Report U.S. Coast Guard says tankers can safely travel Head Harbour Passage to proposed plant

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Rob Linke
Telegraph-Journal

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OTTAWA - The U.S. Coast Guard has determined tankers as long as three football fields can carry liquefied natural gas safely through "pristine" Passamaquoddy Bay to a proposed LNG terminal in Maine within sight of St. Andrews.

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Kâté LeBlanc/Telegraph-Journal

The beginning of Head Harbour Passage. The view from Deer Island. On the right is Campobello Island.

Greg Thompson

The Coast Guard's approval lends momentum to the $500-million project by proponent Downeast LNG and keeps it on a collision course with the Canadian government.

Canada opposes as unsafe LNG tanker traffic that would have to navigate the bay's narrow and tricky Head Harbour Passage, a position Prime Minister Stephen Harper reiterated in talks with U. S. President George W. Bush in 2007.

Canada argues an accidental release of LNG would threaten public safety, the environment and the economic mainstays of Charlotte County - fishing, aquaculture and tourism.

But roughly a year from now, if it secures other U.S. federal and state approvals, Downeast expects to be poised to make its final go-ahead decision, despite Canada's determination to keep the tankers out.

Downeast president Dean Girdis said the solution to avoiding an international impasse will have to come from officials of both countries sitting down to talk as neighbours.

"Engagement - that's the solution," he said Thursday. "We believe there should be engagement between the U.S. and Canada on this issue. But I think it has to be clear that, at this time, there are no licences or permits that we need from Canada."

Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson, the area's MP, says there is nothing to negotiate.

Canada sees Head Harbour Passage as internal Canadian waters and will use all legal and diplomatic means to keep the ships out, he said.

"We're not going to negotiate - period," said Thompson. "Our position is very clear.

"I think Mr. Girdis has somewhat of a cavalier attitude. He isn't recognizing he's taking on a sovereign nation."

The Coast Guard laid out several conditions to reduce the risks. They are in a waterway suitability report submitted to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which the FERC posted online Thursday.

Downeast anticipated several conditions would be imposed, such as making voyages only when the visibility allows, only during daylight and only at slack tide, while using tugboats and pilots.

"Nothing in the conditions surprised us," said Girdis.

The Coast Guard study also anticipates that Canadian officials will have to resume planning with their U.S. counterparts for ships to travel safely.

Canadian officials stopped responding to U.S. agencies' requests for information and co-operation with the approval process once Ottawa formally objected to the tankers.

"The eventual involvement and co-operation of Canada's maritime, environmental, and public safety authorities are paramount to ensure the safety and security of the waterway," says the Coast Guard report.

The Coast Guard's approval, which came after months of review and consultation, could have gone either way. Not long ago, the agency ruled a waterway in Rhode Island was unfit for LNG tankers.

Had the decision gone the other way, "it would have been a major, major challenge to overcome," said Girdis.

The Coast Guard study is not the first to conclude LNG tankers would be safe under the right conditions in Passamaquoddy Bay.

In October 2007, Canada quietly released a $200,000 consultant's study that concluded that "by and large, it is possible to transit safely, but it is absolutely necessary to plan the passage in accordance with the tidal cycle."

Last August, the federal government announced it had budgeted $100,000 for a new study with input from officials in several federal departments and from stakeholders. That study is "a work in progress," said Thompson.

Girdis said he doubts a new study will discover any new or unacceptable threats to safe navigation.

Sophisticated computer simulations performed in the U.S. in the presence of Canadian officials also determined the ships can safely navigate the tricky waters.

But studies done years ago determined Head Harbour Passage is the most dangerous stretch of water in Atlantic Canada, Thompson has said.

The ships would have to make a 90-degree turn between the southern tip of Deer Island and Eastport, Maine, exiting Head Harbour Passage to head up Western Passage.

The tightest spot is only 350 metres wide. The area's five- to six-knot currents and extreme tides power one of the world's largest tidal whirlpools. The Old Sow sits near the sharp turn.

The U.S. government concedes the channel is Canadian, but the Americans insist commercial ships enjoy the right of innocent passage under the applicable international law.

First proposed in 2005, the Downeast project still faces several other hurdles before it can receive a final approval.

The U.S. Federal Regulatory Commission is expected to release a draft environmental impact statement for comment within a couple of months, said Girdis, who is expecting that document to be as long as 900 pages.

Downeast must also file a new application for a permit from Maine's environment department.

State approval is expected to take between 10 and 12 months.