To the editor:

It seems to be quite quiet on the front now concerning the proposed LNG terminals, plants in the Washington county area. Perhaps now is the time to share some of the thoughts I have had regarding these projects with the public.

Let me address the concerns of a certain mayor in a foreign country north of this country [John Craig, Mayor of St. Andrews, New Brunswick]. He seems to feel that we should not permit these projects due to the loss of something to his community. Do you suppose that he is concerned about the competition of the plants that are currently under construction on the other side of him?

He does not want these ships coming to the U.S. ports to transit Canadian waters though these same ships will be transiting Canadian waters on the other side of his fair city?

He seems to ignore the treaty signed by the leaders of his country that will permit these ships coming to the U.S. waters to transit Canadian waters or they must not permit the same ships their new terminals. Strange.

He does not seem to realize that there is a terminal on pristine Casco Bay that handles basically only Canadian destined crude oil. I am told that 90 percent or more of the like products delivered to the Casco Bay area are destined for Canada. I know that these products are transferred to Canada by pipeline. I believe that pipelines have a much worse pollution record than can be found in the records of LNG. Perhaps we should shut down this operation if LNG is not allowed by our Canadian neighbors?

Were I a resident of his fair city, I would ask why so many products of Canada are shipped to the U.S. and sold for a lower price than in Canada. If, as we are told, price is due to supply and demand, if the supply is increased at home and the demand stays status quo won’t the price come down?

…I was told by a friend that LNG in Maine won’t create any local jobs because nobody here is qualified. My question was, can’t the University of Maine graduate any qualified people? I bet they can. I know for a fact that Maine Maritime Academy can graduate qualified people to operate the ships, as I am one….

Some of the fishermen are concerned about not being able to fish while these ships are in transit. A true fisherman will catch these lobsters in one place or another, a lobster catcher won’t. My dad was a lobster fisherman. If push comes to shove, let’s declare the shipping routes as conservation areas and save some for breeding purposes…

Jerry Fernald

Jonesport