About 30 people attended Downeast LNG's open house public meeting on September 16 at the Robbinston Grade School regarding its plans to add a natural gas liquefaction capacity so that it could not only import but also export liquefied natural gas at its proposed facility in Robbinston. Critics and supporters of the project and the proposed changes had an opportunity to question the company representatives, with some on both sides becoming emotional. Two Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) representatives were present, but Dean Girdis, CEO of Downeast LNG, and Robert Wyatt, manager of permitting and environment for the project, fielded the questions raised by the public.
     Questions raised by those in attendance at the open house included concerns about safety, a desire to have Robbinston town officials vote again on the Downeast LNG project because it is no longer the same project voted on earlier, and concern about the destruction of the unique beauty of the Mill Cove area.
     Those present also raised questions about the number of new jobs that would be available and housing for the additional workers. Girdis said the workers would be living in Robbinston and surrounding areas. The company would provide bus transportation for workers. He also said the company is willing to provide a new school for Robbinston. Girdis expressed hope that construction of the proposed import‑export terminal could begin in 2016 and the facility could be operating by 2020.
      The following day, September 17, Downeast LNG submitted a pre‑filing request to FERC. The FERC staff will issue a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental document for the Downeast LNG import‑export project. The notice will be sent to affected landowners, jurisdictional agencies, governmental entities, Native American tribes, citizen groups, local libraries and newspapers, and other interested parties.
     Earlier this summer, Downeast LNG had announced significant changes to its proposed LNG terminal in the Mill Cove area of Robbinston. Originally planned as an import facility the company now is proposing to construct and operate an import and export facility. The Downeast LNG import project is currently under review by FERC. The proposed new facilities would convert the Downeast LNG import project into a bi‑directional import‑export LNG terminal and pipeline. According to Girdis, the company is proposing to spend $1.3 billion to build the bi‑directional facility. The project would be capable of producing 3 million metric tons per annum of liquefied natural gas and 100 standard cubic feet per day of regasified LNG.
      Girdis says the export project is being proposed because of the increased domestic natural gas production, specifically drilling productivity gains that have enabled rapid growth in supplies from unconventional, and particularly shale, gas‑bearing formations in the U.S. The bi‑directional nature of the project will enable LNG to be imported, vaporized and sent out for delivery to U.S. consumers and foreign markets. The new application will include the removal of one of the two storage tanks proposed earlier.
      The announcement of the proposed changes included an economic impact study by Professor Todd Gabe of the University of Maine that indicates the project would generate significant economic benefits. According to the study, over the three‑year construction period the proposed LNG terminal would generate on average 2,350 full‑ and part‑time jobs and labor income of $375 million. After the terminal is completed the statewide impact of its annual operations  including multiplier effects would be an estimated $68 million in output, 337 full and part‑time jobs, and $21.6 million in labor income.

Opponents urge FERC to dismiss project
     On September 24, Save Passamaquoddy Bay, which is opposed to Downeast LNG's proposal, filed a motion for FERC to dismiss the project. The motion states that four other LNG import terminals in on the East Coast have had minimal or no import activity in recent years. It notes that Downeast LNG states that it intends to import "an absurd paltry 100 standard cubic feet per day," which Save Passamaquoddy Bay researcher Bob Godfrey calculates is equivalent to the same daily methane production of six to 12 cows. He concludes, "Therefore, it makes more economic sense to harvest methane from cattle than to construct Downeast LNG's proposed import facility."