Quoddy Bay Suggests “Floating Bridge” Idea

Today’s Bangor Daily News reports that, at an Eastport City Council meeting, Quoddy Bay officials suggested that a “floating bridge” could provide an emergency access route to Eastport Island. In response to a question on how emergencies stemming from a proposed LNG terminal would be managed if the main road into and out of the city were closed, Quoddy Bay project director Brian Smith proposed to “have that [floating bridge] standing by so we could dive that directly into the water and that’s for any event that may happen on Route 190.” City Manager George “Bud” Finch expressed skepticism over the prospect of utilizing a temporary bridge in the event of an emergency, stating “the concept…borderlines on absurdity.”

In response to a suggestion that the city build a permanent bridge if the project goes forward, Smith disagreed with the idea, saying that construction of a permanent bridge would be costly and would involve a lengthy Army Corps of Engineers permitting process. He stated that this lengthy process would conflict with the “strict guidelines that require FERC to deal with it within one year.” [LNGLawBlog notes that, unlike the Deepwater Port Act that governs offshore terminal proposals, the Natural Gas Act and FERC’s regulations do not limit the time period in which FERC must make a determination on an LNG terminal application.]