The Government of Canada has formally notified the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that it will oppose trans-shipping Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) through Head Harbour Passage to proposed sites on Passamaquoddy Bay in Maine.

In a February 14 letter to FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher, Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson wrote: “As you may recall, the Government of Canada commissioned a study to review the navigational safety, environmental and other impacts that such projects could have on Canada. As a result of this study that examines the potential impact of these projects and other considerations, the Government of Canada has decided that it will not permit LNG tankers to pass through Head Harbour Passage.”

Wilson continued: “The impact of the proposed siting of the terminals, and the potential passage of LNG tankers through the environmentally-sensitive and navigationally-challenging marine and coastal areas of the sovereign Canadian waters of Head Harbour Passage, present risks to the region of southwest New Brunswick and its inhabitants that the Government of Canada cannot accept. We are therefore prepared to use domestic legal means to address our concerns and prevent such passage from occurring.”

Canadian Veteran Affairs Minister Greg Thompson, who also represents New Brunswick in the federal Cabinet and whose district adjoins the LNG sites, said on Feb. 16, “In response to LNG proponents vowing to continue with their current proposals, they have to know they’re taking on a sovereign nation, and we’ll take every legal means to enforce our position.”

He added that Ambassador Wilson’s letter should “spell the end” of the current proposals.

“The only way they could revise their plans is to take them somewhere else down the coast of the United States,” Thompson said.

As for what Canada intends to from this point forward Thompson said, “We are examining all domestic regulatory and statutory options. That is ongoing. Our position is firm and defendable. Our legal experts have examined what we are doing. When it comes time to defend it, we’ll be in a good position to defend it.” q

— Bob Gustafson