January 31

Propane storage tank no benefit to public

Kennebec Journal Staff

I am firmly opposed to the proposed DCP Midstream 23 million-gallon propane storage tank in Searsport. My concerns are as follows:

* The public good: This project is not in the best interest of the people of Maine. It appears to primarily benefit the fossil fuel industrialists who are proposing it.

* Environmental sustainability: Given the overwhelming scientific evidence that hydrocarbons, from the burning of fossil fuels, are disrupting the earth's climate.

Such an aggressive expansion of the burning of propane is the wrong direction for Maine, as it is for the rest of the world. Climate change should be a grave concern for all thinking and moral persons.

The supply-side energy paradigm (i.e., the more that's available the more we use) has failed us. It is time to redirect our efforts towards sustainable energy solutions.

* Public safety: U.S. Route 1 and Route 3 are notoriously congested and unsuitable for such an industrialized enterprise, both for trucking the product, as well as for evacuation of men, women and children in the event of an emergency.

* Tourism and aesthetics: The unspoiled beauty of coastal Maine is a priceless and irreplaceable state treasure. The tank will tower far above the natural horizon of Penobscot Bay and be an aesthetic blight on Maine.

* Statewide significance: The project has been deemed to be only of "local" significance, but I strenuously disagree that it is simply a local issue. This represents a wrong-headed direction of statewide significance. It jeopardizes Maine's worldwide image as an environmentally wise and thoughtful steward of world-class natural resources.

If allowed to go forward at all, this project must be subject to the highest level of statewide oversight of safety energy and environmental issues.

Susan P. Davies

Liberty

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