SEARSPORT, Maine — A sometimes-rowdy crowd of about 350 people jammed into Searsport’s Union Hall on Thursday evening to ask questions of a company that has proposed building a $40 million propane terminal at the Mack Point industrial zone.
But at times during the three-hour-plus town hall meeting, it seemed as if many in the audience were just glad to have a chance to tell company officials, their neighbors and others from around the state exactly what they think of the controversial project.
Some decried the impact the propane storage tank, which is zoned to be as high as 128 feet tall, would have on the view. Others talked about the area’s need for good jobs, at least a dozen of which company officials said would be created permanently if the project goes through. Many said that the project would hurt tourism, reduce property values, increase truck traffic and be a danger to the region.
“This carrot that you’re waving, these jobs, the bulk of them aren’t permanent,” said Jeannie Lucas of Searsport. “Yet the changes you’re making to our landscape are permanent.”
Company officials tried to respond to the comments and questions.
“You control this process. It’s your town. We understand that,” Chris Lewis of Denver-based DCP Midstream said at the beginning of the night.
Searsport residents will vote at the March annual town meeting on a six-month moratorium on major projects. The moratorium is supported by Thanks but no Tank, a grass-roots group opposed to the terminal project. It is not supported by DCP Midstream and others in the crowd who wore stickers proclaiming their dislike of the moratorium.
“Searsport is holding the whole state hostage,” said one man who did not share his name.
But many in the audience cheered in agreement when Searsport property owner Barry Lambert, who lives in Bangor, said that he felt the decision should not be made locally.
“Everything I’ve got is invested in this community,” he said. “A lot of us are going to be impacted by this thing. To me, this should be a state referendum, not just Searsport.”
Applause was also elicited by Searsport resident Marina Macho when she stood up and asked attendees to raise their hands if they were concerned about the lack of jobs in the community.
“Twelve jobs are better than none,” she said.
DCP Midstream officials explained that they chose Searsport for the project because of its deep-water port, its industrial zoning and its central location in Maine. They said they became aware that Maine needed another source for propane when Gov. John Baldacci made an emergency call to the company in 2007 because a Canadian rail strike and a cold snap threatened the state’s propane supply.
“That was a call to action for DCP,” company president Bill Waldheim said.
Some in the crowd came from outside of midcoast Maine.
Gerald Michaud of Gardiner is a union iron worker. He held a sign that read, “I support the tank! Jobs for Searsport!!”
When one local business owner said that the propane project might kill area tourism, which has struggled during the recession, Michaud fired back.
“If one tank is going to affect the whole tourism area, maybe you don’t have enough to offer,” he said.
Charlene Knox Farriss, Searsport’s official historian, took a long view.
“What’s the life expectancy of this tank?” she wanted to know. “When this tank is no longer viable to your company, do you guarantee to future generations of Searsport you’ll tear it down?”
Well HELLOooOOoo,
“. . . building a $40 million propane terminal at the Mack Point industrial zone.”
Let me ‘splain sumpin tah yah.
Adds $40 Million to your tax base.
At the Mack Point Industrial Zone.
Exactly where Everyone said such development “had” to happen.
(Hey Taber, this ain’t on your Sears island froggy “refuge”.)
More traffic equals More Commerce equals more Wealth spreading around the Whole Area!
Construction jobs of all disciplines.
Permanent operation jobs.
Clean burning fuel.
Helps keep other fuel prices in balance due to competition.
“Dangerous”? Well yes & no. That’s why only well trained individuals will work there.
If something “drastic” should happen, it would be only to the poor souls working in close proximity to the tank. Townsfolk would get their windows rattled with a few breaking.
Good way to Quit smoking.
The NIMBY crowd is at it again, stalling Progress, driving costs Up.
Stuff a sock in it will yah?
Build the Tank!
Oh, and given the future price of scrap steel, I don’t think it will be left abandoned.
I agree on all points. It’s already an industrial zone, and not all that pretty either. Maybe some new money could go a long way in making the area more tourist friendly.
WRONG WRONG WRONG. Check your facts old buddy, you may have your head stuck somewhere it shouldn’t be.
Aesthetics is a matter of serious economic consequence when you live in a community like Searsport whose lifeblood is tourism but, contrary to what the picture caption might say, that was not the issue. What I was demonstrating using DCP Midstream Partners LLC’s own artfully photoshopped visualization was a perfect example of the deceitful way this front for energy giants ConocoPhillips and Duke Energy has been attempting to manipulate reality in my town to promote its own self-serving ends. In this particular example, the company deliberately chose a perspective view so that an existing 48-foot-tall heating oil tank that’s less than 150 feet across actually appears to be broader than the proposed 14-story-tall LPG tank that would be over 200 feet across.
Does Searsport have a water tower?…Where’s that located?…How tall is it?…Has it affected tourism?
No water tower, but a bunch of fuel tanks and bulk storage at the EXISTING port. Hasn’t stopped people from coming to (or going through) from what I’ve seen.
Searsport doesn’t need a water tower . Obviously you know little about the town or its infrastructure.
If I lived in Searsport I’d be way more concerned about the transportation of this product rather than be worried about how pretty the tank will be. If every tank located in this town were removed I doubt “tourism” would boom. It’s a nice community with some really good business owners, but it will never be Bar Harbor, Camden, or Boothbay Harbor-and probably does not want to be. I’m guessing the average citizen who does not own a campground or make blankets will be fine with the additional tax base. Bangor has a revitalized waterfront with train tracks, oil and gas tanks , restaraunts and concert stages that works pretty well.
What tourism? Searsport is not a destination but a pass-through on the way to Acadia and Bar Harbor. Stop at the flea markets, hike the island for sure. But I keep on going when I come through.
You forgot the Marine Museum but are essentially correct. Searsport has had the chance over the years to make Sears Island a real destination but always choose some jobs pipe dream instead. At least the tank won’t be on Sears Island, so there’s still hope for S.I. I’d wonder what the Jobs Jobs Jobs gang would say if it were windmills instead of tanks? Fuel tanks always present a danger to human life, but I doubt tourism will be damaged at all unless all the trucks clog the roads.
Sears Island should be a destination.
For much of the cargo destined in and out of the state of Maine through the Sears Island Cargo Terminal.
But the moonbats and NIMBYs decided that Mack Point would be big enough to handle it, and therefor “preserve” Sears Island.
Now it seems that it is the same people trying to limit what Mack Point can do.
Where and when will this maddnes end???
I must take issue with the statement that tourism is the lifeblood of Searsport. A more accurate statement would be that the operations at Mack Point, the jobs that they support, both direct and ancillary and the tax revenue that firms pay to the town of Searsport are the lifeblood of a community like Searsport.
I believe that you too are “manipulating reality” Mr. Taber.
No, in fact you are very wrong. The three huge foreign corporations that operate at Mack Point — Irving Energy (Canadian), Sprague Energy (Swedish) and Imerys (French) — account for less than 14 percent of Searsport’s tax base. Small businesses, primarily associated with the tourism industry, pay about twice as much in taxes. Residential property owners, many of whom chose to invest in Searsport in order to pursue business enterprises and a lifestyle only afforded by a traditional small town way of life, pay about three in five tax dollars.
You may speculate all you want in favor of heavy industry imposing its will on a small almost defenseless community but the facts simply don’t support your bias. The reality is Mack Point is historically an early 20th century development originally intended to get cheap coal to the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad. It has very limited space and unlike a properly planned industrial area it closely abuts on residential and commercial neighborhoods.
The existing bulk storage tanks are largely out of sight of the viewshed of upper Penobscot Bay, itself a magnet for tourists from around the world. They are also adequate for their intended purpose of storing heating and transportation fuels that are used exclusively in eastern, central and northern Maine. In sum, Mack Point is only a small regional utility port. Erecting a giant refrigerated liquefied gas storage tank that is unneeded by Maine energy users, one that soars the equivalent of a 14-story building into the air from an elevated site next to Route 1, is the first step in bringing real industrial blight and consequent economic devastation to our town. That’s why literally hundreds of citizens in Searsport have taken decisive action in going on record as opposed to this development.
If the three huge foreign corporations contribute only 14% of the tax base, doesn’t it make sense to bring more industry to broaden the base and ease the oppressive tax burden on the small almost defenseless community? Wouldn’t a refinery on Sears Island or a supply vessel base for offshore drilling make sense?
BINGO!
Better yet, how about a soundstage and studio complex for the porn film industry? Or a facility to test biological weapons? Or a nuclear-powered aluminum smelter — oh, wait, we really did once consider that particular state-sponsored lunacy. I suppose if we really needed the tax revenue we could even pimp our comely daughters (to sex tourists from Thailand) but it is you who has raised this straw man about “the oppressive tax burden” we supposedly are so desperate to lift.
My obvious point is: reasonable people draw the line at what changes to their community they’re willing to entertain simply to gain what they hope will be (and, by the way, with Big Tank it will NOT be) a significant tax break.
Now that I’ve seen your hairdo in the photo accompanying the article, I can see why the porn industry would appeal to you.
My obvious point is that the tank is a non-issue. It will not lower property values or horrify tourists or incinerate an “almost defenseless” Searsport. It simply gives you another “cause” which you can use to get your name in the paper.
Leaving aside the obvious stupidity of your first sentence, anonymous one, I kind of doubt you’d have the balls to say it to my face.
Mea culpa on the coiffe comment but you were the first to utilize the porn option to make your point. And there’s no reason to get my balls into the conversation.
Cripes, Peter, I hope after this Searsport battle over an industrial use in an industrial zone bringing a useful energy-dense fuel source into Maine that you join the real fight. That would be the proliferation of 45 story (3 times as tall) wind turbines on top of ridgelines ruining views from Katahdin to (soon) Acadia to surrounding pristine gorgeous places like Tumbledown Mt. and Mt. Blue State Park. Wind turbines that are useless and being built just to reap subsidies. You want to rant about “unneeded by Maine energy users”, “real industrial blight”, and “economic devastation”, apply those to wind power.
Actually, I agree with you that these wind turbines as they’re now being built across the ridgelines of Maine do nothing to alter the energy picture for the better and are, in fact, nothing short of a boondoggle. Former Governors Baldacci and King wouldn’t, of course, agree with us. I don’t know about you but that doesn’t hurt my feelings.
As for propane, it barely heats one in 20 homes in Maine and use is going down as pipelines extend into the state supplying a bounty of far cheaper natural gas. There is indeed a place for propane but it has nothing to do with irresponsible storage facilities placed for speculative reasons by out-of-state corporations and unrelated to the real needs of real people in Maine.
Can they bury the tank and get it out of sight? That might appease most critics.
Whenever Mrs. C and I make travel plans, the first thing we check for is the potential risk of driving by a large propane tank. It’s not so much the danger of all that combustible fuel and the potential for a climate-changing explosion; it’s the real damage that can be done to the aesthetics of the view. I can tell you this – if Searsport allows this tank to be installed, we’re through with travelling Route 1.
Why not several smaller tanks combined with rail transport?
At last, someone with an alternative that actually works and is available right now !
We already proposed that – but they don’t want to do that. – because… they don’t own enough property. Then as we got into the fray we found out so much more about this situation and the horrors (I’m not talking about ” The Tank” itself) but all the rest, the we realized it should NOT be brought into this area.
Guess MaineDOT better build that by-pass around Searsport before they even consider letting this be built. Wonder where they’ll get the money from.
Because there isn’t enough land. There isn’t enough room for a couple of smaller tanks.
Dear Northernson,
DCP said Thursday night that there was not enough land for 2 tanks. A spokesman (name?) said in choosing the location for the one 23 million gallon tank, he had to “kinda cram it” into the space available. I hope we can hear the transcript from this meeting somewhere? You will hear how patronizing Roz Elliot of DCP was, especially in contrast to the authentic voices of concern (pros & cons) from (primarily) Searsport folks. Roz Elliot, on The Voice of Maine, which many of us listened to a week or so ago, painted the opposition as mostly “from away, summer, wealthy, retired people”. That was clearly NOT the case,as was evidenced by those of us in attendance at Union Hall Thursday night. Thank you.
Dope smokin professional protestors and trust fund replants do not have a leg to stand on.
The employees of all of the companies at Mack point already handle dangerous products with pride and professionalism. One propane tank will not make any difference. I hear the protestors saying the tank will be 100 feet tall. OK hide it behind 2 of the multi million gallon fuel tanks and they will never see it.
The tank’s gonna be 137′ tall, that’s 14 stories. The others are just 50′-60′. Have you taken the time to even look carefully at DCP’s material? If so, you’d see this.
If this tank is built, I guarantee that soon after it’s open, you will see how well the multinational corporation behaves, what a great friend of yours they are. Good luck with your 18 month construction jobs, and your 12-15, $70k highly skilled positions. Don’t hold your breath about those jobs being filled by locals. If you look at why our country is in the state it is, it’s because corporate power has corrupted everything. Corporations like DCP make the money, not you, not us. If this tank is built, you’ll see.
I’ll trade you DCP Midstream Partners for First Wind any day. I’ll trade you a single 137 ft tall tank for 50 turbines on top of ridges, each 459 ft. tall. I’ll trade you a ten second drive by view on Rte One for turbines on top of ridges dominating two of the finest lakes in the state–Pleasant Lake and Mattawamkeag Lake in Island Falls. I’ll trade you 12-15 jobs for 5. I’ll trade you 63 cents per MWH subsidy for gas for $52.43 subsidy for wind (USEIA, 2010). I’ll trade you a tank that stands silently for wind turbines that are noisy and emit harmful low frequency sound that cause health problems. I’ll trade you 100 acres at an industrial park for blasting and leveling ridges and permanently clearcutting more than 1,000 acres.
I have just compared the tank project at Mack Point industrial zone with the just-approved industrial wind site in Oakfield-Island Falls, in the shadow of Mt. Katahdin. Tell me, which is worse?
This isn’t an either-or choice. They’re BOTH terrible ideas.
There is no easy solution to the crisis we face regarding our energy consumption. No alternatives will truly appeal to us all, or even many of us. And nothing right now offers the convenience and luxury that oil has. But we’re facing a crisis of climate change, global warming, depletion of our natural resources, water shortages (though not here), and on and on.
We need to conserve as individuals, and use more wisely as a nation what resources remain – and not export them as C-P does, and will. Importing a fossil fuel to be stored in a tank of this magnitude in a coastal village with roads and bridges in poor condition, and with no real egress for citizens in an emergency, as rescue trucks from other towns try to arrive – makes no sense.
Locally owned businesses should be sought, supported and promoted. Stay out of big boxes and support local merchants. More jobs would result if we shopped in town. Not what you’re looking for there? That’s because people don’t buy enough locally. If we did, the stores would carry more variety at lower prizes.
Why believe the material from the corporation who is working as we write to subvert the moratorium, passing out vote NO stickers; when whata YES vote for the Moratorium does is slow down the process for a month or two to give Searsport voters time to take a closer look at the pros and cons of this massive project. Afterall, they were never “in” on the project from its inception. The height restriction on the crane passed and opened the door for DCP. And C-P under the name of Southstreet has owned property in Searsport since 2000. THIS has all been in the works undercover for a decade.
But why argue with one another? We have our “truths”, our perspectives on this issue, and clearly we will not convince each other differently. So Midstream DCP, at least 50% owned by Conoco-Phillips who is owned by the Koch brothers -wins by divide and conquer. THIS is ultimately their goal. Then they’ll move in for THE KILL.
Don’t worry, I am sure the only Billboard in the State of Maine, from Searsport Shores Ocean Campground can block any Oil tank that sticks above the trees. Oh, and by the way the only billboard in the State is owned by one of the leaders of the tank opponents. Now that would be community working together with industry.
Not to speak for the owners, but that was a cheap shot and only malicious knuckledraggers are inclined to join you in smirking. Shame on you. The sign you refer to is not only modestly sized in keeping with its environment and a bonafide piece of inspired folk art to boot, it’s also fully legal. Furthermore, quite unlike the behemoth eyesore proposed by DCP Midstream, it nestles down comfortably below the background treeline.
The treeline that would supposedly buffer Big Tank from view would block perhaps the bottom first 40 or so feet of its gleaming white walls. Then it would soar about another 100 feet into the air overlooking Route 1 and Penobscot Bay. I understand DCP is prepared to plant a special strain of subarctic sequoia saplings so in about 400 years the eyesore problem will disappear.
“. . a bonafide piece of inspired folk art. .”
Now that’s the Answer!
Give the tank a nice paint job in a camouflaged natural scene, and then it will be Folk Art.
Could have hanging gardens around the outside of the frame.
You could even have a job tending to them.
Accepted by all, Thank You for your creativity in finding a solution.
That billboard is ugly as sin. Be a shame if it accidentally fell down one night.
We need jobs….communities want more taxed based business….former ways of making a living in many towns have gone by the way-side and have not been replaced…..every Maine town has more real estate signage than ever before…..we are struggling to provide any incentives for our young people to educate and stay in state….and someone (a business) wants to invest in such an area and the “people” don’t want it……Crazy……
more jobs, more unwanted pregnancies,more burning of fossil fuel, more global warming more jobs, more crime, more unwanted pregnancies,more unchecked progress, more jobs, more unwanted pregnancies, more out of control population growth,more burning of fossil fuel, more global warming, more crop failures, more new tropical diseases in Maine, more food shortages, more jobs, more unwanted pregnancies, more taxes, more hacks passing unwanted legislation
When this tank blows I wonder how large the fireball will be?
I didn’t realize you could post a comment without the FBI and CIA being involved. Congratulations!
LOL!!
Now let me get this straight, when the tank is built,
it will cause more women to become pregnant?
Is it a giant phallic symbol with powers over fornication and conception?
Maybe I should move to Searsport and get in on all the action.
These protesters are exactly what is wrong with society today. We need jobs. This is an industrial zoned area. Get over it and put it to State referendum …we will vote it thru
I don’t understand why people who like living in an industrialized area don’t go to one. Certainly there is room in New Jersey and Gary, Indiana, for a few more people.
Similarly, people who like living in a quiet rural countryside area and commuting to work will find a place like that.
Hopefully the outcome for Searsport will be decided by the present residents, not the corporation that has money to spend on public relations.
Why are you wanting to put a “HUGE BOMB” in Searsport? We already have two main lines for gas built, yet stand empty. If my memory serves me right both of these meet in Westbrook. Why are they not in service? Why hasn’t the main valves been opened to let this green energy come into Maine? There’s a line that comes into Maine from Canada in the East and Canada in the North. I say utilize what we have instead of cluttering our towns and mountains with targets for terrorizm. Baldacci hasn’t done us any favors with industrial wind and I don’t see this huge tank helping Searsport.
Oh, never mind.