U.S. Ambassador Says Little Canada Can Do to Stop Maine LNG Terminals

FREDERICTON (CP) – U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins says there’s little Canada can do to stop the construction of liquefied natural gas terminals in Maine if they clear the approval process.

Three separate LNG terminals have been proposed on the Maine side of Passamaquoddy Bay, near New Brunswick. But the prospect of volatile, LNG supertankers navigating the treacherous Canadian waters leading to the terminal sites has stirred outrage in the southwestern New Brunswick communities bordering Maine.

Opponents claim the terminals and their supertanker traffic would create an environmental hazard and threaten local tourism.

Wilkins told a Moncton, N.B., newspaper the U.S. approval process will weigh the economic and environmental implications of the projects.

But he says they will be built if they clear regulatory hurdles.

Opponents want Ottawa to block the passage of the tankers through Canadian waters.

Government officials will only say they are studying the issue.