To the editor:
The selectmen of Harpswell are negotiating a lease with Conoco Phillips and Trans Canada, to use the former fuel farm on Casco Bay to erect a facility and to store natural gas. This is a valuable fishing area, Zone F.
A very large tanker will come in every four days to deposit the gas, which will then be pumped through a pipeline that is to be laid on the ocean floor.
The venture, known as Fair Winds, will mitigate with the fishermen for lost gear and lost fishing time but none of this has been worked out in writing yet.
Although the Harpswell selectmen have been aware and have been dealing with Conoco Phillips and Trans Canada since April, 2003, the town was not informed until September 2003 and we are scheduled to vote yes or no on January 20, 2004, which gives us a very short time.
The construction stage is supposed to be two years and a thousand employees a day will be brought in by water along with the building materials. They plan to put in a desalinization system as well. The bay will be congested.
The coastal area has many beautiful homes; one next to the site has been in the same family since 1711.
I have attended all the meetings including those of the fishermen who keep asking questions with the answer, “that hasn’t been worked out yet.”
The Working Waterfront has been a major source of enjoyable and informative reading for me for a long time but, now I beg your help and attention to this matter.
There have been articles in the Portland Press Herald, the Times Record and the Harpswell Anchor which you may wish to research.
This will be declared an industrial zone. It’s a giant step toward changing the character of the Maine coast and will displace one hundred fishermen from Harpswell alone and will affect fishermen from other towns.
Please give this matter your attention. Thank you.
Clare J. Ellis
Harpswell
We’ve done our own research. See the story in this issue. – ed.