As the members of the Maine House of Representatives from Washington County, we spend a lot of time thinking about what’s best for the people of our home communities. We’ve been chosen by our neighbors and friends to speak their concerns and advocate their causes in the halls of state government in Augusta. While we only make up a small portion of the Legislature, we work hard, along with our county’s senator, Kevin Raye, to make sure that Washington County’s voice is given its fair hearing.
One of our most pressing concerns is seeking economic opportunities for our region. The past several decades have not been kind to our county’s economy. Our traditional industries of fishing, agriculture and forest products have all faced a wide array of challenges in a rapidly changing, globalized economy. Many of our young people have been forced to make a difficult choice between living in their home communities and moving elsewhere to find employment.
This has had profound impacts on the lives of those of us who live and work in Washington County. We’ve seen friends and family endure months of joblessness. We’ve seen the difficulties of our small businesses as they struggle to keep the doors open. And we’ve anxiously waited to find out whether our larger industrial facili-ties would restart after shutting down. All of this has led to us facing significant population loss and finding ourselves the poorest county in the state.
This has been all the more difficult to watch for those of us who know the true wealth of our region. We have a long history of hard-working people making their living through the use of our abundant natural resources. Our fishermen, farmers and millworkers are skilled and willing to work, we need only find them the opportuni-ties. Furthermore, we are well-positioned geographically with several border crossings and long, accessible coastlines. Our shipping heritage remains strong and our county proudly hosts one of only three active ocean cargo ports in Maine.
This opportunity for ocean-based industrial growth is one which we have advocated for aggressively in Augusta. One initiative we have supported in particular is the development of a liquefied natural gas, or LNG, terminal in our county. LNG is a safe, clean source of energy which would be delivered to our state via tankers and unloaded at a specially-designed facility to be supplied to an existing pipeline. A proposal for one of these facilities is progressing through the regulatory process with a desired site in Calais.
The entire Washington County delegation is supportive of the concept of building an LNG facility in Washington County because we recognize the wonderful economic opportunity it offers for our region. The construction of this terminal will employ more than 1,000 people, and create more than 100 permanent jobs. It will also give a much-needed boost to local vendors, from restaurants to construction companies. As an added bonus, this facility will contribute to statewide efforts to find more affordable energy sources and fewer carbon emissions. It is a real chance to spur sustainable growth in our county.
In late July, the state Board of Environmental Protection will come to Calais to hold a week of hearings before they decide whether or not to let this project go forward. We’ve been telling our colleagues in state government how important a project like this would be for us during our time in Augusta. Now people from Augusta are coming to Washington County to discuss this issue, creating an important chance for people to tell them how much our communities need the jobs and dollars that would come with this project.
It is our hope that when the board holds its hearings, a strong contingent of residents from across the region will attend and make their voices heard like we’ve tried to do in Augusta.
The Washington County House of Representatives delegation is: Rep. David C. Burns, R-Whiting; Rep. Howard E. McFadden, R-Dennysville; Rep. Everett W. McLeod, Sr., R-Lee; Rep. Anne C. Perry, D-Calais; Rep. Dianne Tilton, R-Harrington.