Jun. 16--Opponents of liquefied natural gas have genuine concerns, but resorting to complaints about the makeup of a panel that will address the Washington County Council of Governments' annual meeting tonight in Machias will not get them answered.

Given widespread interest in and concern about the prospects of an LNG terminal in the county, the council invited officials, including the commissioner of marine resources and a Department of Environmental Protection attorney, to discuss fisheries protection, emergency response, navigation and regulatory review. These are important areas where the public could use more information.

Save Passamaquoddy Bay, a group opposed to a plan to build an LNG facility on tribal land on the bay wanted no state officials on the panel until an LNG project is further along and they want the meeting closer to Passamaquoddy Bay.

The meeting aims to educate municipal officials about LNG so they are better able to answer questions from residents and to respond to potential proposals for LNG facilities in their towns. It was scheduled months ago and panel members were invited when there was no pending proposal to build an LNG terminal. Since then, the Pleasant Point tribal council has entered into an agreement with Quoddy Bay LLC to build a facility at Split Rock.

A major reason for the tension over this meeting is that it is the first time that state officials have attended a public meeting to answer questions about LNG, despite requests to do so from both opponents and supporters of LNG. According to Alan Stearns, a policy advisor to the governor, Gov. Baldacci wanted a municipality or tribe to make a decision on whether to accept an LNG project before the state got involved. This approach, while wise from the perspective of not wanting to be seen to interfere with local affairs, allowed rumors and mistrust to fill the void left by the lack of objective information.

A better approach, supported by Save Passamaquoddy Bay, would have been for the state to study and identify the best locations for LNG terminals in Maine. After several were identified, the governor and others could address local opposition by showing why these locations made the most sense based on geography, proximity to a pipeline, ease of navigation and other factors. Instead, terminals were proposed and rejected by communities up the coast, until the Passamaquoddy Tribe said yes.

Mr. Stearn points out that this approach would have been slower and more costly to the state than letting private companies do the same work. That is true, but having a comprehensive, state approved plan may have muted opposition.

Tonight's forum should be an important step forward in helping Washington County officials better understand LNG and its potential and perils.

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