SEARSPORT, Maine — The developers behind a proposed major propane terminal project on the midcoast are fighting back against what they characterize as misinformation being spread by project opponents.
DCP Midstream, a Denver-based company, has opened up a campaign headquarters in Searsport and plans to hold town halls, job fairs and trade fairs in order to persuade residents that the project will be a net positive for the community. Company officials say the project will be safe, won’t generate excessive truck or tanker ship traffic, will create good jobs and will help provide fuel security for Maine — despite what those opposed to it believe.
“We really want to make sure folks get the facts,” company spokesperson Roz Elliott said Thursday afternoon at a Bangor Daily News editorial board meeting. “Literally, we just sit in coffee shops, fighting misconceptions.”
The company has yet to submit a permit application from the town of Searsport for the $40 million terminal project. But if built as described, four to six propane tanker ships each year will offload the liquid fuel from the North Sea at Mack Point’s existing cargo pier. The propane would be pumped through a mile-long pipeline that would run to a very large storage tank at the DCP terminal.
The size of that tank has been a focal point for project opposition. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has signed a permit for a 138-foot-tall propane tank, which would tower over the 30 or so 50-foot-tall tanks already in place at the point. The propane would remain in liquid form, cooled to 45 degrees below zero, and eventually be offloaded to trucks and rail cars at the terminal for distribution throughout Maine and potentially to other locations in northern New England.
“If something comes in of this size, it’s going to change our entire landscape here,” Astrig Tanguay of Thanks but no Tank said last month. “We want to frame the conversation, ‘How will this benefit our town and our region?’”
The grass-roots group, as its name implies, is working to keep the project out of town. A November protest against the project attracted more than 100 impassioned, sign-wielding people to the side of Route 1 in town.
“The beauty of the harbor will be ruined,” protester Judy Kaiser of Waldo said then. “It will be so huge and so tall you will be able to see it from Acadia National Park. It will ruin our coastline.”
Thanks but no Tank was instrumental in getting signatures on a petition for a six-month moratorium on major projects in Searsport. Residents will vote on the moratorium in March during the annual town meeting.
Elliott said that she and other company officials would like Searsport residents to know that the 12 to 15 full-time jobs created if the project goes through would be a far cry from the “gas attendant” work that opponents describe.
“I consider us professionals — probably the highest-trained propane professionals in the industry,” said Jeff Hurteau of DCP Midstream. “These are folks who will be much more significantly trained than a gas station attendant.”
They would be paid from $19 to $27 an hour, with benefits and the chance of overtime. Additionally, a work force of about 100 people would be employed over 18 months to construct the terminal, he and Elliott said. Once the terminal is up and running, the company plans to hire contractors to do work not related to propane such as plowing snow, welding and plumbing.
Hurteau said that despite the stated fears of many in the midcoast, the terminal will be safe.
“There’s a lot of misinformation,” he said. “We just want to provide the correct information.”
As for the height of the project, Hurteau and Elliott said that the footprint of the site is keeping the company from designing two storage terminals or one wider, shorter terminal. DCP Midstream does plan to have about 13 feet of the terminal underground.
“We have purposefully bought more land than we need, in order to create buffers,” she said.
Hurteau said that the company will be a good neighbor to Searsport.
“Even the opponents of this project, if we go forward, they’ll benefit,” he said.
DCP Midstream officials will hold a town hall meeting to discuss the terminal project at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at Union Hall in Searsport.
I wondered when DCP’s public relations machine would start spewing its greenwash.
Poor Abigail and other Maine journalists, they don’t stand stand a chance against the public relations pros the Gassers have hired.
Tighten your seatbelt friends… We’re up against a dangerous modern day dragon that will not stop until it gets what it wants. What does it want? To increase its bottom line. No matter what. How? Deception. This is a dangerous project and it exceeds the capacity of this mid-coast region to deal with in the event of a disaster.
Headline needs to be changed
This article is about GAS, not OIL. 2 different things but both come from the ground. One is highly explosive and one makes a big mess when spilled.
Good point. Thanks.
yes, and? there are many of these around the country, and with very few problems or spills. the opponents are just a bunch of dim lit bulbs, in the back pocket of Obama and his like ILK! this project can only improve the economic situation in this area. so go whine in cuba or china, ok??
Dear Stiff Chicken, get your facts straight. There are very few LPG distribution centers in the country and the one proposed in Searsport is as big as the biggest tanks that are out there. All other GIANT LPG Tanks have a 2 mile safety zone between them and residential communities. This project does not have that kind of safety zone – in fact, downtown Searsport is less than 2 miles away and there are homes within a stones throw of this monstrosity, not to mention its in the backyard of Angler’s restaurant. Bring on additional 100,000 pound tankers (most that you see are in the 35,000 lb range) and the risk of accidents in our region increases significantly. Human error is the most common cause of disasters in this arena and the odds of it are high given the amount of LPG they are proposing to move through our community. This is an irresponsible project that is way out of scale with current development and certainly out of scale with the ability of the region to respond to in a disaster. Rich corporations like to dangle shiny trinkets on the end of their sticks as a means of distracting from the safety concerns. DCP is no exception! Personally, this really ticks me off. It irritates me to no end to have a corporation manipulate my community for its own gain. I do not want to have a project of this scale in my community. It is not worth the risk to personal safety.
I guess the “correct information” Jeff Hurteau, frontman for ConocoPhillips/Spectra Energy, is so anxious to impart to us ignorant folk here in Searsport and around upper Penobscot Bay among many other things does NOT include:
— that the proposed tank would loom over both Route 1 and Penobscot Bay the height of a 14-story building filled with the energy equivalent of three dozen nuclear weapons the size of the one that destroyed Hiroshima, this in an age of both foreign and domestic terrorism;
— that unless the 22.7 million gallons of liquefied propane inside the tank is kept constantly at 44 degrees below zero F. it will gasify and must be vented to keep the tank from rupturing;
— that, according to DCP Midstream Partners itself, the limited liability corporation jointly owned by CP/Spectra, (going on record in its Maine DEP permit application) in the event of a prolonged power outage there would be insufficient backup generator capacity on site to maintain gas refrigeration (anybody remember the Ice Storm of 1998?);
— that DCP would build what it terms in its DEP application an “emergency flare” that would be 75 feet high, and that the company is actually planning to have an emergency with a roaring torch flame shooting perhaps 100 feet in the air — many emergencies, in fact, totaling perhaps 500 hours a year, which amounts to DCP’s proposed megatank facility being in an official state of emergency almost 6 percent of the time(!);
— that despite the fact that the only difference for concern between liquefied propane and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the former packs about twice the energy punch, if a liquefied propane tanker ship comes to Mack Point there are no plans by state and federal authorities to conduct the same water, air and shoreside armed escorts that are routine when an LNG tanker comes into Boston Harbor — the population of upper Penobscot Bay is apparently insufficiently dense to warrant such measures, or, looking at the matter in terms of coldly calculated liability, there being much too damn few of us we are all more expendable;
— that DCP is at this point tentatively permitted to dispatch a 100,000-pound tanker truck loaded with up to 17,000 gallons of liquefied propane turning onto or off Route 1 at Mack Point every five minutes around the clock;
— that nearly a year and a half after a pattern of reliance at its Westfield, Mass., terminal on casual “sniff testing” resulted in unodorized propane being delivered across New England and directly caused a fatal gas explosion at a construction site in Norfolk, Mass., DCP nonetheless glibly continues to boast of its diligent safety record, further that it lays claim to “numerous” safety awards when in fact it lists only two of them, from DCP’s own president and from a Canadian rail industry safety organization (actually awarded to one of DCP’s parent companies);
— that whatever fate might actually bring or not bring to Searsport, whether it be simply snarled traffic or tanker truck and rail tank car accidents or even a truly horrific catastrophe involving what would be the most massive such storage tank on the East Coast, no matter what the ultimate reality in terms of either nuisance or disaster it is a certainty that the PERCEPTION Searsport is being carelessly transformed into Bayonne, N.J. will be sufficient to destroy our present way of life — the true local economic engine generated by tourists and affluent retirees and energetic small business owners and entrepreneurs will falter as these people go elsewhere, homes and properties will dive sharply in value or become unsaleable, many many people will lose their livelihoods.
Well said Peter. The DCP Spin Machine is revving up. This issue is about safety and this corporation will stop at nothing to get what it wants, including deception. Thank you for pointing out safety issues that citizens in the town of Searsport are rightfully concerned about. At the end of the day, the safety risks posed by this project are the primary concern. This is a huge project totally out of scale with the surrounding development and far outweighs the capacity of the region to deal with in a disaster.
NIMBY…a terrible disease.
Please refrain from using any energy sources other than wood. It is all shipped in from out of state.
Maine (and the rest of the US) are trying hard to use to domestic fuel sources for our energy. There is ample natural gas and an existing infrastructure for natural gas in Maine. Our governor suppors developing natural gas supplies. We should not be importing unnecessary propane from North Africa or the North Sea. Additionally, there is no shortage of our propane supply in Maine. If DCP in fact intends to distribute its fuel in Maine, it could likely cause a glut and truck drivers and other employees of existing propane companies could find themselves out of a job. Certainly the small percentage of Mainers who use propane for heating are not going to see lowe fuel bills–the price is not set locally and propane is in fact the most expensive form of heating fuel already,
Think of the jobs DCP is offering–it will be like a lottery–just a few winners . But in this case, a lot of losers– the rest of us, and our children, will lose our way of life forever.
Nice job on VOM the other day. You represent well…?
You don’t know what you’re talking about. There are not many of these facilities. I suggest you don’t “whine” about other bulbs’ supposedly low wattage until you actually have something in your own dim head besides that ugly attitude you’ve mainlined from the Fox propaganda machine.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. There are not many of these facilities. I suggest you don’t “whine” about other bulbs’ supposedly low wattage until you actually have something in your own dim head besides that ugly attitude you’ve mainlined from the Fox propaganda machine.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. There are not many of these facilities. I suggest you don’t “whine” about other bulbs’ supposedly low wattage until you actually have something in your own dim head besides that ugly attitude you’ve mainlined from the Fox propaganda machine.
Would someone at the BDN please fix matters so a response to an individual — in my case to the moronic “stiffchicken” below — doesn’t end up as a separate unconnected comment. It would also be nice to be able to permanently edit out a comment when it ends up where it doesn’t belong.
You just broke rule # 2 Petey….
That is not nice to call people names….
DCP is right. The jobs that the terminal creates will be highly trained and will also require lots of experience. Training and experience that no one in Searsport or the region possesses. The jobs created
will, by their nature, go to outsiders, as will the construction jobs.
That leaves Searsport residents to deal with the truck traffic, noise, light pollution, loss of tourism traffic, loss of summer rentals, decline and loss of businesses, decline of house values, rise of property tax rates, and all without any real economic benefit.
The whole project is wrong headed. Rather than expensive propane, Mid-coast Mainers (all Mainers) need accesses to the cheap, abundant natural gas that runs through the state.
Eventually, Maine’s biomass will make drop in biofuels that will make it all moot, but that’s another story.
Peter and Suzanne are using typical fear mongering to kill another project that could move Maine and our region forward. The whole state is not a national park and shouldn’t be treated as one. This tank is not going to rupture, is not going to torch or suffocate people and is not a major safety concern. Its a TANK. Our state and country is hurting because of backward thinking people like yourselves and its exhausting listening to the pointless hysteria you people preach. People need to work and feed their children.
Backward thinking involves those who support the importation of fossil fuel in this day and age. It is finite and has greatly contributed to climate change and global warming. It is unwise to predict that this tank will not rupture – bite your tongue. With no evacuation plan, with a volunteer fire department, with an inadequate buffer zone that will not protect nearby residents – one best not carry on about how safe this tank will be. I wonder why anyone thinks that DCP, a multinational corporation that is an LLC will care a bit about us.
We all need to work and feed our families, but there are other ways of promoting business/work than this. Better to think about leaving our children a world at all, because at the rate we’re depleting the earth’s natural resources, and destroying the environment (and I DON”T mean wrecking the view), there won’t be anything left for them to live on or for.
So lets see some figures. Lets say the 12-15 employees all get $27 an hour pay (averaged out). And lets say they hire a full 15 people. That would be a yearly payroll of $810,000! That would be way less than $70,000 a year gained from income taxes to the state! Not sure what property or business tax would be on the site itself. But I figure it would not be that high the way corporations moves figures around and creative accounting. The fact is they are willing to sell out Searsport for less than $70,000k a year in income taxes! Probably half that or less after deductions and such (not a tax person).
Is $70k a year or probably half that worth it? I know this is very simplified. But 12-15 jobs is not worth the risk. And if anyone says what risk. Just look up refinery fires! The same companies that are supporting this also have oil refineries. And they have fires. A lot more than most people realize! When ever people interact with dangerous substances. Accidents happen! It is a fact through history!
If there was a larger safety zone I would not be so worried. But the fact is, this is a very large tank and has a great explosive potential. And people are willing to sell out those that are close to it for 12-15 jobs!! Sorry but thats not good enough for me.
And what about truck tanker traffic? I know I have turned around several times heading downeast due to heavy traffic. And they want to add more? And add the fact it is a tourist area, and they are rubber necking looking at the sites. You have just added another risk! There is a reason they don’t have these things in populated areas. If people don’t know the one in Boston is on an island on its own. And away from the population center. It’s easier to be secured and watch for trouble.
This is not worth the jobs they are touting! I am not against having a LNG or LNP tank plant in ME. Just don’t think its right to have one right in the middle of town!! I am sure there are other locations that could be used. Yes, it would probably be more expensive as roads and rails would probably have to be added. And a new dock. But it would be more secure, and easier to protect.
I do not live in Searsport. Just feel this is not a good thing for them or the state!
How safe are we?
Yesterday, 1/19/2012 – a Fire was reported about 5 P.M. at American Propane’s Gas facility in Oklahoma City (population approx. 547,000 +/-) It took 75 firefighters and closed down a major route during rush hour because of smoke visibility. Estimated damage to the facility by the Fire Chief was $100,000.#1: We don’t have 75 firefighters in the total Mid-coast – much less ones that are trained in Propane Gas fires (According to the Propane Education and Research Council, it is a 250 hour course and the firefighters can take up to 6 months to complete the course)#2: We don’t have the equipment#3: The cost for closing down a major route – is extremely expensive.#4: The cost for sending out 75 firefighters is even more expensive.Now – that was only yesterday.#4: On January 17, 2012 – Jackson County, Missippii Board of Supervisors upheld a ruling to reject Neill Gas’ proposal to build a bulk propane facility which reportedly was much smaller than the one proposed for tiny Searsport. (Jackson County has an approx 139,000 residents – as opposed to Waldo County’s 38,000.) Jackson County determined the bulk facility was not safe enough for their residents – schools, businesses and children
How naive can we be?
Plus – they are all LLCs = Limited Liability Corporations – they can walk away anyday they please, whenever they please after leaving a mar on our landscape , chewed up our road, ended life as we know it, closed down the tourism business and then leave the mess for us to clean up at our own expense.
seriously? how about energy indpendence. how about the fact that those who can’t afford a million dollar view and there are few in searsport who can might need a less expensive fuel alternative.
Energy independence is using domestic –USA–fuel, not DCP’s propane from foreign countries .
Propane is the most expensive heating fuel on the market. More than oil or natural gas. A glut of propane from DCP will likely mean layoffs from our smaller, family-owned fuel companies.
Views of Penobscot Bayare beautiful from Searsport and DCP’s tank will be three or four times taller and wider than any at Mack Point. 22 acres will be clearcut.
Tourists fill our B&Bs and shop and eat in Searport, supporting many jobs including plumbers, contractors, carpenters, roofers, landscapers, etc.
If the tourists decide to go elsewhere our local businesses will fail, affecting many jobs in exchange for a few at permanent jobs at DCP, many which will probably go to out-of-towners anyway.
Susiesearsport: We already have propane gas which is a lot less expensive! I heat with Propane
What we do NOT need is IMPORTED propane gas from foreign countries that one day are our friends and the next day our enemies.
Particularly, we do not need Imported gas when there is a Bill in Congress (D.C.) to consider the U.S.A. EXPORTING Gas.
We do NOT need imported gas from other continents when 96% of all the gas used in the U.S. comes from North America.
There is absolutely nothing in this proposal that says our propane gas costs will go down. But – there is a lot that says your taxes will go up – such as taxes to pay for infrastructure and taxes to pay for fire departments. As it is now, Maine can’t afford to take care of it’s roads properly.
“Our state and our country are hurting” because of our dependence on foreign fuel. Just ask Governor LePage. We can get ample domestic natural gas for heating without a big brother corporation and it’s public relations people taking over our town telling us what is good for us.
A handful of silver….
Kitchell says ” Our state and country is hurting because of backward thinking people like yourselves.:” Has he considered that the economy of the US has been held hostage for years by companies like DCP who get wealthy beyond our dreams importing fuel from overseas. This just adds to our trade deficit and our dependence on other countries.
We should listen to Governor LePage and support the use of the ample natural gas supply we have available domestically.
How safe are we?
Yesterday – Jan 19, 2012 – at American Propane Gas Facility , Oklahoma City (Pop. approx. 580,000) there was a fire. The major highways were closed during rush hour – due to smoke visibility.
75 firefighters turned out and the estimated damage to the facility (by the Fire Chief) was $100,000.
1: We don’t have 75 fire fighters in the communities along the coast.
2: We do not have fire fighters trained in propane gas fires – that is an estimated 250 hour course, per man, that can take up to 6 months.(According to the Propane Education and Research Council)
#3: We do not have the equipment for propane gas fires.
#4: The cost of closing down the major highway and sending out all those firefighters and equipment is extremely high – and I don’t know of one of these little towns that has that kind of where-with-all.
#5: Stands to reason, if we allow this – then our taxes WILL go up!
(I ,for one, do not want to pay higher taxes so that DCP can make money = while they chew up our roads, endanger us and our businesses, take away our way of life as we know it – and wreck our tourism industry, thereby ending jobs for a lot of people that really need those jobs (much more than some 15)
NEXT- On January 17, 2012, in the Biloxi, Mississippi area (Population 139,000+) the Board of Supervisors upheld a vote to STOP the Neill Gas’s proposal for a bulk propane gas facility, purportedly to be much small than the one proposed for Searsport.
Waldo County’s population is just a bit over 38,000. Compare that to Biloxi, or Oklahoma City.
How naive can we be to think that all of the above folks are stupid and we are smart to believe DCP?
How naive can we be to not realize these are all LLCs who can close up and walk away at their own whim –possibly after having wrecked our entire way of life, possibly devastated our seaport – and leave us not only holding the bag, but the expense and years it would take to rebuild to where we presently are?
ACCIDENTS truly do happen. BP said they were safe.
There is NO WAY we are or could be prepared: – we do not have the humanpower, the equipment, the youth, the money, the education
My Name is Nancy-Linn – I just have to sign on as Tiger41
There is talk about the high paying jobs that would be available. I would like to see some information comparing that to the loss of tourism generated income and loss of value of property in Searsport.
Just this morning at my dental appointment, the hygienist (from Ellsworth) said, “I love to go the Searsport; I love Silkweeds and the town is so beautiful and picturesque.” I didn’t want to tell her that some people want to turn it into a center of industry.
The people that are against this project would do better to stop the fear mongering, calm down a bit, and stick to the facts. I’m sure the facility will be built and operated safely. The real issues that should trouble everyone are the increased truck traffic and the very few new local jobs that will be created. The relatively small taxes netted from this proposal are probably not worth the trouble. All the talk about explosions and such are just silly and detract from the true negatives. Also, I keep reading about how this is an LLC and they can just walk away and not have any resposibility. That is also not true and is silly. They may be an LLC but that in no way absolves these people from being on the hook for any issues.
LLC stands for LIMITED LIABILITY CORPORATION … it really couldn’t be any more obvious what is the intention of that!
Do you expect this company to be registered as a sole proprietor? Every local contractor with an employee is registered as an LLC at least. It has more to do with tax purposes than escaping liability. Yes the individual members have ‘some’ protection just like your local plumber or carpenter-the company itself is still liable for anything wrong that could happen. You people are confusing the terms just like people confuse the theory of evolution and it hurts all of your arguments. I hope that they don’t put this thing in but people against this project would do better to use the facts and not comment on things that they have no knowledge about. The silly scare tactics will sway some people but in the end you will lose the support of most. LLC provides some personal protection but the company itself is always liable for the things it should be.
I am not a lawyer, but I am a business owner and have researched the benefits of forming an LLC. I think there are other reasons for creating the LLC beyond the tax benefits … I believe that the LLC is financially liable only to the extent of its own assets, thus protecting the assets of the parent company or companies.
Ruffcoast is absolutely correct!
Parent Company will not be responsible. Not certain but I believe Holtrachem was an LLC.,