February 16, 2004
Economic fuel | Peter Micciche, ConocoPhillips' man on the ground for the Harpswell LNG
By Michaela Cavallaro
As manager of stakeholder relations for the proposed Fairwinds liquefied natural gas terminal, Peter Micciche thought he'd get an evenhanded reception from the people of Harpswell, as he has from residents of other areas where his employer, ConocoPhillips Co., has built LNG terminals. "One of the things I don't like about new [LNG] projects is taking a beautiful place and cutting down trees and installing tanks," he says. "But in this case, we actually get to improve the site," he says of the waterfront land where a former U.S. Navy fuel depot once stood.
That's not the way some Harpswell residents see it. Since the $350 million Fairwinds project was announced last September by Houston-based ConocoPhillips and Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada, opposition to it has been frequent and vocal. Fishermen in particular have expressed concerns about the potential for gear loss and other problems during both the construction phase of the project, which is expected to take three years, and its operational phase, when tankers would make regular LNG deliveries to the terminal. There, the LNG would be converted back to natural gas and sent through a new pipeline under Casco Bay to an existing transmission system west of Portland.
Though Micciche, 42, says the extent of the opposition ˆ from fishermen and others ˆ has surprised him, he was selected to be the public face of the project precisely because of what Fairwinds officials thought would be his ease at communicating with Mainers. A native of Florida who says he "read too many Jack London books as a kid," Micciche says he began going to Alaska to work in the fish canneries as a high school student. He's worked for ConocoPhillips in Kenai, Alaska since 1984, but he also spends time as a commercial fisherman, catching salmon with a drift net. "I remember someone making the comment, 'They'll love you up there,'" he says, referring to his anticipated reception in Harpswell. "But that certainly has not always been the case."
It's taken months for Fairwinds officials and Harpswell selectmen to agree on the terms of the lease, which, if approved by Harpswell residents in a vote scheduled for March 9, gives the companies a 50-year lease on a seven-acre piece of land at the former fuel depot. In return, the town would receive $100,000 on approval of the lease, $250,000 a year during the permitting phase, $6.5 million a year during construction and $8 million a year during the 30-50 year operational phase.
The outcome of the town vote will determine not only the future of the project, but Micciche's personal future, as well. If voters approve the project ˆ and Micciche thinks there's a "very strong probability" that they will ˆ he has promised to stay in Harpswell, where he's rented a house on Cundy's Harbor, through the two-year permitting process. In addition, he says, "the very next day, my job is to contact the leaders of those [opposition] groups and see what I can do to make them comfortable."
In the few weeks left before the vote, Micciche plans to continue advocating for Fairwinds, which he sees as a project with a "light industrial footprint" and an ability to create sorely needed jobs ˆ as many as 50 when the facility is fully operational, he says. "In the six months I've been here, thousands of jobs have disappeared," he says. "I realize Maine is one of the most beautiful states ˆ there's a lot of natural beauty that people don't want to, and shouldn't have to, give up. But if Maine doesn't want heavy manufacturing, these types of projects ˆ energy projects ˆ are a way to stem the drain of economic growth and employment opportunities while not giving up that natural beauty."
That's not the way some Harpswell residents see it. Since the $350 million Fairwinds project was announced last September by Houston-based ConocoPhillips and Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada, opposition to it has been frequent and vocal. Fishermen in particular have expressed concerns about the potential for gear loss and other problems during both the construction phase of the project, which is expected to take three years, and its operational phase, when tankers would make regular LNG deliveries to the terminal. There, the LNG would be converted back to natural gas and sent through a new pipeline under Casco Bay to an existing transmission system west of Portland.
Though Micciche, 42, says the extent of the opposition ˆ from fishermen and others ˆ has surprised him, he was selected to be the public face of the project precisely because of what Fairwinds officials thought would be his ease at communicating with Mainers. A native of Florida who says he "read too many Jack London books as a kid," Micciche says he began going to Alaska to work in the fish canneries as a high school student. He's worked for ConocoPhillips in Kenai, Alaska since 1984, but he also spends time as a commercial fisherman, catching salmon with a drift net. "I remember someone making the comment, 'They'll love you up there,'" he says, referring to his anticipated reception in Harpswell. "But that certainly has not always been the case."
It's taken months for Fairwinds officials and Harpswell selectmen to agree on the terms of the lease, which, if approved by Harpswell residents in a vote scheduled for March 9, gives the companies a 50-year lease on a seven-acre piece of land at the former fuel depot. In return, the town would receive $100,000 on approval of the lease, $250,000 a year during the permitting phase, $6.5 million a year during construction and $8 million a year during the 30-50 year operational phase.
The outcome of the town vote will determine not only the future of the project, but Micciche's personal future, as well. If voters approve the project ˆ and Micciche thinks there's a "very strong probability" that they will ˆ he has promised to stay in Harpswell, where he's rented a house on Cundy's Harbor, through the two-year permitting process. In addition, he says, "the very next day, my job is to contact the leaders of those [opposition] groups and see what I can do to make them comfortable."
In the few weeks left before the vote, Micciche plans to continue advocating for Fairwinds, which he sees as a project with a "light industrial footprint" and an ability to create sorely needed jobs ˆ as many as 50 when the facility is fully operational, he says. "In the six months I've been here, thousands of jobs have disappeared," he says. "I realize Maine is one of the most beautiful states ˆ there's a lot of natural beauty that people don't want to, and shouldn't have to, give up. But if Maine doesn't want heavy manufacturing, these types of projects ˆ energy projects ˆ are a way to stem the drain of economic growth and employment opportunities while not giving up that natural beauty."
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments