Save Passamaquoddy Bay

A 3-Nation Alliance
(US Passamaquoddy Canada)
PO Box 222 Eastport, ME 04631
(207)853-2922
info@SavePassamaquoddyBay.org
www.SavePassamaquoddyBay.org

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, NE Room 1A
Washington, DC 20426

eFiled on 2017 March 20

Re:! Algonquin Gas Transmission, Atlantic Bridge Project, Docket # CP16-9-000

! Conflict of Interest Issues

Dear Ms. Bose,

This is in response to Acting Chairman Cheryl LaFleurs comments (Accession Nos.

20170310-0096 & 20170310-0097) in response to comments filed to the docket by
Senator Edward Markey and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

The senators registered concerns about FERC conflict of interest in hiring contracted
staff (third party contractors) to create Environmental Impact Statements (EISs). The
senators asked FERC to justify hiring contractors who have a financial relationship with
the applicant.

Chairman LaFleurs responses included that since there is a limited number of qualified
contractors, who are in high demand, it is likely that hired contractors have had a
working relationship with the applicant. Chairman LaFleur refers to Office of
Government Ethics (OGE) recognition that federal employees may ethically perform
work while maintaining a de minimis financial interest that could well exceed one
percent of his or her total income. The Chairman also refers to a court determination
regarding agency staffs control over a contractor in finding that the contractor did not
compromise the objectivity and integrity of the NEPA process.

The Chairman justified limiting contractors relationship with the applicant to just the
past three years. Chairman LaFleur also indicated that FERC does not verify a
contractors lack of conflict of interest with an applicant, and that FERC is
unaware of any contractor conflict-of-interest violations.

Chairman LaFleur concludes with assurances that FERC staff has maintained
objectivity and public integrity during the environmental review process.
This letter challenges Chairman LaFleurs conclusion & assurances
Having been an intimately involved intervenor in three FERC permitting projects in
Maine Quoddy Bay LNG (CP07-38), Calais LNG (CP10-31), and Downeast LNG
(CP07-52, PF14-19) I can attest that FERCs assurances of objectivity including
regarding contracted third-party staff is a demonstrable failure. Our experience with
FERC is a case study in violations, unprofessional behavior, omissions, obfuscations,
and prevarications on the part of EIS preparers, primarily consisting of Contracted Staff.

This is also a reminder that both Contracted Staff and FERC are paid by the applicants
payment to Contracted Staff is made directly from the applicant to Contracted Staff,
while payment to FERC is via Congressional appropriation in the exact amount FERC
has collected in fees from the applicants (giving only the appearance of applicant-FERC
financial separation).

Conflicts are rife and rampant at FERC, as is demonstrated below.

Since Downeast LNG remained in the FERC permitting process to publication of a Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), but the Quoddy Bay LNG and Calais LNG
projects were dismissed from permitting long before reaching that point, far more
examples of FERC misbehavior are available with the Downeast LNG project than with
the Quoddy Bay LNG and Calais LNG projects.

FERCs published Downeast LNG EIS was rife with intentional flaws and omissions,
even after having those flaws and omissions demonstrated numerous times to the
docket prior to, and after, publication of both the Draft EIS and the Final EIS.

EXAMPLES Downeast LNG (CP07-52 & PF14-19)

Accession No. 20140605-51241

Description: SPB Expos & Indictment of the FERC Environmental Review Process
Summary: EIS preparers guilded the project with an EIS rife with omissions,
falsehoods, and speculations. The FERC EIS process is a corruption of its intended
purpose. Congress needs to take corrective action.

Accession No. 20140625-50102

Description: Final EIS Stakeholder and Public Interests and Rights comment of
Save Passamaquoddy Bay
Summary: The Downeast LNG EIS contains a shocking number of errors,
omissions, prevarications, obfuscations, speculations, and Environmental Justice
violations. Additionally, the EIS refers to Section 3.3.25 to justify project approval and
to discredit some commenters objections Section 3.3.25 of the Final EIS does
not exist! The Final EIS lacks credibility.

1 https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?document_id=14223319
2 https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?document_id=14228522

2
Accession No. 20140805-50203

Description: EIS Environmental Justice comment of Save Passamaquoddy Bay

Summary: SPB points out FERC EIS Perfidious Environmental Justice Violations.

In the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), FERC failed entirely to include
The Whole Bay Study, performed by Yellow Wood Associates. Save
Passamaquoddy Bay filed the study to FERC Pre-filing Docket No. PF06-13 on 2006
October 1 (Accession No. 20061001-5002) and again to formal Docket No. CP07-52
on 2013 June 20 (Accession No. 20130620-5039).

The EIS failed to mention the significant Passamaquoddy religious and cultural asset
at the proposed Downeast LNG terminal site. Several filings to the docket were
made by the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Save Passamaquoddy Bay regarding this
asset (Prefiling Accession No. 20060417-4001 and Formal filing Accession Nos.
20130516-5067, 20130614-5128, 20140721-5008), as we previously illustrated.

FERC EIS preparers brushed aside numerous other Environmental Justice issues in
the EIS, as Save Passamaquoddy Bay has demonstrated in Accession Nos.
20140528-5016, 20140605-5124, 20140609-5014, 20140625-5010.

FERC abused stakeholder interests, as detailed in Accession No. 20140701-5035.

FERC has established a demonstrable, disturbing, flagrant pattern of Environmental

Justice abuse and abuse of intervenor, stakeholder, and public interests and rights in
these proceedings in an obvious effort to bias the EIS in favor of Downeast LNG.

Accession No. 20160225-52294

Description: Complaint to US Department of Justice, comment of Save

Passamaquoddy Bay
Summary: This complaint to the US Department of Justice consists of an
enumeration of several instances of FERC violations of the law and impropriety.

Downloading files from the above FERC eLibrary docket will result in files that have
been renamed with numbers unrelated to the citations in our complaint. To download
the files while retaining their original filenames, use the following links to files on our
website:

3 https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?document_id=14240136
4 https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?document_id=14432608

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 Cover letter to FERC 5 (144 KB)
Complaint to US Department of Justice 6 (345 KB)
ALL files 7, including citation files, in a single Zip-compressed file (32.07 MB).

Accession No. 20160608-5090

Description: Socioeconomic Impact and Environmental Justice comment of Save

Passamaquoddy Bay
Summary: Downeast LNG has failed to include Passamaquoddy Tribal and
Canadian communities in its Revised Resource Report 5 (Socioeconomics), thus
failing to provide adequate Resource Report requirements, while simultaneously
violating Environmental Justice requirements. FERC panders to Downeast LNG, and
is guilty of intentionally omitting from its published Downeast LNG EIS
socioeconomic data provided by Save Passamaquoddy Bay via The Whole Bay
Study; thus, FERC is complicit in Environmental Justice violations.

Conclusion
This writer invites Senator Markey, Senator Warren, and Chairman LaFleur to review
the entire file of Save Passamaquoddy Bay 3-Nation Alliance, where our 12-year effort
enumerates many violations in our successful effort to defeat three LNG terminal
proposals. FERC has allowed contracted third-party staff to flout NEPA and conflict of
interest prohibitions with impunity. Chairman Cheryl LaFleurs assurances to the
contrary should be disregarded.

I want to address particular attention to the 1978 direction by Congress for FERC to
create the Office of Consumer Advocate and Public Participation but which
FERC has now failed to establish for 39 years. FERCs excuse for failing to establish
the office is lack of funding. In truth, FERC has never sought the required funding. The
reason for failing to comply with Congresss wishes is obvious: FERC does not want
public participation. The solution is also obvious since Congress always grants the
exact funding requested by FERC (equal to the fees paid by FERC energy project
applicants): FERC could easily request the funding. Simply put, fees could be
increased slightly to provide the funding without costing US taxpayers. What this would
achieve is public participation on every application, which would also balance the very
controversy addressed in this docket filing the public would have a balanced

http://www.savepassamaquoddybay.org/downloads/2016Feb_Complaint_to_JusticeDept/0_FERC_Law_
Violations.pdf
6

http://www.savepassamaquoddybay.org/downloads/2016Feb_Complaint_to_JusticeDept/001_SPB%20to
%20Justice%20Dept.pdf
7

http://www.savepassamaquoddybay.org/downloads/2016Feb_Complaint_to_JusticeDept/Complaint_to_J
usticeDept_compressed.zip

4
position with applicants in the permitting process, and would have a clear
ever-present view and interaction with FERC and its Contracted Staff.

Since Save Passamaquoddy Bay 3-Nation Alliance has had the unique experience of
dealing with three LNG terminal proposals affecting numerous rural, economically
challenged communities in two countries, an international waterway, and Native
American lives, territory, and water rights, we would be willing to serve on the board or
as consultant with the Office of Consumer Advocate.

Senator Markey and Senator Warren have the capacity to make 2017 the year that the
Office of Consumer Advocate and Public Participation actually be established at FERC.

The leadership work of the senators would also give truth to the President Clinton
Executive Order Order 12898 of February 1994. Section 1-1 reads...

"Agency Responsibilities. To the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law,

and consistent with the principles set forth In the report on the National
Performance Review, each Federal agency shall make achieving environmental
justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate,
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its
programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income
populations in the United States and its territories and possessions, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Commonwealth of the
Marian islands."

Save Passamaquoddy Bay 3-Nation Alliance, headquartered in Eastport, Washington

County, Maine, and surrounding communities, with exactly the description in the
executive order, fought for 12 years against developers who spent $90 million to obtain
permits. And, although we were victorious, we had to do it all ourselves at great
personal and collective expense. The Office of Public Participation was exactly what
was missing. It is time for our precious world and environment to have a balanced view
at FERC. Senator Markey and Senator Warren can correct this problem.

I suggest Congress enact measures to reign in FERCs lack of objectivity and honesty
in its permitting process, including ensuring funding for the Office of Consumer
Advocate and Public Participation.

Very truly,

Robert Godfrey
Researcher & Webmaster

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CC:! Sen. Edward Markey
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Angus King
Sen. Susan Collins
Rep. Bruce Poliquin
Rep. Chellie Pingree
Department of Energy Office of the Inspector General
White House, Council on Environmental Quality
The Quoddy Tides
The Calais Advertiser
The Saint Croix Courier
Telegraph-Journal
Bangor Daily News
FixFERC.com
The Boston Globe
The Boston Herald
The Christian Science Monitor
WBZ
WBTS
WSKB
The New York Times
The Washington Post
Huffington Post
60 Minutes
Moyers and Company
Rachel Maddow Show
Last Word With Lawrence ODonnell