Another chance for real jobs and growth in Washington County. I bet it goes the way of every other chance they have had for economic growth down there. Not everyone can surive catching Lobsters and raking Blueberries. You shouldn't have any say in this if you dont live in Washington County.

From what I've heard its not the locals that turn the LNG plants down. It is the out of stater's that own property there that are doing the bitching. Is this true?

What jobs? Construction work during the building phase, but just like the casinos, the _GOOD_ jobs will go to out of staters who have already been in the business. They are not going to hire locals...they will import their own people for the management and professional positions. And they will do a good job undermining the tourist attractions that Washington county has spent so much time and money on..Devil's Head ( just to the north of the site) and St Croix Island Park ( just to the south.)

Besides which, all three of these companies seem to ignore the fact that the Canadian government has stated that they will refuse to allow the tankers to pass through their sovereign waters. Can't get here from there without passage. Nor can I imagine these tankers navigating, safely or other wise, up the St Croix River past Bayside .

Who are you to say what jobs are good and bad? If you DON'T have a job ANY job is a GOOD job. This is a good opportunity but why do they want to put it in Calais? There must be some sort of financial incentive to put it in such a remote location (Not remote like no people, remote like hard to do business). Calais has no major Highway, Railroad or Air transportation. It has the wonderful Airline route (Sarcasm) and a small rail feeder line that goes back into Canada to get to the US! Wouldn't Someplace with more adequate transportation options be a better decision? It seems like everyone wants to preserve the State of Maine (Which is a good thing!) but it seems like they want to preserve every little tree and path. Sometimes you gotta make compromises to get ahead! And besides, the old Maine Central Railroad line from Ellsworth to Calais is being turn apart to be turned into a trail! This is a business opportunity that the State decided to GIVE to all you trail loving folk. So enough with crying about saving tourist attractions, there are so many in this state that we have flooded the tourism market!!

Chris1943,

You're right maybe Calais should create a Museum of some sort right in downtown Calais. I bet that would be bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to Calais and Washington County. The LNG project would only bring hundreds of construction jobs for a couple of years and then a 100 or so $20-25 per hour jobs after completion.

Man, I hope my parents don't have to see any more ships passing between Quoddy Head and Grand Manan. It would be a real hardship. They might have to move out of state; then they would be out-of-staters.

Ralph

I doubt that there would be "hundreds" of construction jobs, and after completion, according to the LNG people, the facility will be staffed by only a handful of technical and security people. I also doubt that any of our LOCAL folks will be hired on at $20 to $25 per hour.

Chastings

A good job in my mind is one that pays a living wage...a bit above the minimum, thank you. As for location, I agree. Trying to get tankers up the St Croix River is laughable at best. The only access planned to my knowledge is another pipeline. I think I would call US Route one a major highway

Didn't they want to put down by Perry? They still voted it out. People bitch about jobs but when they want to put something like this in you always have someone bitch. As far as Canada not wanting it there I say possession is 9/10's of the law, too bad. You watch if Maine doesn't put one in I bet the Canadians will. You snooze you lose.

Perry, Robbinston and Calais. And as far as Canada is concerned, these tankers have to go through Canadian waters to get here...Canada says No thank you.

The gov't should do something constructive, like supporting the Lumber/Paper industries to bring back our economic base rather than spending billions to bail out a a bunch of white collar crooks. Lets be realistic!

Lumber/Paper industries have used up all the wood. Loggers are desperate. They clear cutted years ago and now they are paying for it. Take a look at the wood they are cutting, small and under sized. Maine has a short growing season, takes along time to re-grow

Chris1943, if you think "A good job in my mind is one that pays a living wage...a bit above the minimum" you really need to do a reality check. For anyone college educated, working for a bit above minimum wage is an insult and for anyone in general it is certainly NOT a living wage. It's time the people of Maine and of Washington County stop seeing Washington County people as victims and "oh poor me" attitudes and start realizing that we should be making the same as anyone else doing the same job anywhere else. Yes there is poverty in Washington County but there is all over the USA. There also resides in Washington County some of the richest people in the state of Maine! But until there are jobs in Washington County competing with other jobs localy and in the state, employers up here will think like you which is exactly what we do not need. And if the LNG brings only temporary jobs, at least for a time people were working. and if they paid like they do in the rest of the state and country, they probably would make $20.00 and hour!

Also the US shares the St Croix river with Canada. From start to finsh and down the middle.

If anyone goes to the FERC meeting would you be willing to post what is said at that proposal on this website?

Thanks

Charles Hastings

2nd year Communication, Business and Public Relations student

University of Maine Orono

Since the Stetson Mt. wind farm is in Washington County they have 40 % of the tax revenues from the wind farm to give out for development. The wind farm is in unorganized territory ..they will probably pay for LNG to come and destroy the environment. Unorganized can't be developed but I am sure a loop hole was found by the legislature for LNG. They changed the law once for them. The tax revenues were supposed to go to all unorganized territory...but that was changed so it went just to Washington county. The county commissioners of Washington county decided on their own to give 60% of those tax revenues back to the developer. The Kibby Mountain wind farm is only giving back 40%. First Wind is being investigated in NY by their AG for allegations of bribery of public officials. Jobs? That is a laugh. 5 people are employed for the wind farm in Mars Hill. So jobs is not a reason for that new development. Money going into local economies seems to be up for grabs. Grabs being the operative word.

"A bit above the minimum" was meant a bit facetiously.. Of course minimum wage is not a living wage, that was my point. Most employers up here are suffering the same straits that the wage earner is and cannot afford to pay higher wages than they are.

Stevey, the US and Canada share the St Croix , not always down the middle , but the problem is the sovereigh Canadian waters at the entrance to the bay. Canada has the right to refuse passage and so far they have...

A fact that the LNG people continue to ignore

lol you people need to get a life ,, beside i want those people to do their job and be sure its done right! do you have experience or are you one that needs to be babysitting to make sure you don"t srew it up, besides i hear it"s all politics with them pipeliners or any phase with natural gas for that matter. sure a handful of locals may get hired only to have to babysit them. then what do the locals et to do when that job is done?

Here's a few issues that are being questioned above but not addressed. The Canadian government has stated they would restrict LNG tankers through Head Harbour Passage, even though there is a covenent that gives the right of "innocent passage" through this section of water. That means that they can not restrict commercial vessels from traveling through Canadian waters. The same issue is taking place in Washington state, where LNG tankers are traveling via US waters to a Canadian facility... Also, the argument of building on the St Croix in Calais, is at a section of the river which is a mile wide, and is actually south of the Bay Side facility on the Canadian side. A surprising fact is that even though those stating the Head Harbour Passage is dangerous waters, why is it that the Canadian government does not require ships pilots to travel through it? This fact was brought up at the meeting, in which two ships pilots stated support for the project.

The anticipated construction jobs is greater then 500, of which the LNG developers have already been working with Washington County Community College to discuss providing special welding training for potential employees. After construction, the jobs will be between 50 - 80. Plus the spinoff is additional tug boat business, as well as ships stores, etc...

Calais is a good choice due to the close proximity to the Maritime Pipeline (which transports natural gas from Canada to Mass, "through MAINE". If Canada doesn't want to give us passage, then let's discuss their use of the line through Maine...).

And finally, LNG is safe enough that Irving built a major facility in St John, NB, which is one highest population centers in New Brunswick. Calais is also within 30 miles or so of the Point Lepreau Nuclear Power Plant, which I'm sure no on in the US was asked if they minded them building within spitting distance of the border. These two projects so close to the border show that Canada has no problem building such facilities, but is objecting to such a project being built in the US. Do you assume they are worried about the potential competition?

Canada is playing chess with the US on this one, probably to loosen up the restrictions on Softwood imports. They are playing it smart, just as the US would with an attitude of "what will you give me if we don't push the issue" on the waterways passage situation... I think you will see that this is not an issue, but more of a bartering chip.

Do a Google search for LNG foreign workers and see how many LNG terminals are hiring foreign workers because they can't find workers locally with the kind of experience they want. That includes Canaport. Some jobs are there if you have a lot of experience with LNG. Otherwise, no.

But massive heavy industry will dislocate all the jobs in any area that it comes in to, because it changes a whole way of life. That is why no seacoast port in Maine wants it. That is why the LNG develpers have latched on to a tiny scrap of US coastline next to the Canadian border. The last ditch effort. Unemployed millworkers are easy to sweet talk..

There are millions to be spent and the chance of billions to be made, but not by you and not by me and not by any area trashed by heavy industry. The money and the gas go elsewhere. The damage stays here.

Developers always sell dreams. These developers pit community against community. They use people. It is called exploitation.