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Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Harpswell rejects LNG
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Related Stories: LNG critics see their win as saving a way of life Supporters see missed opportunity for tax relief Also on this page: HOW THEY VOTED | |||||||||||||||||||||
HARPSWELL — Harpswell said no to a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal Tuesday, capping a contentious campaign that included a bomb threat that disrupted voting. Voters solidly rejected a bid to host an LNG terminal for the next 50 years, sending the backers of the $350 million project looking for another site in the Northeast. The Fairwinds project lost on all four referendum questions that needed approval for the project to occupy town-owned land in West Harpswell. Each question lost by a margin of more than 300 votes. When moderator James Henderson finally read the results at 9:30 p.m., members of Fair Play for Harpswell, an opposition group, collapsed into each other's arms. "We are just thrilled. We worked really hard to defeat this," Amy Haible said. "We always thought we would win, but we were holding our breath tonight." "We're disappointed. We believed in this opportunity for Harpswell. But we asked the question and it was answered," said Peter Micciche, spokesman for the Fairwinds project. "We'll regroup and figure out where we go from here. We believe there is a need for this product in the Northeast." A record number of residents voted Tuesday at Harpswell Island School, the only polling place. Election officials said nearly 2,000 absentee ballots were cast before Tuesday's vote, roughly 40 percent of the town's 4,700 registered voters. Unofficially, about 3,500 Harpswell residents cast ballots. For much of the day, Cumberland County sheriff's deputies screened voters at the polling place, checking for weapons and prohibiting packages and purses. The unusual move followed an anonymous call to the Brunswick Police Department at 10:30 a.m. warning that bombs had been placed at the polling place, at Town Hall and at a bridge linking the town's two main peninsulas. Dogs from the Maine State Police and the Coast Guard were brought in to check the school, but found no bombs. Inspections of Town Hall and the bridge also turned up nothing, but Sheriff Mark Dion increased the number of deputies to 20 and added security procedures just in case. "It's unconscionable that someone would act to disrupt the election," Dion said. "We're going to expend whatever energy we have to find this person. It's a crime against the community in the truest sense of the word." The bomb threat was apparently made from a pay phone at the Brunswick Wal-Mart. Dion would not say whether the store had security cameras. Tuesday's decision comes six months after Harpswell selectmen and officials for Fairwinds announced their intention to negotiate a lease agreement that would allow Fairwinds to build an LNG terminal, storage tanks and a pipeline on town-owned land in West Harpswell. The pipeline would go under Casco Bay, landing in the town of Cumberland before continuing on to an existing natural gas pipeline in Westbrook. ConocoPhillips Co. and TransCanada Pipelines Limited, the energy companies backing the project, were seeking town authorization to develop 68 acres of a 118-acre property that was once used by the Navy to store jet fuel. The property is off Route 123. Fairwinds would have become Maine's first LNG terminal and one of six operating in the United States. It would have received shipments of LNG from all over the world. LNG would be stored and reverted to natural gas before being conveyed by pipeline to markets throughout the Northeast. Harpswell stood to receive more then $8 million a year in lease fees and property tax revenues. Fishermen would have been protected through a town-funded mitigation program that would compensate them for lost or damaged gear caused by LNG tankers. But opponents argued successfully that the project would have interfered with fishing in Middle Bay, damaged lobster habitat, lowered property values and changed the character of Harpswell from a fishing village to an industrial community. They also felt the facility could become a terrorist target. "This proves that if you give the people the information they need, they'll make the right decision," said Len Freeman, who produced a video about the dangers of LNG. "People just couldn't bring themselves to put their neighbors at risk." "I'm feeling exalted," said Walter Norton, who has lived in Harpswell for 79 years. "I just never dreamed we'd win by such a big margin." Supporters of the project said Fairwinds represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to offer property-tax relief to elderly residents on fixed incomes and to shorefront property owners who might otherwise be forced to sell their homes. "We could have preserved the character of this town. We could become a town for the wealthy," said Deborah Levensailor, who supported the project. Todd Swinton of Cundy's Harbor hitchhiked Tuesday from his job in South Portland to downtown Brunswick. He then hiked on foot from Brunswick to Harpswell carrying a sign that read, "Vote Smart. Vote NO LNG." Swinton said he wanted to make a point before casting his vote. "People have been honking their horns," he said. "I'm just trying to raise their level of motivation. I love the coast the way it is." Inside the Harpswell Island School, members of Fair Play for Harpswell circulated a petition aimed at forcing a future town vote on an ordinance that would require selectmen to refer all inquiries or proposals for development of town-owned land to the Planning Board. Karin Blake said more than 400 people signed the petition. The Fairwinds project was not subjected to public review before being introduced in September by town officials. "People have been thanking us for doing this. They keep saying (it) makes sense," Blake said. Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 725-8795 or at: dhoey@pressherald.com
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