I was very disappointed to learn that nearly all of the members of the Bangor City Council did not ask the Army Corps to complete a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). I hope they'll reconsider.
The folks down on the Midcoast deserve their own extra margin of safety in the form of a full EIS. There were lots of questions asked at the second dredge meeting. The Army Corps claimed their recent determination of “no dredge, not even maintenance” needed for the large DCP-LPG Tankers ( in 2012 ) had originated with a report done by the Coast Guard. We are left wondering if an
Environmental Assessment can perhaps be tailored to fit the political pressures prevailing. An EIS might be an instrument that is not so easily manipulated.
A recent pronouncement that this project is “too small to warrant an EIS” is surely a cavalier and misleading assessment. The scale of this project is unprecedented in Penobscot Bay. Besides the immediate effects of the dredge, which could be substantial, the Corps needs to look deeper. An expanded and more industrialized port could have a variety of benefits and hazards, and all these futures must be examined.
Sure, folks down in New York City or Boston wouldn't bat an eyebrow about a million cubic yards of dredge spoils, but we have things here that those large metropolitan areas have lost. Change is inevitable, but this change needs to be accomplished transparently and responsibly.
Sincerely, Mrs. Sally Jones
Bangor
The folks down on the Midcoast deserve their own extra margin of safety in the form of a full EIS. There were lots of questions asked at the second dredge meeting. The Army Corps claimed their recent determination of “no dredge, not even maintenance” needed for the large DCP-LPG Tankers ( in 2012 ) had originated with a report done by the Coast Guard. We are left wondering if an
Environmental Assessment can perhaps be tailored to fit the political pressures prevailing. An EIS might be an instrument that is not so easily manipulated.
A recent pronouncement that this project is “too small to warrant an EIS” is surely a cavalier and misleading assessment. The scale of this project is unprecedented in Penobscot Bay. Besides the immediate effects of the dredge, which could be substantial, the Corps needs to look deeper. An expanded and more industrialized port could have a variety of benefits and hazards, and all these futures must be examined.
Sure, folks down in New York City or Boston wouldn't bat an eyebrow about a million cubic yards of dredge spoils, but we have things here that those large metropolitan areas have lost. Change is inevitable, but this change needs to be accomplished transparently and responsibly.
Sincerely, Mrs. Sally Jones
Bangor
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