Assault on Maine Coast. Cliff Goudey.  Dean Girdis, president of Downeast LNG, claims a "bottom-up approach to gather public support for the project." ("Second LNG applicant files with FERC," BDN, Dec. 23)  What he really means is he sold the idea to the citizens of Robbinston as a concept rather than with its industrial warts showing.  As a result, his project is neither "safe" nor "environmentally sound." No clever approach is going to change the properties of LNG and the lethal consequences of an accident.  No amount of paperwork is going to bring the proposed site closer to the pipeline or to the natural gas markets in southern New England.  Nor can wishful thinking change the treacherous tidal currents in Passamaquoddy Bay and Head Harbor Passage. The chosen site has only one thing going for it; the town is small and the voters were easily swayed.  By contrast, eight other communities along the coast of Maine have rejected the hazards and blight associated with an LNG terminal.Unfortunately, FERC has never denied an application for a new or expanded LNG import terminal.  Downeast LNG and its schizophrenic running mate, Quoddy LNG, will both receive their federal approvals in 2007. Hopefully the state's permitting process has sufficient discretion to block this assault on the coast of Maine and the disastrous affect it would have on the economy of Passamaquoddy Bay.  If not, Canadians have vowed to block the passage of such huge and dangerous cargoes through their territorial waters.  And even if these roadblocks were absent, Downeast and Quoddy are too late in the North American LNG gold rush to gather the financing or source the LNG needed to get either project started. Cliff Goudey Newburyport, Mass.

Saint Croix Courier St. Stephen, NB 2006 December 8. Town donates to Save Passamaquoddy Bay By BARB RAYNER ST. ANDREWS — Save Passamaquoddy Bay Canada are continuing their fight against liquified natural gas (LNG) in Passamaquoddy Bay and at Monday night's meeting town council gave their fund-raising a boost. Councillor Mary Myers said there are still many legal battles to be fought and the information needed will require many hours of research with reports to be produced so their lawyers will have adequate information to defend their position. She said expert witnesses may need to be hired and committee members may be required to travel to hearings. She noted that they are still a long way from seeing the defeat of the LNG menace. Council agreed to grant $3,000 to SPB Canada to assist them in their fund-raising and the money will come from the town's LNG funds. During councillors' comments Councillor Mike Craig said he hoped that the people of Passamaquoddy Bay will be successful in slaying this LNG dragon in 2007. Councillor David Welch encouraged everyone who loves the bay and wants it to continue on as it is, to contribute to this very important campaign. "It's coming to crunch time very soon. There are still two active developers that are planning and working actively towards getting their applications into FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). "We're going to require money to provide for interveners, provide for lawyers so it's very important that people step up to the plate... [There are] lots of people working on these issues but a lot of these people don't come at a cheap rate so I again encourage people to donate towards this very important cause."

----------Date: Sat, Nov 4 2006 5:12
pm From: "Art"  My wife and I drove to Deadman's Harbour, between Blacks Harbour and Beaver Harbour, this morning to see if we could site some of the 20 or so right whales cruising along the shore between Mace's Bay and Blacks Harbour. Once you cross the causeway at Deadman's Harbour and crest the hill, there is a magnificent view towards the Wolves, Grand Manan, and Campobello. Sure enough, before we stopped the car Marg spotted a right whale blow just off the shore. We spotted perhaps 5 separate animals blowing and diving in this area, some in on the shore and some offshore a miles perhaps. There was an aggregate freighter anchored there in the same area. This was at 10 am, Saturday, November 4, 2006. We went to Pennfield and had breakfast and returned to the same viewing area at 11:30. 4 or 5 right whales were feeding directly below us in a tight group to the east of a little island there. I got some magnificent, if distant, photos that I will be posting on my Flickr site. Check out www.bayoffundy.ca later today and you will be able to link through to see them. Taken together, the right whale sightings of the last couple of weeks reinforce my stand that these animals occur more broadly then just in the sanctuary off Grand Manan. In fact they have occurred historically right where we are seeing them and into Head Harbour Passage as well asjust outside Big Letite Passage. Recent researchers seem to have focused on summer sightings over the last 10 years or so and have been missing data from later in the season as well as night. This is all right whale territory and frankly the proposed routes for LNG tankers, whether from the Fundy Traffic Lane or through Grand Manan Channel, both pose a very serious threat to this important endangered species. If we truly wish to allow other animals a place on this planet, this is one mistake that we don't need to make. I urge everyone to make FERC aware of these sightings and the presence of this endangered and internationally protected species. The whales themselves seem to have decided it is time to settle the debate about their Fundy range! 
Right Whales Photographed from Shore http://groups.google.ca/group/SavePassamaquoddyBay/browse_thread/thread/97921ec120db31d1 
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 == Date: Sat, Nov 4 2006 6:50
pm From: "Art"  Please go to www.bayoffundy.ca to see a slideshow of these photos taken today, November 4, 2006 between 10 am and 11:30 am. Note the 3 freighter photos with rights in the right foreground. This is the place where LNG tankers are likely to layover waiting to enter Passamaquoddy Bay. Art

 Date: Thurs, Sep 28 2006 3:42 pm From: "Art" 
The following quote appeared in Hansard, Canada's official record from the House of Commons. While there seems to have been some doubt amongst some of our friends to the south, I wish to assure you that Prime Minister Harper is the equivalent of your President and the House of Commons is equivalent to Congress. This is from the highest official in Canada folks during a session of the highest political institution in the land. According to the Telegraph Journal, it was Dean Girdis from Downeast LNG that was doing the rounds in Ottawa. Looks like Smith and Girdis will have to challenge us in court if they wish to proceed. Also, remember all of those comments that went something like "If Canada objects, we will not ...." Opposition to the Passamaquoddy LNG terminals is virtually 100% over here. It's time to back down and show some respect for your neighbours and friends! I believe everyone should send a copy of Mr. Harpers statement to FERC with your personal comments on how this should impact their deliberations, the Maine delegation, the proponents and anyone else who might finally get the fact that a sovereign country exists to the north and has sovereign rights which the present government will protect. Perhaps the papers in the home states of Girdis and Smith would be interested in following the antics and disrespect of their native sons! Please do it.

---------Hansard Quote ------- Mr. Mike Allen (Tobique-Mactaquac, CPC):
    Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous Liberal government which refused to take a position on the development in the United States of the production of LNG and specifically the use of Head Harbour Passage to deliver LNG into Maine, can the Prime Minister please update the House with respect to the government's position on this issue?

Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC):
    Mr. Speaker, I gather there are some representatives of that project 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. ----------END OF HANSARD QUOTE----------

Tues, Oct 3 2006 5:56 am From: "Art" This is a very important statement by PM Harper. Please let you friends
know about this. It is the equivalent of the US President stating policy. Technically the proponents of the LNG terminals should be packing their bags or starting to look at going to court with Canada. 

Saint Croix Courier St. Stephen, NB 2006 August 25
Dangers of LNG "underplayed"says MIT engineer By BARB RAYNER ST. ANDREWS —
The potential dangers from liquefied natural gas (LNG have been underplayed by the proponents of the projects proposed for Passamaquoddy Bay, says Clif Goudey, a research engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He intends to provide information on some of those dangers at a public forum, which will be held at the Anglican Church Wednesday, Aug. 30 starting at 7 p.m. The subject of his talk will be "Does LNG belong in Passamaquoddy Bay?" "There are still a lot of questions about what happens to LNG in extreme situations which, fortunately, the world has never seen. There have been some pretty bad accidents but, so far, a tanker full has never seen a catastrophe. "These things are rather difficult to predict. What is clear to me is that it is just foolish to store or transport that amount of concentrated energy where the public can be impacted by it. It just makes no sense." Goudey, a professor of marine engineering and director of the Centre for Fisheries Engineering Research, said he is going to try to offer facts on LNG at the meeting in a way that he thinks a lot of people have not really heard before because there is so much spin going on. "I would like to be a little provocative. I don't claim to be a renowned international expert on LNG but I am a competent engineer," he said pointing out that he got involved in this topic in 2003 when an LNG site was proposed for Harpswell, Me., where he has a summer property. The site was actually a couple of miles from his property, he said, so he would not have seen it and he didn't have a strong reaction until he saw the kind of tactics being used against the people who wanted answers. "It was handled so poorly. There was so much misinformation being presented that myself and quite a few other people who were not satisfied gave ourselves some self education and formed together in a way which was clearly an opposition group. "My role was to look at the engineering aspects of it and try to get as much information as possible to counter the misinformation being given out." Fortunately, said Goudey, the Harpswell project was proposed on town land and therefore required a town vote so there was time enough for this education process to happen and it was voted down. It was a terribly divisive issue, he said, and it still is in the town. Some people are in favour of such projects because they feel that anything which brings economic development to the area is good, said Goudey, but he questions whether LNG projects such as these are needed. "I think there are alternatives to dealing with our energy needs. This is something that can cause serious harm to people who don't deserve to be exposed to these dangers. You have really got to have a wide area of exclusion around these tankers and storage facilities. I think offshore terminals are the best solution for LNG if, in fact, they are needed. "I have heard about Head Harbour Passage and read about the kind of conditions and, to me, it does not seem like it would be anyone's first choice. I don't think it should even be on the list." Goudey said he thinks the only reason for the proposals in Passamaquoddy Bay and the fact that they have got to the level they have is because of misguided economic desperation. Such developments don't fit in with the normal coastal economy, he said, and certainly not with tourism. He said the fishermen in Harpswell quickly understood what would happen to their fishery if LNG came in. "I am not familiar enough with the fishery in Passamaquoddy Bay, but I assume the fishermen realize their way of life is going to be hugely impacted. "The challenge is what role Canada can play in helping the US and the region across the border from them to make the correct decision. People seem to think it is the answer to economic woes and they are prepared to take a chance on it." The other complicating thing, said Goudey, is that the U.S. Coast Guard is mandated to escort these LNG tankers and, because the U.S. military cannot operate in Canadian waters that becomes a sovereignty issue. "That could be a show stopper. You cannot be asking the Canadian Coast Guard or navy to do the escorting so who is going to escort them as they pass through Canadian waters?" During his talk Goudey said there are things he wants to clarify because of the misinformation that is coming from the proponents. If you look at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) website, he said, there are a lot of comforting words that proponents are able to parrot when it comes to concerns about explosions and they cite perfect track records. "If you look into it and dig deeper there are properties of the material and circumstances where it is way more dangerous than FERC is suggesting and proponents are admitting. "The problem is people on the US side have been talked into believing this is a big economic opportunity. I don't believe it for a minute. If you look at the kind of offers other projects have made to communities they have not negotiated particularly favourable situations for them." Goudey said it was also doubtful whether the people from Washington County would be able to run an LNG plant and they would have to bring trained people in to operate them. He also pointed out that currently there are a number of projects being proposed and there is only a limited pool of trained people to draw from so you could have people with, at best, on the job training operating these facilities yet there is a tremendous amount of energy which could be released all at once. During the meeting Janice Harvey, co-chair of Save Passamaquoddy Bay/Canada, who is director of marine programs for the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, will also discuss what the people of Charlotte County can do to defend their communities from LNG development. Following the presentations, there will time for questions from the audience and information about LNG and Save Passamaquoddy Bay/Canada will be available. Also the lighthouse quilt, made and donated by staff from Sheriff Andrews House to Save Passamaquoddy Bay/Canada will be on display. All funds raised from the $2 raffle tickets will go towards defending local communities from LNG development. Tony Huntjens, the incumbent MLA for Charlotte-Campobello, announced Monday that Premier Bernard Lord has officially declared the government of New Brunswick would act as the intervenor on behalf of the people of the province should the issue of allowing passage of LNG tankers through Canadian waters ever go to court. Huntjens said the premier's declaration meant that "someone will definitely be standing up against the issue of LNG officially."

   Fog

The fog comes 
   on little cat feet.
It sits looking
    Over harbor & city 
On silent haunches
And then moves on. [Carl Sandburg]

We who oppose LNG in our Bay
Are waiting  for the Day
When, as the fog moves on,
The developers are also gone!  [Kathy Berry]

Sightings of Whale & Birds  by Brier Island Whale & Seabird Tours

Hello Everyone: While out on a whale survey today, we were pleased to sight a Blue whale.  We spent some time watching it and getting the required photographs for photo-identification.  This species can be individually identified by the pattern on the back and also any scarring it may have.  Though not the first time blue whales have been sighted here, it still was very exciting to see. Birds sighted were northern gannets, puffins, 2 red phalaropes (a male and a female, the female was in bright breeding plumage) and Wilson's storm petrels. 
Shelley Barnaby, Brier Island Whale & Seabird Tours

Response Mon, Jun 26 2006, from: "Art" - Now we are talking rare!!!  A Killer Whale was reported at Grand Manan this past week and now a Blue whale at Brier Island!!  Fundy is a
special place. Given a chance, history shows it can even be better.

---

 FERC Approves Three New LNG Terminals and Two Expansions — Quoddy Tides, Eastport, ME June 25, 2006

In February 2005, at a LNG Community Awareness Workshop, Hal Chappelle of the National Petroleum Council (NPC) said a study by NPC in 2003 estimated that seven to nine new LNG import terminals are needed in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He noted that the vast majority of global natural gas reserves are located outside of North America. Canadian and U.S. well productivity from transitional basins is declining. Natural gas usage is growing in all parts of the world. The NPC is a privately funded advisory committee established in 1946 whose function is solely to represent the views of the oil and natural gas industry in advising informing and making recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Energy in respect to any matters relating to oil and natural gas. 

Save Passamaquoddy Bay WEBMASTER'S COMMENTS: We're now over the estimated number of required LNG terminals, as indicated in the National Petroleum Council's study, and according to an LNG industry news release, we're way over. The proposed local LNG projects are superfluous, and their tickets have been cancelled — except for the buses taking the developers home.

---

Calais' kiss of death

I was encouraged when I read that the Calais City Council had come out in support of the proposal by Fred Moore to build a liquefied natural gas facility within their city limits. The council's endorsement is a great step forward for the opponents of these ridiculous projects that developers are proposing for beautiful Passamaquoddy Bay. The powers that have guided the economic decisions for the city of Calais over the past few years have: 1) championed the construction of a Wal-Mart which, as predicted, has effectively sucked the life blood out of its downtown; 2) jumped on the sales pitch for the Downeast Heritage Museum which recently had to close its doors to avoid bankruptcy; 3) tore down half of its Main Street stores so you can watch the people who are not going to visit the museum; and 4) encouraged the construction of a third bridge and gave support to the east-west highway - both of which will help insure that tourists never go downtown and what few customers they have will find it easier than ever to get to Bangor to spend their money. For my part, I am pleased with their statement of support. It sounds like the kiss of death to me. Gary Guisinger, Perry [Bangor Daily News letter 031506]

Date: Wed, Apr 12 2006 4:31 pm From: "Editor" MP vows to keep tankers out of Canadian waters. Last updated Apr 12 2006 02:21 PM ADT. CBC News
The MP for New Brunswick Southwest says Canada is prepared to go to court to keep natural gas tankers out of Passamaquoddy Bay. Greg Thompson says the government will do everything in its power to defend Canadian water rights. Thompson says he met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday to discuss the Passamaquoddy Bay issue. He says Harper agrees that LNG tankers headed for Maine must be kept out of the waterway. "Our position remains the same. We will use all diplomatic and legal options to defend our position. And our position is no to the passage of LNG tankers through Head Harbour Passage." At issue is whether or not Canada can legally bar commercial ships from using a Canadian waterway to reach a U.S. port. Ships have the right to "innocent passage" through internal waterways, but Thompson says the hazard of a natural gas spill makes the tanker's passage far from innocent. "Head Harbour Passage is one of the most dangerous passages in Canada, certainly the most dangerous in Eastern Canada." Thompson hopes that argument will convince the owners of LNG terminals in Maine not to contest Canada's position. If they do, he says the issue will likely end up before an international tribunal.

Date: Wed, Apr 12 2006 4:37 pm. Mr. Joseph T. Kelliher, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426
Dear Mr. Kelliher,
I am writing to you regarding Canadian concerns about the proposals to construct Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals on the Maine side of Passamaquoddy Bay, which are in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) pre-filing process. Given Canada's sovereignty over our waters, and due to the proximity of  the proposed projects to the province of New Brunswick, the local Canadian communities have expressed strong concerns to my government about the potential environmental, navigational and safety risks of the proposed projects. Canadian citizens have told my government that they do not want to see LNG tankers transiting the Head Harbour Passage. In the same spirit of friendship and openness that has characterized the recent efforts by Canada and British Columbia to incorporate Montanan and Alaskan views in the review processes of new mining projects, we hope that the FERC would offer the same level of inclusion and consideration to submissions from interested Canadians who wish to participate in your regulatory process, including the province of New Brunswick or the Canadian government. Given that the viability of these projects depends on the passage of LNG tankers through Canada's waters in the Bay of Fundy and Passamaquoddy Bay, including Head Harbour Passage, I wanted to inform you that the Government of Canada. is conducting its own study of the navigational safety, environmental and other impacts of these projects on Canada. This study will be completed during the summer of 2006 and will assist the Canadian Government in arriving at a position related to the proposed projects, including whether to enact any measures to avoid LNG tanker traffic in the Head Harbour Passage and, in any event, to minimize risks to Canada. Canada and the United States have a strong, extensive, highly integrated energy relationship and a history of strong cooperation on energy and other bilateral and trasboundary issues, I look forward to working with you on promoting and enhancing this growing relationship in a way that takes into account the needs and concerns of both of our countries. Sincerely, Michael Wilson, Ambassador CC: The Honorable Samuel W. Bodman, Secretary of Energy, Admiral Thomas Collins, Commandant, US Coast Guard