacts they are having on our environment, impacts that will harm not just present, but also future generations."

"…This [Federal Court] decision is important and powerful for every pipeline, related infrastructure and LNG project to come…" [Bold emphasis added.]

Federal Court Rules FERC Violated Federal Law When Issued Approvals for NEUP Pipeline Project, Delaware Way; 2014 Jun 6

Top


FERC Office of Energy Projects

"The project would be capable of producing 3 million metric tonnes per annum of LNG and 100 standard cubic feet per day of regasified LNG." [Bold emphasis added.]

PDF filePre-Filing Review for the Downeast LNG Import-Export Project Docket No. PF14-19-000, distributed to the public at the 2014 Sep 16 Downeast LNG Open House in Robbinston (PDF; 958 KB).

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: The 100 standard cubic feet per day of regasified LNG that FERC says Downeast LNG would produce is equivalent to the methane output of 6–12 cows.

Top

Downeast LNG

"Downeast LNG Export Project would convert the Downeast LNG Import Project into a bidirectional import-export LNG terminal and pipeline (“Downeast LNG Import-Export Project”), capable of producing 3 million metric tonnes per annum (“mtpa”) of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) and 100 standard cubic feet per day (“mmscfd”) of regasified LNG." [Bold emphasis added.]

PDF fileResource Report 1 filing to FERC Downeast LNG Docket PF14-19, Accession No. 20140911-5034, 2014 September 11 (PDF; 430 KB)

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Downeast LNG flubs in Resource Report 1, claiming that it would produce a ludicrously-miniscule volume of regasified LNG — 100 cubic feet per day is equivalent to methane production of 6–12 cows.

Demonstrating how incompetent both Downeast LNG and FERC actually are, FERC repeated Downeast LNG's stated insignificant volume in the printed literature provided to the public at the September Open House in Robbinston.

Top

Kate DeAngelis, Friends of the Earth—

“In supporting liquefied natural gas exports, President Obama is treating climate change like a game of peak-a-boo, opening his eyes to the harmful impacts of carbon but closing them to the devastating disruption potential of methane. Allowing more LNG exports completely counteracts President Obama’s expressed commitment to reduce emissions and protect the public health.”

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Energy Dept. gives thumbs up to more gas exports, The Hill — 2014 Sep 10

Top

Anti-Dominion LNG, Anti-Fracking Protesters, demonstrating at FERC Headquarters in Washington, DC—

[Sung to the tune of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine:]

"We all know FERC’s a rubber stamp machine, a rubber stamp machine, a rubber stamp machine.”

Battling Cove Point in the Capital, The Nation— 2014 July 14.

 

Top


Downeast LNG's revised website, The Project > Downeast LNG Project Overview (PDF; 34KB), 2014 June —

"Visual Issues

"The site is uniquely suited to accommodate the necessary structures with minimal visual impact from either Route 1 in Maine or from St. Andrews.…

"…The most visible aspect of the project will be the ship itself, which will be present only when it is in port and at a distance of more than 2 miles from St. Andrews…." [Bold, underlined emphasis added.]

Webmaster's comment: The 30-ft-tall sheet metal barrier that DeLNG proposes to erect along more than ½ mile of highway US-1, abutting a state-designated scenic area (Mill Cove), and the 4,000-foot-long trestle and pier that would cut across the mouth of scenic Mill Cove must not "count" in Dean Girdis's mind as visual impact.

And, Girdis says that the ship wouldn't be visible when it isn't in port! Brilliant!

Don't be surprised if Girdis's embarrassment results in his changing the text. But, never fear! SPB has preserved it for posterity! [See archived DeLNG's 2014 June edition of "Downeast LNG Project Overview" (PDF; 34KB), with SPB highlighting & comments.]

 

Top


David Suzuki, environmentalist —

“The economy can’t trump the environment," Suzuki adds. "I keep telling people: How long can you go without spending a dollar? And then how long can you go without taking a breath?”

David Suzuki on Christy Clark's LNG plans: 'Be serious', CBC News — 2013 Dec 2.

Top

Bob Bennekamper, concerned citizen, Brick Township, New Jersey —

“If energy independence is our national goal, then neither imports nor exports are in our national interest.”

Citizens overwhelming oppose offshore liquefied natural gas operation, NJToday.net, NJ — 2013 October 1.

Top

Michael Hightower, Sandia National Laboratories senior technical specialist who worked from mid-2008 to mid-2011 on US Department of Energy research on what would happen to an LNG ship if an airplane were to crash into it —

“Basically, it turns to peanut butter”

“Heat fluxes from an LNG pool fire would severely damage the vessel’s inner and outer hulls, making it sink. [Bold emphasis added.]

"Researchers closer to identifying LNG hazards, NARUC panel told," Oil & Gas Journal — 2013 Feb 4.

Top
Canada Member of Parliament John Williamson, referring to Downeast LNG —

"The idea that a U.S. company is going to dictate what comes through Canadian waters is not only laughable but is offensive. A private firm is not going to dictate what comes through Canadian waters."

"LNG company president unbowed by Canadian opposition to proposed plant in Robbinston," Bangor Daily News, 2013 January 11.

Top

Downeast LNG

"Vapor fences will be installed at the Terminal to comply with the requirements of Federal Code 49 CFR 193 regarding Exclusion Zones, which in accordance with Section § 193.2059 (b)(1) are required to ensure an average natural gas concentration in air of 2.5 percent methane or higher remains within areas that EcoEléctrica legally controls all activities for as long as the facility is in operation." [Bold emphasis added.]

PDF fileFiling to FERC Downeast LNG Docket CP07-52, Accession No. 20121012-5103(27695846), 2012 October 12 (PDF; 92,586 KB)

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Downeast LNG is apparently unaware that EcoEléctrica LNG is at Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, has been in operation since 2000, and has nothing to do with the Downeast LNG proposal.

Top

Richard Armitage, former Deputy Secretary of State —

“I find it quite ironic. We abide by the conventions of the Law of the Sea and we don’t get the protections of it because we are not technically a signatory....” [Bold emphasis added.]

"Opposition to Law of Sea Questioned," The Epoch Times — 2012 August 15.

Webmaster's comment: Downeast LNG cannot quite grasp this concept.

Canada has banned LNG transits to the proposed Downeast LNG terminal, and the US has no UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) legal legs to stand on, because the US is not a party to the treaty. Even the US Coast Guard's international law attorney agrees that the US has no legal recourse (see: http://www.lnglawblog.com/2007/12/u-s-coast-guard-officer-claims-canadian-pm-disregarded-president-bushs-request-for-lng-tanker-passage/).

Downeast LNG cannot obtain the very product it requires, and has known that since 2006, but continues to throw money at a hopeless project.

Top

Senator Susan Collins of Maine

"When it comes to the air we breathe ... I reject the false choice of pitting the environment against the economy, because we understand that for much of the state of Maine, the environment is the economy." [Bold emphasis added]

Snowe, Collins Reject Bid to Kill Toxic Air Rules, Natural Resources Council of Maine, 2011 Jun 21.

Top

Downeast LNG, via Exponent, Inc. (consultant to Downeast LNG) —

“A set of vapor fences are to be built at the site. The vapor fences ... are 20-ft (6-m) tall, and are ... 0% porosity fences.” [Bold emphasis added.]

Vapor Dispersion Exclusion Zone Analysis, Figure 2, page 12, 2012 May 22.

Webmaster's comment: Downeast LNG is now proposing 20-ft tall impervious fences along the entire property line, including along Mill Cove's cliffy south shoreline and along US Route-1, as well as additional, concentric vapor fences inside the perimeter vapor fence. Why? — because the proposed Downeast LNG terminal site is too small to prevent terminal hazards from harming the public.

Remember now-defunct Quoddy Bay LNG's proposed an...

  • Eastport emergency portable floating evacuation bridge?
  • Emergency plan to evacuate all of Eastport by helicopter?

Downeast LNG is becoming more and more like cockamamie, kaput Quoddy Bay LNG.

Top

Peggy Bensinger, Maine Assistant Attorney General —

The [BEP] vote would be the final step in approval"; although, Downeast LNG would still need to obtain a submerged lands lease. BEP approval “would be practically the last step.” [Bold emphasis added.]

Telephone conversation between SPB researcher Robert Godfrey and Maine Assistant Attorney General Peggy Bensinger, 2012 May 20.

Webmaster's comment: Maine Assistant Attorney General Peggy Bensinger was in attendance in her official capacity at the 2007 July week-long quasi-judicial Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) hearing on Downeast LNG's state permits. Assistant Attorney Genergal Bensigner confirmed that Downeast LNG's BEP hearing was the final step in state permitting, not the "first step" falsely claimed by Dean Girdis.

Top

Dean Girdis, president of Downeast LNG —

“...the Department of Environmental Protection’s hearing [sic; it was the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) hearing — SPB webmaster] concerned not the ‘final step’ in obtaining state permits, as stated by SPB, but instead represented the very first step in obtaining state permits coincident with the Maine permitting process." [Bold emphasis added.]

"Downeast LNG Responses to Public Comments Filed by Save Passamaquoddy Bay," FERC Docket CP07-52, 2012 Apr 24.

Webmaster's comment: Downeast LNG's claim is contradicted by Maine Assistant Attorney General Peggy Bensinger, who participated in her official capacity as legal advisor to the BEP during the 2007 July BEP hearing. Ms. Bensinger has confirmed with Save Passamaquoddy Bay that the hearing process was essentially the last step in the state permitting process, other than a Submerged Lands Lease permit for the proposed pier. See Assistant Attorney General Bensinger's 2012 May 14 quote.

Top

Peter Zeihan, analyst at Stratfor —

“[E]ven if the rate of natural gas production drops by half ... and even if the rate of natural gas increases for power generation doubles, there's still more than enough natural gas ... to fully fill every single LNG export plant that is currently under consideration by the government.”

"Impact of US liquefied natural gas," First Coast News - WTLV/WJXX, Jacksonville, FL, 2012 Apr 20.

Top

Bill Loveless, Platts Energy Week —

"The interstate gas pipeline industry is responding with mergers and acquisitions, and plans for thousands of miles of new construction. ... Most of this expansion would be headed to Northeast and Southeast markets from the shale plays in Ohio and Pennsylvania." [Bold emphasis added.]

"03.25.12 Spectra Energy CEO Interview" — Platts Energy Week TV, 2012 Mar 25

Top

Jerry Swank, managing partner of Swank Capital of Dallas —

“With gas so cheap that it sometimes doesn't pay to take it out of the ground, the Marcellus has become "a giant gas storage field." [Bold emphasis added.]

"Analyst: $200B investment coming in Marcellus, Utica region," WTRF, 2012 Mar 20.
Webmaster's comment:
As this points out — contrary to what Downeast LNG wants the public to believe — there is no gas shortage in Maine, New England, or the Northeast. There is a flood of domestic natural gas available without having to rely on yet another idle LNG import terminal.

Top

Chris Newkumet, Platts Inside FERC —

"For liquefied natural gas in the U.S., the tide has turned. New-found and abundant shale reserves have all but killed the LNG market." [Bold emphasis added.]

"03.18.12 LNG Exports" — Platts Energy Week TV, 2012 Mar 12

Top

Charif Souki, president and CEO of Cheniere Energy, speaking about his bad decision to build US LNG import terminals —

There is nobody who’s been as wrong about a trend as I’ve been.”

"Shale finds boost LNG export plans," The Advertiser, Lafayette, LA, 2012 Feb 28.

Top

Mark Spitzer, former FERC Commissioner

“[T]hose import terminals that were built, there's no importing of natural gas because the price, again, has flipped, and the economics are upside down, the economics of these projects are upside down.” [Bold emphasis added.]

"Former FERC Commissioner Spitzer weighs in on LNG export debate," Environment & Energy Daily, 2012 Feb 15.

Top

President Barack Obama, 2012 State of the Union Address —

"We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly one hundred years, and my Administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy." [Bold emphasis added.]

"Obama State of the Union transcript: Full text," Politico, 2012 Jan 24.

Top

US Energy Information Administration (EIA)

“The US is projected to become a net exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2016, an overall net exporter of natural gas in 2021, and a net pipeline exporter in 2025” [Bold emphasis added.]

"AEO2012 Early Release Overview," Energy Information Administration, 2012 Jan 23.

Top

Bill Cooper, president of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas —

“With a 100 year supply of natural gas and more supplies being discovered in new resource areas, the United States is well positioned to meet both the domestic needs of our country and to provide clean burning natural gas to new markets.” [Bold emphasis added.]

"CLNG: EIA gas export study reveals only part of economic picture (USA),"LNG World News, 2012 Jan 21.

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Andrew Ware, Cheniere Energy spokesman —

“We have so much natural gas coming up that we don't know what to do with it." [Bold emphasis added.]

"Natural gas glut fuels export debate,"Houston Chronicle, 2012 Jan 13.

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US Senator Jeff Bingaman, Chairman, United States Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources—

“We had a hearing in 2005 on the future of LNG. And the hearing topic from 2005 and today sound similar; however, in 2005 we were thinking about anticipating need to import growing quantities of LNG. Today, we’re thinking about what role LNG exports might play in our energy future. [Bold emphasis added.]

"LNG Export Approvals, Market Impacts," Press Release, United States Senate, 2011 Nov 8.

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Federal Energy Regulatory Commission —

"Aside from a small amount of LNG imports, at present, the North American natural gas market is self sufficient and largely insulated from the international pressures that other commodities face. Strong domestic production growth, combined with added pipeline and storage infrastructure, have increased domestic supply and reduced geographic and seasonal price differences. And unlike in 2008, natural gas prices appear to be responding primarily to physical fundamentals, namely growing supply from lower-cost sources, rather than financial market influences" [Bold emphasis added.]

PDF File"2010 State of the Markets, Item No: A-3," page 5 — 2011 April 21, (PDF file; 650 KB)

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Davis Thames, President of Cheniere Marketing —

Technological innovations in gas production techniques have resulted in "a tremendous amount of gas," coming onto US markets, driving down the domestic costs of gas and destroying the economic rationale behind building LNG import-only terminals. [Bold emphasis added.]

"Shale gas 'revolution' impacts to vary across globe: OTC panelists," Platts, 2011 May 5.

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Arthur Gelber, of Calais LNG Project Company —

"If the board [Maine Board of Environmental Protection] decides to toss our application, I think we'll have to wrap it up."

Maine DEP chairwoman recommends tossing Calais LNG application, Platts, 2010 Dec 10 .

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David Pursell, analyst with Tudor Pickering, Holt & Co., regarding the impact of Golden Pass LNG's commissioning cargo on US natural gas supply —

“Maybe they can re-export it. We don't need another boatful of LNG. [Bold emphasis added.]

"Golden Pass LNG's First Cargo Arrives In Saturated Market," NASDAQ, 2010 Oct 21.

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Wood Mackenzie's Unconventional Gas Research Manager Robert Clarke

“The magnitude of the US Shale gas resource is extraordinary.”

"US Shale Gas M&A acquisition spend totals US $21 Billion in first half 2010," Wood MacKenzie, 2010 Oct 4.

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America's Natural Gas Alliance

“The established scientific consensus is that our nation now has as much natural gas as Saudi Arabia has oil. We are the envy of the world for this natural abundance. It is time we put it to greater use for our nation's economy, environment and security.”

"America's Natural Gas Alliance website homepage,"2010 Sep 29.

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Biliana Pehlivanova, Barclays Capital LNG commodities analyst —

The rush to build LNG terminals — which preceded the large-scale development of shale gas in the US — created import capacity of just over 14 Bcf/d — about seven times the amount of LNG that tankers actually carried to the US in the past two years. [Bold emphasis added.]

More US LNG projects scrapped as economics become less favorable, Platts, 2010 Sep 3.

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Robert Wyatt, Downeast LNG vice president —

"Downeast LNG believes in a cautious approach to what it is doing."

…and…

"I want the final EIS in hand before we approach the State with our applications. That is because if we learn there are things to change, we will have that in progress before we submit the applications."

"Downeast LNG anticipating FERC approval," The Calais Advertiser, 2010 September 2.

Webmaster’s Comments: Wyatt's remarks regarding a 'cautious approach' are after Downeast LNG went completely through Maine Board of Environmental Protection permit application hearings in 2007 — and then withdrew the applications because they were so defective!

Wyatt's remarks also came after Downeast LNG announced — even to the Maine Board of Environmental Protection — that they would be resubmitting their permit applications last July, then last August, and now, not at all prior to the release of the FEIS.

And, Downeast LNG's project site selection violates world LNG industry terminal siting best safe practices — the complete opposite of a "cautious approach."

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Damien Gaul, U.S. Energy Information Administration economist and LNG specialist —

“There’s enough capacity on the East Coast of North America to handle our expected imports of LNG for the next couple of decades” [Bold emphasis added.]

"Canada: Canaport LNG Sees a Bright Future," LNG World News — 2010 August 26.

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Arthur Gelber, of Calais LNG Project Company —

"… Maine could actually own and finance such a [natural gas] pipeline at a more advantageous rate than industry. … Governor, I would like to arrange a meeting with you and my team, along with the Commissioner for Transportation and the head of the Turnpike Authority, to discuss a natural gas pipeline traversing the Maine Energy Corridors as a more viable and less predatory alternative to [Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline]."

PDF fileCalais LNG letter to Maine Governor John Baldacci, 2010 Aug 12 (PDF; 52 KB).

Webmaster’s Comments: On the day after Calais LNG was supposed to — but did not — have a new investor after financial powerhouse Goldman Sachs deserted the project, Calais LNG asked the Governor of Maine to pay for and own a new 343-mile natural gas pipeline from Calais to Boston, rather than expand the existing Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline (M&NE) or have private enterprise build and own it.

There are 343 miles of M&NE natural gas pipeline from Baileyville to Boston*. At $2 million per mile, Calais LNG wants around $686 million from Maine taxpayers to help out an unneeded and unviable project.

* Spectra Energy's Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline assets webpage

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Ian Emergy, of Calais LNG Project Company, regarding Goldman Sachs deserting his project

“There is a little hiccup here, a little bump in the road, and we are going to get through it.”

“Calais LNG project will continue, vows project manager,” The Saint Croix Courier, 2010 Jul 27. [Free registration required.]

Webmaster's Comments: Goldman Sachs' financial desertion is merely a "hiccup"? It is recognition that Calais LNG has no value.

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Hal Kvisle, departing CEO of TransCanada Corp.—

“If there was one misstep, it was to get too excited over building liquefied natural gas import terminals….”

“I consider ourselves fortunate that the projects did not get through the regulatory process, and as a result we didn't spend a lot of money on them.”

"Hal Kvisle to pass leadership of TransCanada to COO Russ Girling in June," CanadaEast, 2010 Apr 15.

Webmaster’s Comments: Calais LNG and Downeast LNG could learn from Mr. Kvisle's experience.

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T. Boone Pickens, Chairman of BP Capital, at Ways and Means Committee hearing on Energy Tax Incentives Driving the Green Job Economy —

“Study after study shows we're awash in natural gas. We have well over a 200-years' supply, by current estimates.”

"Ways and Means Hearing on Green Jobs Economy - Pickens Opening," YouTube.com, 2010 Apr 14.

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Goldman Sachs

"Total US natural gas reserves are now estimated to cover more than a 100 years of demand." [Bold emphasis added.]

PDF file"Global Economics Paper No: 194 — Commodity Prices and Volatility: Old Answers to New Questions," 2010 Mar 30, page 19 (PDF file; 1.9 MB).

Webmaster’s Comments: The date of the above quote is about the same time that GS Power Holdings (a totally-owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs) deserted Calais LNG. Goldman Sachs' observation — backed up by swallowing millions in financial losses in the project — spells defeat for Downeast LNG, as well.

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Mitt Romney, from his book, "No Apology" (St. Martin's Press, 2010)—

"Natural gas is an energy source everyone can love. It is abundant domestically, it can substitute for oil in a number of applications, and it emits very little greenhouse gas. Recently developed horizontal-drillings technology has transformed the natural gas industry by multiplying the amount of gas that can be extracted from old and new wells. Shale gas that is abundant in North America is less costly to produce than oil, coal, and most other forms of energy. As vast new reserves are being opened, natural gas has suddenly become the most promising immediate oil substitute , as well as a much larger contributor to our overall energy requirements. America should be building gas pipelines as quickly as possible." [Bold emphasis added.]

Webmaster’s Comments: Everyone but Calais LNG and Downeast LNG is recognizing that additional LNG import infrastructure is pointless.

The US is drowning in domestic natural gas. There are currently over 30 pipeline expansion projects to bring shale gas to the Northeast, eliminating the natural gas supply bottleneck and the need for more LNG import infrastructure, while simultaneously reducing natural gas prices in the Northeast.

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Canada's Ambassador to the US, Gary Doer

"The Government of Canada continues to support the responsible development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in North America as LNG will be an important source of natural gas in the coming years. However, Canada remains opposed to the passage of LNG tankers through Head Harbour Passage, which is located within Canadian internal waters. This area is widely recognized as a unique and highly productive marine ecosystem. Canada continues to have strong concerns about the navigational, environmental and public safety risks associated with transit through such a narrow passage.

“As was previously noted in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement issued by the FERC for Downeast LNG , the passage of LNG tankers in this region requires the collaboration of the Government of Canada. Given continuing Government of Canada opposition , you may therefore wish to advise project proponents that they should consider withdrawing their applications as those projects cannot go forward as envisioned.” [Bold emphasis added.]

PDF document"Embassy of Canada letter to FERC Chairman Wellinghoff," 2010 February 3 (PDF; 473 KB).

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper —

"Our position is that these are sovereign Canadian waters and we oppose [LNG] tanker traffic through this passage, and we continue to make representations to the United States government at the highest levels." [Bold emphasis added.]

Data disappoints PM, Telegraph-Journal, 2009 Jan 9.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Canada steadfastly continues to prohibit LNG transits into Passamaquoddy Bay. And, the US Coast Guard requires the LNG developers to obtain Canada's approval for LNG transits — something that clearly will never happen.

Downeast LNG and Calais LNG have no chance at success without moving outside of Passamaquoddy Bay. So why won't they do it?

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Senator Susan Collins of Maine

"I recently met with President Obama’s nominee to be our next ambassador to Canada, David Jacobson, who currently serves as a Special Assistant to the President at the White House. … I used our meeting as an opportunity to discuss several contentious issues with Canada that must be resolved.

"Chief among them is the development of a Liquefied Natural Gas terminal here in Maine. … Canada…denies that LNG tankers have the right of innocent passage through these waters. I asked the U.S. State Department to clarify this issue, and it confirmed that all commercial vessels enjoy a non-suspendable right of innocent passage into and out of Passamaquoddy Bay through Head Harbor Passage.

"Besides disputing established international law, the Canadian government has attempted to block these projects by refusing to cooperate in any regulatory reviews, citing environmental and safety concerns. These objections come despite the strong support Canadian federal and provincial governments gave to a new major LNG terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick."

Border Matters: U.S. and Canada, Senator Collins' Weekly Column, 2009 Aug 28.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Senator Collins exhibits an appalling lack of knowledge, leadership, and stewardship in her flagrant lobbying for LNG developers in Passamaquoddy Bay.

Those projects violate world LNG industry best practices as set out by the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO). SIGTTO represents virtually the entire world LNG industry. (For more about this, see the LNG Terminal Siting Standards Organization website.)

Save Passamaquoddy Bay has repeatedly requested that Sen. Collins direct her staff to obtain and read those SIGTTO best practices. As of 2009 Sep 30, our requests have been ignored.

Sen. Collins and the Department of State are incorrect — perhaps fraudulently so — in their assessment of innocent passage. The US is not a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and UNCLOS clearly indicates the US has no rights under that treaty.

Even if UNCLOS innocent passage were to apply, and since sovereigns are equal, the US Congressional authority it invests in the US Coast Guard to either deny or permit LNG transits in Canada's Head Harbour Passage conveys that Canada has the same right as does the US to deny LNG transits in that waterway.

Sen. Collins displays her lack of knowledge of…

  • LNG industry best practices; and of
  • Geographic differences;
  • Oceanographic differences;
  • Demographic differences; and
  • Economic, Safety, and Environmental impact differences
     
    …between the Passamaquoddy Bay LNG projects and Canaport LNG in Saint John, NB.

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Robert Hefner, veteran natural gas producer from Oklahoma —

I used to say the nation is awash in natural gas. Now I say we're drowning in it.

"Rediscovering Natural Gas By Hitting Rock Bottom" — National Public Radio (NPR), 2009 Sep 22.

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President Donald Smith of Quoddy Bay LNG , after Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Tribal Government ended the business relationship after the Ground Lease expired, eight months after FERC dismissed the project on 2008 October 17

“[T]he outlook for the project “is still very positive.”

"Sipayik council votes to end project with Quoddy Bay LNG" — The Quoddy Tides, 2009 Jun 12.

Webmaster’s Comments: First, kicked out by FERC. Now this. “Failed” is a more apt description for this project.

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Member of Parliament and Member of Cabinet Greg Thompson, referring to Downeast LNG's, Calais LNG's, and Quoddy Bay LNG's assertions they can defy Canada and transit LNG into Passamaquoddy Bay, even though the US Coast Guard Waterway Suitability Report requires they obtain Canada's cooperation before they can make such transits —

"They are simply dreaming in Technicolor. They can blame Canada, but the fact is they were late in the game and didn't do their homework when other companies had their homework completed."

"MP vows to fight against bid to expand quarry: Environment Thompson says he will also continue opposition to proposed LNG plants in Maine," Telegraph-Journal, 2009 January 3.

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Quoddy Bay LNG President Donald Smith, in response to FERC's dismissal of Quoddy Bay LNG's project applications —

“It’s a little embarrassing.”

"FERC dismisses LNG application but Quoddy Bay plans to refile" — The Quoddy Tides, 2008 Oct 24.

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Peter Hansen, CEO of Oregon LNG

“Why would you bring an LNG tanker under the Astoria bridge?” Hansen said. ‘A pool fire is like a nuclear meltdown. The likelihood of such an accident is remote, but the consequence is enormous. ... It would burn Astoria.’”[Bold emphasis added.]

"Lineup for LNG project adds a competitor" — The Oregonian, 2008 Oct 13.

Webmaster's Comment: Unlike Downeast LNG, Calais LNG, and Quoddy Bay LNG, it appears that Oregon LNG agrees with world LNG-industry terminal siting standards (see SIGTTO and LNG Terminal Siting Standards Organization), and has more safety sense than FERC.

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Fairplay Shipping News

“America’s LNG terminal sector, once touted for its vast potential, appears to have disastrously overbuilt capacity.”

"US LNG terminals gather dust" — 2008 Sep 11.

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Goldman Sachs Group, financial partner in Calais LNG Project Co.

“The strong U.S. natural gas supply growth suggests that incremental LNG imports into the U.S. will no longer be necessary for U.S. inventories to reach comfortable levels”

"Natural gas prices may be Down" — Purchasing.com, 2008 Sep 11.

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Marshall Adkins, energy analyst with Raymond James & Associates

“The fact remains that US gas supplies are screaming higher at a ridiculously high 8% annual growth rate," Adkins said. "Since gas demand growth is not growing nearly as fast as supply growth, the US gas market is still headed for a train wreck. Yes, we have had a meaningful pullback in natural gas prices over the past two months, but there is no reason it cannot get worse.

"US gas prices headed lower on oversupply: Raymond James analyst" — Platts, 2008 Sep 8.

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Zach Allen, president of PanEurasian Enterprises —

“My feeling is, if you've got strong local opposition, they may not be able to kill you with one blow, but a thousand cuts can do it. Whether it's justified or not, you just can't overcome strong intrinsic local opposition. They're going to be creative in finding ways to stop things”

"Challenges hit U.S. LNG market transformation" — Energy Current, 2008 Sep 1.

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Adam Wilson, Quoddy Bay LNG's deputy project manager, stating that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) "erred" when it told the US Appeals Court that its lease approval covered the entire project, also said —

"We're trying to rectify that right now. We've drafted an amendment to the ground lease that will clarify what the BIA approval was and what we expect it to be and we've just got to work out a few minor details and then give it to the justice department.

— "Passamaquoddy group to appeal dismissal of LNG lawsuit," Indian Country Today, 2008 Aug 29.

Webmaster's Comments: Adam Wilson and Quoddy Bay LNG claim they now represent the US Department of Interior's BIA? — and they're going to instruct the US Department of Justice on how to defend the case against the BIA?

Hubris and impropriety abound at Quoddy Bay LNG.

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Ian Emergy,of Calais LNG Project Company, in response to Save Passamaquoddy Bay/Canada’s Aug 20 annual meeting in which Member of Parliament and Cabinet Greg Thompson once again emphatically stated that Canada will not allow LNG ships into Passamaquoddy Bay, Ian Emery stated —

“It's really time to sit down and talk about this. We have an American and a Canadian flag hanging in front of the office. We are open and genuine. We could help them work on the new study. This could benefit both sides of the border.”

     “We are not the big bad wolf here and we will hear what the Canadians are saying. We want to be engaged with the Canadian Government, with Ottawa, and with the people of New Brunswick.
     “Canada is our friend. New Brunswick is our friend.
     “We need to do things together that will bring the project forward. They need to know what the benefits are and what the consequences can be.”

— “Calais LNG reacts to Canadian Head Harbour stance,” The Calais Advertiser, 2008 Aug 28 (story is not available online).

Webmaster's Comments: Apparently, hearing “NO!” repeatedly coming from the Canadian government “doesn’t count” in “hearing what the Canadians are saying” in Ian Emery’s one-way international love-fest.

Calais LNG’s behavior is unsettlingly and repeatedly like that of a stalker!

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Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake Energy Corporation chairman and chief executive

“It’s almost divine intervention. Right at the time oil prices are skyrocketing, we’re struggling with the economy, we’re concerned about global warming, and national security threats remain intense, we wake up and we’ve got this abundance of natural gas around us.

— "Drilling boom revives hopes for natural gas" — The New York Times, 2008 Aug 24

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Keith Trent, Duke Energy's chief strategy, policy, and regulatory officer —

"Relying more on LNG forces the U.S. to compete with Europe, Australia and Asia for this valuable commodity. If this isn't troubling enough, consider that Russia, Iran and Qatar have over half the world's gas reserves."

"Consumers are already hooked on gasoline. They shouldn't face addiction to another fuel [LNG] because of policies that don't balance our energy, economic and environmental needs."

— "U.S. must avoid addiction to imported natural gas" — The Charlotte Observer, 2008 Jul 11

Webmaster's Comments: Duke Energy is majority owner (over 77%) of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline that delivers natural gas to US customers in New England, and that would carry the resulting natural gas from proposed Downeast LNG, Calais LNG Project Co., and Quoddy Bay LNG, if those projects could actually succeed.

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Arthur Gelber, of Calais LNG Project Company (formerly, "BP Consulting," "St. Croix Consulting," "St. Croix Development," "Calais LNG," "Northeast Energy," and "Calais Maine LNG Import Terminal"), displaying his disingenuous "good neighbor" policy by expecting Canadians to accept economic, health, and safety risks from his poorly-sited project in Maine —

"We're hopeful the Canadians will be good neighbors. … We hope that as neighbors in the spirit of cooperation, that we can find common ground between what we're doing and what they're doing. We have interests, they have interests. There are things that they want to do that involve us as there are things we want to do that involve them."

— "Calais Officials Hear From Calais LNG Officials" WQDY FM, 2008 Apr 8.

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Brian Smith (Quoddy Bay LLC/LNG)

"…FERC is considering the revised tariff of Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline on gas quality specifications and otherwise considering the impact of LNG on pipeline gas quality, including issues such as maximum nitrogen content."

"The Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline has proposed a new tariff with a broader spectrum of the Wobbe Index than previously supplied further expanding possible supply options. Many power plant owners in Maine with combustion turbines are considering the use of a “Wide Wobbe” control system which can accommodate this broader spectrum."

PDF documentBrian Smith letter to Maine Board of Environmental Protection Chairman Ernest Hilton (PDF 177.1 KB), 2008 March 14.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS:Smith's statements prove to be bald-faced fabrications, as confirmed by Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline's Marylee Hanley, by FERC personnel, and by the FERC docket for Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline.

Go to the proof

Is Quoddy Bay LNG's truthless corporate culture what Maine welcomes to do business in the state?
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Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General, State of Connecticut —

"Unfortunately, when it comes to federal energy policy, the Bush administration has applied a mindless 'if they come, we will let them build it' approach as a substitute for thoughtful balancing of environmental and energy priorities."

Newsday opinion column, NY State must kill Broadwater to benefit public, 2008 Feb 26.

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LDC Forum - Northeast —

"High prices, supply shortages, controversies about new drilling opportunities, Middle East turmoil, volatility in the financial markets, and the Democratic gains last November all contribute increased scrutiny of the industry. We will never again be able to fly beneath the public radar! …."
[Bold emphasis added.]

2008 Jan, Agenda Welcome and Overview for the 13th Annual LDC Forum - Northeast, June 2–4, 2008

LDC Forum attendees are: Gas buyers from gas and electric utilities, merchant power plants, industrial end users, gas producers, pipelines, marketers, storage operators, and brokers.

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CAPT Charles Michel, US Coast Guard Maritime and International Law lawyer —

"Without being a party to the Law of the Sea Convention, we cannot avail ourselves of the dispute-resolution provisions."

— "U.S. Coast Guard Officer Claims Canadian PM Disregarded President Bush's Request for LNG Tanker Passage," LNG Law Blog, 2007 Dec 12.

Webmaster's comment: This is admission by the Coast Guard that the US has no legal standing in any court to challenge Canada's prohibition of LNG ship traffic through Head Harbour Passage and Passamaquoddy Bay.

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RADM Brian Flynn, U.S. Assistant Surgeon General (USPHS, Ret.) comments about Downeast LNG President Dean Girdis's op-ed in the 2007 Nov 11 Maine Sunday Telegram

"A good while ago, in a BDN OPED, I stated that the LNG import facilities proposed in the Passamaquoddy Bay area are the health and moral equivalent of offering tainted food to hungry people. I further cautioned that care must be taken not to blame hungry people from being tempted to take this food.

Mr. Girdis seems disingenuously surprised and frustrated that the people of Maine and Canada, and the governments they elect, are not jumping at the chance to super-size his fetid meal. One must wonder what in the world he is telling his investors. I suspect that the real audience for articles like this are his investors as he begins his attempt to evade his obvious culpability for this failure in which he continues to earn money while they continue to lose money."

— "Dean Girdis not happy with BEP and State of Maine," Google Groups [Quoddy], 2007 Nov 12.

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The Congressional Quarterly comments on Downeast LNG's fate —

"…see The Bangor Daily News on another LNG facility’s demise Down East."

"BEHIND THE LINES: Our Take on the Other Media’s Homeland Security Coverage" — CQ.com, 2007 Oct 29

The "demise" quotation is within the Oct 29 Congressional Quarterly page in the above link. To find the quote on that page, search that page for the paragraph beginning, "Bugs ‘n bombs". (NOTE: Search just for "Bugs", since the apostrophe in "‘n" is a curly single open-quotation mark [‘].)

The quotation contains a link to the 2007 Oct 26 Bangor Daily News story reporting on the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) ruling. That ruling denies Downeast LNG's attempt to withdraw from the state permitting process, and puts Downeast LNG's state permitting process on hold until — and if — Downeast LNG can come up with a viable pipeline route connecting their proposed LNG terminal to the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline, with a time limit of 2008 July 1.

About Congressional Quarterly:

CQ [Congressional Quarterly] … clients include 95 percent of the members of Congress, top academic and media outlets, and leaders in business, nonprofit organizations, government affairs and the executive branch. [Bold emphasis added.]

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Mark Snell, Sempra Energy's Chief Financial Officer —

"Enough LNG terminals are operating in the United States and soon coming online to handle expected imports of the super-cooled gas, likely causing a standstill to new construction.

"I would say through 2015, I would be surprised if there [are] any new LNG receiving facilities built in the United States except those under construction right now."

— "INTERVIEW—Sempra CFO sees dip in LNG terminal build" — Reuters UK, 2007 Oct 5

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George "Bud" Finch, Eastport City Manager

"The process has become like water: it's trying to seek the path of least resistance on its way to the bottom."

Parallel 44: For LNG, Maine is the end of the line, column by Colin Woodard, The Working Waterfront, October 2007 issue.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Bernier —

"This passage is internal waters and it's very important for us (to) protect our people, the environment and the industry here. It's a very important position. The prime minister has been very clear." [Bold emphasis added.]

Ottawa considers anti-tanker legislation, Telegraph-Journal, 2007 Sep 10.

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Member of Parliament Greg Thompson —

"Canada is a sovereign nation that has taken a position and we would expect the developers to respect that position. It has been articulated in a very strong, forceful way and it's a position we're not going to back away from. I hope they're listening." [Bold emphasis added.]

— "Ottawa considers anti-tanker legislation," Telegraph-Journal, 2007 Sep 10.

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Paul Martin of TRC, the environmental consulting company working for Quoddy Bay LNG —

"When you're up close to the facilities they seem relatively big. When you are further away from the facility, they diminish in the viewshed, so that they aren't so apparent."

WQDY-FM, "Quoddy Bay info meeting draws international crowd," 2007 May 23

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Rob McCall —

"Some day the oil will run out and we will have forgotten how to make so many things out of the bounty that Nature provides—all renewable, all bio-degradable. Then where will we be? Helpless as a hog on ice, that's where, and at the mercy of 'primitive' cultures and so-called 'developing' countries who still remember how to survive with only what Nature provides."

Small Misty Mountain: the Awareness Almanac: Nature's Year in a Downeast Village; Pushcart Press; Sedgwick, Maine; 2006 Jan 16; p 127.

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Sipayik Passamaquoddy Chief Rick Doyle

"They're holding us hostage until we coerce the other reservation to sign on the dotted line. That's the type of company they are."

— Regarding Quoddy Bay LNG's refusal to make lease payments; "Pleasant Point offers deal to split LNG funds," The Quoddy Tides, 2007 January 26.

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Dean Girdis, President of Downeast LNG —

"There is a degree of openness that is not being acknowledged by the opponents."

— "Fishermen split over LNG," Bangor Daily News, 2006 November 7

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: On 2006 September 26, Girdis lobbied the Canadian Federal Government in Ottowa, Ontario, and was soundly rebuffed. In Downeast LNG's monthly Status Report to FERC for that period — while mentioning hosting a picnic during the report period — Girdis withheld mentioning his failure with Canada. Girdis's "degree of openness" lacks sincerety.

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper —

"Mr. Speaker, I gather there are some representatives of that project [Downeast LNG] lobbying around the Hill today, so let me be absolutely clear. This government believes that the waters of Passamaquoddy Bay are Canadian waters. We have defended that position for a long time. We oppose the passage of LNG tanker traffic through Head Harbour and we will continue to do so." [Bold emphasis added.]

Question Period, Hansard, House of Commons, 2006 Sep 26.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: The position of the Canadian government is now unquestionably firm against allowing LNG carriers to transit Head Harbour Passage.

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U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock, rebuking the Bureau of Indian Affairs regarding its handling of Nulankeyutomonen Nkihtahkomikumon's request for public documents —

"First the BIA said, ‘We don’t have it.’ Then, it said, ‘You’ve already got it.’ And when they asked again, the answer was ‘You don’t have a right to it and if you think you do, you’re going to have to sue us to get it.’

"Aren’t you playing hide and seek with the very people [that the Bureau of Indian Affairs] is supposed to have a trust relationship with? You really make groups sue you to get documents?"

Judge says Bureau of Indian Affairs ‘playing hide and seek’ with info request, Bangor Daily News, 2006 Sep 23.

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Quoddy Bay LLC

"Common Transit Questions
"Canadian waters?

"To date, (08/22/06) the Canadian Prime Minister, Steven (sic) Harper, has had no public comment with regard to this subject."

PDF file "Quoddy Bay LNG Report to the Community #2, 2006 August (late August)

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: (Note: Prime Minister Harper's first name is spelled, "Stephen.") Apparently, Quoddy Bay LLC hasn't been following the news. Even prior to PM Harper's election, he publicly stated his opposion to the LNG projects in Passamaquoddy Bay.

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Quoddy Bay LLC

"Common Transit Questions
"What is the impact on local fishermen?

"Quoddy Bay will advise the USCG [United States Coast Guard] and Transport Canada to use safety and security zones that will ensure the safety of all vessels, but that will minimize impacts on other vessels."

PDF file "Quoddy Bay LNG Report to the

Community #2, 2006 August (late August)

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Quoddy Bay LLC has no authority regarding safety and security zones around LNG vessels, and their statement that they will "advise" is presumptuous. Safety and security zones in U.S. waters are an LNG requirement determined by and dictated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

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Quoddy Bay LLC

"Common Transit Questions
"Can LNG tankers transit through Canadian waters?

"Yes, the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea mandates the rights of innocent passage. Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state."

PDF file "Quoddy Bay LNG Report to the Community #2, 2006 August (late August)

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: There are two problems with Quoddy Bay LLC's logic on this issue:

  1. The United States has repeatedly taken the position that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is not in the United States' best interests. The U.S. has refused to become a party to the Law of the Sea Convention. Quoddy Bay LLC's contention that "the United States doesn't have to observe the Law of the Sea Convention, but Canada must" is unrealistic. In reality, a treaty requires agreement among signatories. That hasn't yet happened with the U.S., and isn't likely to happen in the near future.
  2. Transiting close to Canadian communities, LNG vessels would violate the Law of the Sea's conditions regarding peace, good order, and security of the coastal state (Canada). Thus, even if the U.S. were a party to the Convention, the "innocent passage" provision would be violated. "Innocent passage" would not exist for LNG tankers.
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Brian Smith (Quoddy Bay LLC)

"[W]e are very close to a successful end to the pre-filing process...."

PDF file "Quoddy Bay LNG Report to the Community #2," 2006 August (late August)

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: FERC lists a plethora of requirement failures in Quoddy Bay LLC's Draft Resource Reports, pointing out Quoddy Bay's lack of competence. Read the 2006 August 24 docket response filed to Quoddy Bay LLC's prefiling.

FERC has set Quoddy Bay LLC's potential formal application back by at least two months.

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Brian Smith (Quoddy Bay LLC)

"We’re eager to provide FERC with the additional information so that they have the opportunity to review the requested information before our formal application."

— "Quoddy Bay LNG Providing Additional Data to FERC," 2006 August 28

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Quoddy Bay LLC is providing what they're calling "additional information" to FERC, not because it will give FERC an "opportunity," but because Quoddy Bay failed to provide the required information previously, and they can't complete their pre-filing process without furnishing this information. Quoddy Bay LLC's ineptitude has set back their project by at least two months.

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Brian Smith (Quoddy Bay LLC), in a letter to the editor —

"Yellow Wood Associates specializes in working against economic development and have no background in LNG or energy facilities."

— "Quoddy Bay LNG helps," [letter to the editor], Bangor Daily News, 2006 August 10.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Brian Smith apparently hadn't researched Yellow Wood Associates before writing his letter, or he'd have known that Yellow Wood Associates is in the economic development business — oops!

Smith's criticism of Yellow Wood for having no LNG background exposes Smith's and Quoddy Bay LLC's hypocrisy, since Brian Smith and Donald Mitchell Smith have no LNG background, themselves — oops, again!

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Brian Smith (Quoddy Bay LLC), at the 2006 July 13 FERC Site Visit —

"Pure methane burns too hot," therefore, we'll add nitrogen to the gas.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Smith also stated that Quoddy Bay LLC would be importing "hot" LNG. "Hotness" refers to the calorific content of natural gas, when compared to pure methane — pure methane can't be "hot"; therefore, pure methane doesn't require the addition of an inert, non-burning gas, like nitrogen. It's only when other hotter-burning fuel gasses, such as butane, propane, or ethane are present in large quantities in the LNG or natural gas that it's classified as "hot" and nitrogen is required to "cool it down."

In the 1980s, the U.S. Coast Guard sponsored LNG research at China Lake, concluding that unconfined "hot" LNG vapors can explode. [See the U.S. Coast Guard 2005 Fall edition of Proceedings, "LNG and Public Safety Issues: Summarizing current knowledge about potential worst-case consequences of LNG spills onto water" (PDF).] Brian Smith demonstrates that Quoddy Bay LLC is dangerously ignorant about its own business.

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Governor John Baldacci, in a news release opposed to offshore oil and gas drilling, 2006 Jun 30

"Maine's natural resources are valuable assets to the state's economy and to thousands of families who make their livelihood from fishing and lobstering. The legislation that has passed in the United States House of Representatives yesterday is another example of the flawed energy policy coming from Washington, D.C. This bill in its current form would have a significant negative impact on Maine's economy." [Bold emphasis added.]

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Normand Laberge of Tidewalker Associates (the business proposing a tidal dam and LNG project in Cutler), referring to the proposed LNG projects in Passamaquoddy Bay —

"Even though there seems to be a lot of political support for the LNG projects, I think that something might happen to derail those projects."

—"FERC OKs Cutler study: Engineer plans tidal power plant," Bangor Daily News, 2006 June 21.

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Vera Francis, Coordinator, Nulankeyutomonen Nkihtahkomikumon ("We Take Care of Our Land") —

"To those considering the unthinkable, and in response to the Smiths' attempt to exploit and infringe upon Passamaquoddy descendants' rights, I ascribe to the saying by Chairwoman Cecelia Fire Thunder: 'Sovereignty is not to be played with, these are our people, this is our land, and this not a game.'"[Bold emphasis added.]

— via email, 2006 May 23.

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Veterans Affairs Minister & Member of Parliament Greg Thompson, quoting Prime Minister Stephen Harper —

"He said, 'I just want to let you know, Greg ... that we're saying no to LNG tankers...'."

"That we consider it a sovereignty issue as we do our northern waters — Arctic waters. ... We have laid it out pretty clearly and two or three weeks ago, when [Foreign Affairs Minister] Peter MacKay was in Washington, with Condoleezza Rice, he carried that message forward to her as well." [Bold emphasis added.]

— "LNG fight still on," Saint Croix Courier, 2006 May 17.

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Brian Smith (Quoddy Bay LLC), to the Sunrise County Economic Council board of directors —

"It looks like we will be stuck being a major source of noxious emissions."

— "Possible $700M LNG plan includes jobs, tourism, noxious emissions," Bangor Daily News, 2006 April 19.

In the 2006 April 22-23 Bangor Daily News, they published a correction, indicating that Smith actually said "NOx" (referring to Nitrogen Oxides; NOx) instead of "noxious." See the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's inclusion of NOx as an unreduced and problematic air pollutant. (We thank the Bangor Daily News' correction for specifying which noxious pollutant Quoddy Bay LLC proposes to belch into Passamaquoddy Bay communities' air — and our lungs!)

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Brian Smith (Quoddy Bay LLC), to the Sunrise County Economic Council board of directors —

"I'm not an expert on anything."

— "Possible $700M LNG plan includes jobs, tourism, noxious emissions," Bangor Daily News, 2006 April 19.

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According to the LNGLawBlog of Washington, DC, lawfirm Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, Brian Smith lied to the Eastport City Council when he stated —

"[Quoddy Bay LLC's project is under] strict guidelines that require FERC to deal with it within one year."

— "Quoddy Bay suggests “floating bridge” idea,"LNGLawBlog.com; Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan; Washington, DC, 2006 March 29.

COMMENTS QUOTED FROM LNG Law Blog: "LNG Law Blog notes that, unlike the Deepwater Port Act that governs offshore terminal proposals, the Natural Gas Act and FERC’s regulations do not limit the time period in which FERC must make a determination on an LNG terminal application."
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Brian Smith (Quoddy Bay LLC), in response to an Eastport citizen's concern for an emergency route off of Moose Island (Eastport) —

"We have long considered the possibility or trying to help out with capital or matching funds or something like that for a permanent bridge [between Eastport and the mainland], and the [railroad] tracks." ..."The only problem we see with that is that we don't want our facility to be contingent on building that bridge."

— "Quoddy Bay LNG makes pitch to Eastport City Council," WQDY-FM, 2006 March 28.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Smith wants Eastport to approve his project, but doesn't want to commit to an emergency method of egress off the island. Smith's Harvard education apparently didn't include logic.

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Hugh Berreman, Vice President of Quoddy Bay LLC

"[Passamaquoddy Bay] is a 10-lane highway, and it's not being used."

— Spoken at the 2006 March 16 Eastport Chamber of Commerce meeting to Save Passamaquoddy Bay member Nancy Asante.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: The "10-lane highway" statement should convince anyone about Quoddy Bay LLC's agenda for Passamaquoddy Bay — massive industrial and port development.

Berreman's remark also confirms that Quoddy Bay LLC has no respect for the internationally-recognized LNG-industry safe practices standards established by the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO), since those standards* preclude Passamaquoddy Bay from even one LNG terminal.

* SIGTTO safe practices standards are provided, in part, in SIGTTO's publications, "Site Selection and Design for LNG Ports and Jetties," and "LNG Operations in Port Areas." Both publications are available through Witherbys of London, UK.
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Chief Hugh Akagi, of the New Brunswick band of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, regarding the attempt by Dean Girdis / Downeast LNG to take Passamaquoddy territorial assets —

"The problem, Mr. Girdis, is that ... with all your millions/billions of dollars, you have nothing I want. To consider any offer you might make as a fair trade, to consider any exchange of paper for my consent as a good deal — I need only revisit the past to reply — 'No, Mr. Girdis, this time there will be no beads for Manhattan.'"

— "Mayor: Canada will block LNG projects in Maine: St. Andrews official warns developers," Bangor Daily News, 2006 February 16.

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John Craig, Mayor of St. Andrews, NB —

"You must understand that due to its location your project cannot happen without Canada's consent," Mayor John Craig told Dean Girdis, the president of Washington D.C.-based Downeast LNG, during a public meeting at the Algonquin Hotel. "That consent will definitely not be given, and if you choose to pursue your project in the face of our country's opposition, you will be forced to pursue the matter in our Canadian courts. Such an effort would be extremely challenging, costly, time-consuming and ultimately will prove to be an insurmountable obstacle to your project."

Craig urged Girdis to take St. Andrews' message back to his financial supporters.

"You must take this message back to them and accept the fact that Canada does have the authority to block your plans and all other LNG facilities on the Passamaquoddy Bay and that Canada will do so," he said.

— at Downeast LNG's February 15th open house in St. Andrews, "Mayor: Canada will block LNG projects in Maine, Bangor Daily News, 2006 February 16

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Downeast LNG's "Shill" Address

"Shill" Discovery
Screenshot
"Shill" Definition

"Shill" Discovery

The actual screenshot below, near the bottom of many of Downeast LNG's website pages, was brought to our attention by an astute observer.

Direct your attention to the email address, "shill@downeastlng.com", which the company provides for use in contacting them.

While we're sure that the address refers in some way to a staff person's name, it is, nonetheless, ironically prophetic.

Since Downeast LNG will probably revise their contact email address when they learn about our discovery, we've preserved it here.


Screenshot:
(2006 Feb 16)

Dictionary.com defines "shill":

noun : One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.

  1. To act as a shill for (a deceitful enterprise).
  2. To lure (a person) into a swindle.

noun : a decoy who acts as an enthusiastic customer in order to stimulate the participation of others

verb : act as a shill; "The shill bid for the expensive carpet during the auction in order to drive the price up"

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: No further comment is needed.

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George "Bud" Finch, Eastport City Manager, at the 2006 Jan 30 City Council meeting —

"I believe the City has no choice but to oppose the current Quoddy Bay proposal at Split Rock for many reasons, but specifically because of the site."

"This is not a NIMBY, Not In My Backyard issue, it's a NIMFY, Not In My Front Yard Issue."

"The location chosen is a poor choice for many social and economical reasons which for the most part are pretty self-explanatory."

WQDY-FM news article, 2006 Jan 31.

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John Craig, Mayor of St. Andrews, NB, in response to the election of Stephen Harper as Canada's new Prime Minister, 2006 Jan 26

"Today marks the beginning of the end for all liquefied natural gas terminals being proposed for the beautiful Passamaquoddy Bay. With Stephen Harper as our newly elected Prime Minister and our MP Greg Thompson being re-elected our Bay will be protected by disallowing and banning any and all LNG supertankers from entering through Head Harbour Passage. This area is not only risky and dangerous but most important is Canadian waters.

This is good news for St. Andrews which over generations has been built around the beauty of the Bay and the tourism and fishing industry. There is no room on Passamaquoddy Bay for any industry that will threaten our way of life and endanger our children’s future.

As I have said in the past it does not matter what results come from votes in Robbinston, Calais or any other community on the American side — what matters is what our Prime Minister says. Today we have a new Prime Minister who has promised to protect the Passamaquoddy Bay from the LNG threat and our Town awaits that good news. It is my hope that I will have the pleasure of standing next to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and our MP Greg Thompson when he makes that announcement."

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Cary Weston, President of Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications, the PR firm now representing Quoddy Bay LLC —

"Webster's dictionary defines the word propaganda as '... ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to damage an opposing cause.'"

— "Propaganda told as fact" [Letter to the editor] — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME, 2006 January 16.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Webster's online dictionary also defines "propaganda" as...

"Information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause."

It's a humorous irony — in his condemnation of propaganda — that Cary Weston makes his living by creating and disseminating propaganda. It seems that Cary Weston has a strong disdain for his own industry, making it all the better that he represents Quoddy Bay LLC.

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Clifford Goudey remarks about FERC External Affairs spokesperson Tamara Allen-Young's 2006 Jan 11 unnerving statement about living next to an LNG facility

"If this comment is intended to relieve our concerns, then it fails. It reveals to me the clear knowledge within that agency regarding the true level [of] risk they are so forcefully imposing on the public."

"Re: Blumenthal Challenges LNG Project," YahooGroups [LNGSafety], 2006 Jan 16

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Tamara Young-Allen, FERC's External Affairs spokesperson —

"If I were living next to a [sic] LNG facility, I'd feel more comfortable if certain information was [sic] not made available to someone living in a cave in Iran or Iraq."

"Blumenthal demands documents regulators say are already public," New York Newsday, 2006 Jan 11

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: FERC's Young-Allen makes a good argument not to live next to an LNG facility.

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Downeast LNG project flyer, "Downeast LNG Project Overview," 2006 January

"The most visible aspect of the project will be the ship itself, which will be present only when it is in port...."

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Brilliant! Why didn't Downeast LNG also inform the public that, "The ship won't be in port when it isn't in port"?

Or, "When we're gone, we'll be gone." Frankly, we can't wait.

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Dean Girdis, of Downeast LNG, at his 2005 December 28 Town of Robbinston presentation on his proposed project, in response to the possibility of Robbinston voting against his project

"That would just tell us that we have more educational work to do."

"It's a community's right to express themselves ... an opinion today is not an opinion tomorrow...."

— "LNG firm presents Robbinston plans: Officials say vote not last word on project," Bangor Daily News, 2005 Dec 29

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Deja vu! Dean Girdis is again acting just like Don Smith.

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Dean Girdis, of Downeast LNG, at the 2005 Dec 28 Town of Robbinston presentation on his proposed project —

"The terminal won't make a lot of money relative to the value of the gas."

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Does anyone actually believe Girdis is spending $500,000 on studies, and would build a $400 million terminal — because he wouldn't be making a lot of money?

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Dean Girdis, of Downeast LNG, at the 2005 Dec 28 Town of Robbinston presentation on his proposed project —

"I don't see a market for more that 400-500 [million cubic feet] per day."

"With the supply from Canada ... our permit may go nowhere."

Note: Quoddy Bay LLC's pre-application filing with the FERC indicates that its facilities will at times send out 2 billion cubic feet per day — four times the amount of Girdis' project.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: According to Girdis, there may not be enough market for any LNG project in Downeast Maine.

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Dean Girdis, of Downeast LNG, regarding a Town of Robbinston petition to delay voting on any LNG projects until a comprehensive impact study is completed —

"We want them to vote as soon as possible because we've spent more than a half-million dollars in studies," he said. [Bold emphasis added.]

— "Petitioners seek LNG vote delay pending study," Bangor Daily News, 2005 November 7

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: And yet, (as of 2005 Nov 7) Girdis hasn't disclosed the results of his studies to the public! Girdis is showing his true colors — he wants approval of his project before its comprehensive effects on the region are known.

On 2005 December 2, the University of Maine Margaret Chase Smith Center on Public Policy released the results of its study that was paid for by Downeast LNG. Their study used IMPLAN (Input-Output Model for Planning and Analysis, originally designed for the US Forest Service) economic software and data, which the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticized in 2001 as being flawed. (Numerous other flaws in the IMPLAN method are available for reading on the Web by searching for "IMPLAN flaw".)

Daraius Irani, after his LNG economic impact presentation at the Washington County Economic Summit 2005, agreed that IMPLAN is a flawed and "inexpensive" method of coming to conclusions about economic impacts, and that many clients simply don't want to spend more money for more accurate conclusions.

The University of Maine Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy study merely confirms that developers pay for one-sided studies, and why a comprehensive economic, environmental, social, and intra-community impact study is needed. Save Passamaquoddy Bay 3-Nation Alliance has commissioned the Whole Bay Study precisely for this reason: to obtain the whole picture of the effects of the proposed LNG facilities in Passamaquoddy Bay — results that Dean Girdis and Downeast LNG don't want the public to learn.

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Brian Smith, of Quoddy Bay LLC, regarding delaying a Town of Robbinston vote on an LNG terminal until the Quoddy Region Whole Bay Study being commissioned by Save Passamaquoddy Bay is completed —

"I think it's a wise decision to delay votes until a lot more information is learned about the general facility," he said.

— "Petitioners seek LNG vote delay pending study" Bangor Daily News, 2005 Nov 7.

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Fred Moore, of Calais LNG (formerly "BP Consulting," "St. Croix Consulting," and "St. Croix Development"), regarding delaying the Town of Robbinston vote until the Save Passamaquoddy Bay - commissioned comprehensive impact study has been completed —

"I don't know if they are biased or unbiased one way or the other. I have no idea, but I would support a truly bona fide independent study," he said.

— "Petitioners seek LNG vote delay pending study," Bangor Daily News, 2005 Nov 7.

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Dean Girdis, Downeast LNG, regarding LNG tankers that would be passing through internal Canadian waters and to his proposed LNG terminal at Robbinston, Maine —

"Once the application process is initiated with FERC, the Canadian government can then decide (what it wants to do). "

— "LNG meetings planned," Saint Croix Courier, 2005 November 2

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Girdis apparently isn't aware that Canada is a sovereign nation, and doesn't need his or FERC's permission — or even their request — to make a decision on this issue. Once again, Downeast LNG and Quoddy Bay LLC are behaving like the same people.

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FERC's Robert Cupina, Deputy Director, Office of Energy Projects, during his 2005 Oct 26 Calais, Maine, presentation —

"Outside that zone, no one will get injured."

…when asked if he was saying that the furthest-out Thermal Exclusion Zone shown in his slide presentation (1,000' for "Design Spill from LNG Storage Tank" or 1,752' for "Main LNG Storage Tank Containment Area") would result in no burns of any kind.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Cupina clearly lied, since the Sandia National Laboratories' 2004 December report (page 41; 1.6 mb Adobe Reader PDF document) for the US Department of Energy includes the 2nd-degree burn hazards from four studies. Those studies show that 2nd-degree burns can occur within 30 seconds to people who are the following distances away from a catastrophic LNG fire: 1,640' (500m) — Lehr; 6,234' (1,900m) — Fay; 1,608' (490m) — Quest; and 4,232' (1,290m) — Vallejo. There are distances even beyond those indicated in the studies where people can still receive burns, especially if they are exposed for longer than 30 seconds.

The report does not indicate at what distance no burns would result; however, recognized LNG safety expert, Dr. Jerry Havens, in recent testimony to California's Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which the CPUC included in their filing to FERC, recommended that LNG facilities should be a minimum of three miles away from the public to ensure that no burn injuries occur in the case of a catastrophic LNG facility fire.

Cupina's statement also contradicted the 2005 September 30 presentation in Robbinston, Maine, where FERC's Richard Hoffmann — whose responsibilities include engineering — callously joked about burning children outside the FERC Thermal Exclusion Zone, and indicated that people would be injured outside that zone.

Yet, the public is expected to trust FERC to protect the public safety.

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Laura Young, one of the editors for Poteau Daily News, in recalling Smith Cogeneration's "Smith Pocola Energy Project" on Indian land at Pocola, Oklahoma —

"It didn't fly. It didn't do anything. It pretty well fizzled out."

— "Lubec LNG queries lead back to Okla. developer," Bangor Daily News, 2005 Oct 22.

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FERC's Richard Hoffmann, Office of Energy Projects, Director of the Division of Gas — Environment & Engineering, during his 2005 Sep 30 Robbinston, Maine, presentation —

"Someone could argue that a child might be playing in a ball field nearby, and wouldn't know enough to run, but that wouldn't be a fair question. — Just kidding!"

— when asked at what distance from LNG facilities no one would get burned in the case of a catastrophic facility fire, and why that distance wasn't being used as the proper safety distance.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: It's clear from Hoffmann's callous statement that FERC's real concerns are about security to the product, ships, and facilities, but not of the public.

Recognized LNG safety expert, Dr. Jerry Havens, in recent testimony to California's Public Utilities Commission, regarding the proposed LNG facility at Long Beach, California, recommended that LNG facilities should be a minimum of three miles away from the public in order to prevent burning people in the case of a catastrophic LNG facility fire.

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Dean Girdis

"... It's unfortunate that groups ... are drawing conclusions when the project hasn't been fully defined and not all of the information is available to make an objective decision."

— "Canadian premier pans plan for LNG," Bangor Daily News, 2005 August 24

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Girdis wasn't so concerned about "drawing conclusions" when he lobbied individual members of the Sunrise County Economic Council to get that organization's letter of support, even though "not all of the information is available to make an objective decision." Downeast LNG is looking more and more like Quoddy Bay LLC.

Sunrise County Economic Council should heed Girdis' advice and withdraw its decision to support Girdis' project until complete information is available.

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Dr. Jerry Havens

“If about 3 million gallons of LNG spills onto the water from an LNG tanker ship, flammable vapors from the spill could travel up to 3 miles.”

Billy Frank Conference Center, Portland, OR — 2005 August 16.

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Brian Smith

"We are standing by our verbal agreement with the tribe. It is a spiritual agreement that we don't want to break." (bold emphasis added.)

— "Quoddy Bay promises jobs," The Quoddy Tides, 2005 August 12.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Brian Smith evidently hasn't even seen the nearly 100-page lease agreement between the company he represents and Pleasant Point Reservation. There's definitely nothing verbal or spiritual about it.

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Referring to statements by Dean Girdis, Downeast LNG

He said he understands a lot of the concerns people have, but thinks this development will be less obtrusive than the quarry at Bayside.

— "LNG companies shun St. Andrews," Saint Croix Courier, 2005 August 12

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: Downeast LNG has also stated that their proposed development would be less obtrusive in the fog. There's more "fog" being manufactured by invading LNG developers than occurs here naturally.

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Peter Nelson

"Peter Nelson, of William Alexander and Associates Ltd., of Saint John [NB], spokesman for Quoddy Bay, said Thursday the company would not be attending the meeting because of security concerns.

"We had security concerns regarding this particular meeting. Certainly the scope and size of the meeting was not what we expected. We expected to make a presentation in chambers to council. We had no control and input into the format of the meeting." (bold emphasis added)

— "LNG companies shun St. Andrews," Saint Croix Courier, 2005 August 12.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: First it was Jim Mitchell, then Dennis Bailey, then Emily Francis, then Dennis Bailey again, and now it's Peter Nelson. Just who really is the spokesperson for Quoddy Bay LLC, anyway?

So, Quoddy Bay LLC doesn't want a large crowd to hear what they have to say; they don't really want to "educate" the public about their project, as they have insisted in the past. They simply want secret meetings and control.

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President George W. Bush, at signing of the new Energy Bill —

"This bill will allow America to make cleaner and more productive use of our domestic energy resources, including coal, and nuclear power, and oil and natural gas," the President said. "By using these reliable sources to supply more of our energy, we'll reduce our reliance on energy from foreign countries, and that will help this economy grow so people can work."

Bush Signs Energy Bill Into Law to Mixed Reviews, Environment News Service, 2005 Aug 8.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: President Bush doesn't seem to know that current and future LNG-suppliers to the US — like Trinidad & Tobago, Algeria, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, and Russia — are foreign countries.

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Brian Smith

"We have land in Robbinston that is adequate for an LNG import facility, it's actually perfect ... except for the fact that it's right across from St. Andrews, a big resort community, and kind of on their face."

— "U.S. LNG proponent explores Maine options," New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, 2005 July 27.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: We're predicting that Brian Smith is about to discover an enormous glob of Canadian "egg" on his face.

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Brian Smith, when asked why Quoddy Bay LLC wasn't proposing an LNG terminal near Mill Cove in Robbinston, directly across the St. Croix River from St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada —

"...The resort community of St. Andrews was opposed moderately to the Gleason Cove facility, and we know that the community of St. Andrews is extremely important to the Canadian communities."

— "Quoddy Bay Meets Robbinston Planning Board Informal Discussion" WQDY radio, 2005 July 22.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: St. Andrews' so-called "moderate" opposition was expressed in a formal proclamation opposing the Quoddy Bay LLC project *, urging Provincial and Federal officials to take action to stop it.

For Quoddy Bay LLC to then propose placing LNG facilities at their doorstep, endangering their people and economy, makes a mockery of St. Andrews' concern for its citizens and their safety, let alone Robbinston residents' concerns for their own safety and economy.

*Other similar official statements opposing Quoddy Bay LLC's LNG project were created by Deer Island, Campobello Island, Roosevelt-Campobello International Park, Grand Manan, Quoddy Regional Land Trust, Indigenous Environmental Network, Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association, as well as anti-Quoddy Bay LLC LNG statements to Canada's Parliament by New Brunswick's Member of Parliament Greg Thompson.

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In a 2005 July 18 Maine Public Radio interview, "Two LNG Developers Flesh Out Plans That Involve the Same Town," Quoddy Bay LLC's Brian Smith stated that they would be building an 8-mile underwater pipeline between their Split Rock LNG import terminal and their tank farm in Robbinston.

The next day, 2005 July 19, when Quoddy Bay's spokesman from Savvy Inc., Dennis Bailey, was asked to comment on the proposed underwater pipeline...

Dennis Bailey responded —

"What pipeline in the water?"

Bangor Daily News, "LNG proposal stirs up community: Robbinston area residents wonder about impact on larger ecosystem,"

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Downeast LNG project publication, tab 1 ("Question & Answer Briefing"), page 15, 2005 July 8

"... the visual impact of the Downeast LNG facility structures would naturally be obscured or visually unremarkable on days in which fog, rain, or haze exist."

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: We're surprised that Downeast LNG didn't mention that if everyone in St. Andrews were to face only to the east, or were to all wear bags over their heads, they wouldn't see the LNG facility at all!

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Downeast LNG project publication, tab 1 ("Question & Answer Briefing"), page 11, 2005 July 8

"The research done to date does not indicate that there are endangered species or habitat on the Mill Cove."

WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: There's no mention of the threatened species known to inhabit the shipping channel that Downeast LNG tankers would travel in order to get to Mill Cove, and that live along the abutting shorelands that would be affected by the project!

Following are area species identified as Threatened by the Canadian Species At Risk Act:

Threatened species:

  • North Atlantic Right Whale1 (the most endangered whale species in the world)
  • Fin Whale3
  • Harlequin Duck3
  • Ross's Gull2
  • Atlantic Salmon1
  • Wolffish2
  • Atlantic Cod3

1 Endangered
2 Threatened
3 Special Concern

   

Area species that have already become extinct due to environmental insensitivity:

  • Great Awk
  • Passenger Pigeon
  • Labrador Duck
  • Giant Sea Mink
Top

Robert Wyatt, Downeast LNG vice president —

"... unlike a lot of other developers, I've actually done this before."

— "Downeast LNG Proposal For South Mill Cove Robbinston," WQDY Radio, 2005 July 12.

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Linda Lingley, pro-LNG activist and mother of pro-LNG Tribal attorney Craig Francis, commenting to anti-LNG activist Nancy Asante, while watching the 2005 July 3 Save Passamaquoddy Bay Sail-a-Bration from the Eastport Fish Pier —

"It's too bad you know so much about LNG."

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Donald Smith, in the 2005 June 22 Bangor Daily News article, "LNG Developer Plans to Set Up Advisory Panel" —

"We understand that there are genuine concerns about the [proposed] LNG import facility on Split Rock."

Top

Donald Smith, as quoted in "Rebound," by editor Michaela Cavallaro, Mainebiz biweekly, 2005 June 13 issue —

"After the second or third bottle of wine, the lightbulb went off in my head.”

— referring to the idea of using a no-storage-tank method of importing LNG at Split Rock, a ceremonial site at the Sipayik Reservation.

WEBMASTER'S COMMENT: We imagine that Smith's bragging about his alcohol-inspired idea won't make the positive impression on residents of Sipayik and readers that he seems to think it will have.

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Emily Francis, of Savvy Inc., Quoddy Bay LLC's retained public relations firm —

“Donald always does this to us.”

— referring to Donald Smith's release of information regarding using Split Rock for an LNG import terminal, as reported in the Bangor Daily News, 2005 May 14.

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The late Tribal Gov. Melvin Francis

“People are saying things they shouldn’t be saying.”

— referring to the same incident above.

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Cliff Goudey, Invited Panelist from MIT Sea Grant College Program —

"A fully informed public is capable of making the right decision. But when that informed decision has been made, both industry and the government should respect it."

— closing comments at the February 2005 US Department of Transportation "LNG Community Awareness Workshop"

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Don Smith, Quoddy Bay LLC & Smith Cogeneration —

"I wouldn't want the damned thing in my backyard, either, but I was sent to do a job, and I'm going to do it."

— told by Smith to multiple area residents, 2005 March.

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Mayor David Ragucci, Everett, Massachusettes —

"Honestly, I wouldn't want to commit to a mouthpiece. I would want to know who the real players are. So throw that man out of town and bring the real players in," he said. "The key to this is going to be who the owner and operator is going to be. They [Quoddy Bay] don't have any experience in LNG. I don't care what they're offering them, get rid of them. It's not worth the risk. It's not worth [what] you [the community], the tribe, the environment is going to be taking."

— Bangor Daily News, 2005 March 26

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