The PENOBSCOT BAY fight is NOT WON!

History: Last November, on the ballot - the last Bond Issue was to restore the infrastructre of Maine, to include Ports. Sponsored by Me. DOT.

On the surface - it sounded wonderful - and foolishly it was passed. Under the crust, however, was the fact that most of the money would go to dredging - almost 1 MILLION CUBIC YARDS in th channels to Mack Point - to allow those huge tankers the draft they needed.

The DRUDGE from that dredge is to be DUMPED In BELFAST - at the Passagassawaukeg. (that name has something to do with Sturgeon . (We assume Belfast has been chosen because - if they dumped in Rockland - a lot of lobstermen and probably all of Rockland would be on the warpath)

Well - folks - people are on the warpath

Here with are 2 letters that happened this past week that have to do with the Dredging of Mack point (which would allow the take over of Sears Island. ) Oh - ME.DOT - and your ex- leaders who stand to gain financially - please don't come around Waldo County with your smiling, sneering faces.



And this letter from the Zone D Lobstermen - (which does NOT include ALL of Penobscot Bay)

From: "Habel, Mark L NAE"
Subject: RE: Searsport Dredge/Dump (UNCLASSIFIED)
Date: April 2, 2013 1:26:23 PM EDT

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Becky: We have received approval from our Division office in NYC to release the draft feasibility report and environmental assessment for public comment. We anticipate issuing a public notice, which would include instructions for downloading those documents, perhaps as early as Friday 5 April, but certainly NLT next week. As someone who has expressed interest in the study, we will notify you directly of their availability.

Mark L. Habel, CENAE-EP-PN
978-318-8871

Maine Zone D Lobster Council
April 2, 2013
Col. Charles P. Samaris
Department of the Army, New England District
Corps of Engineers
696 Virginia Road
Concord, MA 01742-2751
RE: DCP Searsport, LLC, Searsport LPG Terminal, USACE Application No: NAE-2010-02347
Dear Colonel Samaris:
The Maine Zone D Lobster Council voted unanimously at a regular meeting on Thursday, March 28, 2013, to request that the Army Corps of Engineers withdraw its permit issued last spring for the Searsport LPG proposal and initiate a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement.
The Zone D Lobster Council is convinced that development of the massive LPG facility in Searsport, and the tanker shipping associated with that facility, will have a pronounced negative effect on our ability to make a living for the following reasons:
• Dredging nearly one million cubic yards to accommodate the 39.7 foot deep draft LPG tankers will release sediment in Penobscot Bay, both where the dredging occurs and especially where the dredge spoils are deposited, forcing lobster die-off and retreat from those areas for years, as demonstrated during past large Penobscot Bay dredging events, causing enormous harm to Pen Bay fishermen.
• No legally binding limits to the number of LPG tankers arriving and leaving from the proposed LPG facility have been imposed; only estimates of traffic have been suggested. Exclusion zones around the tankers while in transit to and from Mack Point, as well as during dockage, will interfere with our ability to work in the waters of the Bay.
• Should a LPG tanker problem occur, and accidents do happen, whether caused by nature, an intentional act of terrorism or simple human error, such as a tanker exploding or sinking, the harm to the Bay and our livelihoods would be irreversible.
The United States is saturated with domestic propane and natural gas. There is simply no need for a LPG import facility at this time in this location. Better alternatives are available and must be considered before allowing this LPG proposal to go forward.
The Zone D Lobster Council is made up of 15 representatives who represent 1,230 fishermen and their families from New Harbor to Castine. Thank you for your favorable response to our request.
Sincerely:
Michael Dawson, Chair
Maine Zone D Lobster Council
cc. Maine Congressional Delegates and Interested Others (see attached list)
Maine Zone D Lobster Council
Senator Susan Collins 413 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510
Senator Angus S. King, Jr. 188 Russell Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510
Representative Michael Michaud 1724 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515
Representative Chellie Pingree 1037 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515
Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick
Commanding General and Chief of Engineers
US Army Corps of Engineers
441 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20314-1000
Bob Perciasepe, Acting Administrator, EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
H. Curtis Spalding, Regional Administrator
Region 1 – U.S. EPA
One Congress Street – Suite 1100
Boston, MA 02114-2003

Let's get back to work and we must start writing those lett...