In February, the boards of selectmen from Islesboro and North Haven wrote letters to the Maine office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to express concern over the proposed liquid propane gas terminal in Searsport and to request an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of the project.
In letters to Maine Project Officer Jay Clement, the two groups of selectmen used similar language to say they were worried about the impact of the proposed terminal on the economy and environment of Penobscot Bay. The two letters were among 30 public comments about the project collected by the Army Corps.
“The economies of coastal communities on both the eastern and western sides of Penobscot Bay, and certainly the islands of Islesboro, North Haven and Vinalhaven, are all centered on their pristine scenic resources as well as on their commercial and recreational fishing and boating. All of these resources may be adversely affected by the proposed terminal and tank,” North Haven selectmen wrote.
In the fall of 2011, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Maine DEP) granted approval to Denver-based DCP Midstream for a proposed $40 million liquid propane facility at Mack Island in Searsport. Searsport voters also voted to amend local building ordinances to allow structures up to 150 feet, which would include the project’s 137-foot tank. But island residents from Islesboro and North Haven have felt left out of the planning process, selectmen say. The selectmen hope the requested impact study can give them a greater voice.
The idea to write to the Army Corps originated on Islesboro when Steve Miller of the Islesboro Land Trust approached the town’s selectmen about it. Miller said the massive scale of the project merits increased scrutiny. He is not set against the proposal, he said, but he feels there are too many questions.
“We don’t have sufficient information to make a good decision about whether this should go forward or not,” said Miller. “And we don’t think the regulators have it, either.”
The Islesboro selectmen voted unanimously to write the letter. Susan Schnur, board chair, said it makes her nervous that the town has not been contacted about the project by state or DCP Midstream officials.
“Right now, all we care about is finding out what’s going on,” Schnur said.
She is particularly concerned about how safety restrictions might affect ferry traffic and daily island life. Ferry rules have undergone many changes since heightened security requirements went into effect after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Schnur worries more rules could make things difficult.
“We can’t even leave a stack of newspapers for somebody to pick up on the dock right now,” Schnur said. She worries that the addition of propane-laden ships to the area will cause more security concerns, “Suddenly, we’re talking about floating bombs.”
After speaking with Miller, North Haven resident Becky Bartovics proposed a similar letter to her island’s selectmen. Bartovics, the head of the executive committee for the Maine chapter of the Sierra Club, said islanders can feel vulnerable about changes on the bay and are well positioned to see how such a project might have ripple effects.
“Most people are land-based and don’t see the potential impact of something like this for up and down the coast,” Bartovics said.
North Haven selectmen didn’t need much persuasion to write the letter, said North Haven town administrator Joe Stone.
“The argument that they should do so is pretty persuasive,” Stone said. “It was no great soul-searching on their part.”
The two island governments hope an EIS will go into more detail about the possible regional effects than the environmental assessment already completed by the Army Corps. It’s the Army Corps’ policy first to do an environmental assessment before considering an impact study, said Clement, An impact study looks at many of the same factors as an assessment, but it examines each factor more thoroughly, Clement said. The Army Corps is not obligated by law to do the impact study, he said. The decision to do so is made internally, he said.
“Controversy isn’t generally sufficient to tip the scale,” Clement said.
Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Spokesperson Samantha DePoy-Warren defended the department’s evaluation of the project as transparent and thorough. While meetings about the project have centered in the Searsport area, DePoy-Warren said concerned Mainers have had multiple opportunities to make their voices heard throughout the process. Ultimately, Maine DEP decided that the project would fit into the coastal landscape of the Penobscot Bay, both economically and environmentally, she said.
Mack Island, she said, “is a true working waterfront and the proposal is in harmony with that use.”
Also, a recent economic study of the project’s potential economic impact, written by Maine Center for Business and Economic Research Associate Director Charles Colgan, concluded that industrial sites have coexisted on the Maine coast with tourism. The report noted that Portland and its surrounding communities have seen increased tourism even after the construction of highly-visible energy facilities. Colgan concluded that Searsport tourism would not be dampened by the Mack Island project. The study, commissioned by DCP Midstream, focused on tourism, not the fishing trade. Retail, education and healthcare were the top three fields for jobs in the Searsport area, according to the study.
But Islesboro resident Kim Ervin Tucker, who also wrote to the Army Corps asking for an EIS, says the Portland analogy of the study doesn’t work when talking about the Midcoast since the Portland area already was built up before energy projects were located there. Also, she said, a study focusing on potential impacts on Searsport doesn’t speak for island residents, who by nature are tied to the sea. She hopes an EIS will help focus on issues that might arise for islanders with the project.
“The only opportunity for the islands to have a say is to have an EIS be done,” Ervin Tucker said.