Canadian communities speak out against Eastport data center

For the most part, Canadians in the Passamaquoddy region don't have too much to say about what goes on in Eastport. However, if activities threaten their livelihoods and lifestyles, they will speak out.

The proposed LNG development around Eastport in 2007 was one such episode. One important factor in eventually stopping that development was the Canadian government's announcement on February 14, 2007, that it would prohibit the "passage of LNG tankers through the environmentally sensitive and navigationally‑challenging marine and coastal areas of the sovereign Canadian waters of Head Harbour Passage," because this would "present risks to the region of southwest New Brunswick and its inhabitants that the Government of Canada cannot accept."

Now DeepGreen Western Passage's proposal for a subsea data center and tidal energy project off Eastport is raising concerns across the region.

The proposed site for the project, while nominally in U.S. waters, is less than half mile from the Canada‑U.S. border. The closest point on Deer Island is only one mile away and it's just three miles to Campobello. Opponents note that tidal flows to cool the data center would transfer heat pollution into Canadian waters with every tidal change, affecting clamming grounds, lobster habitat and scallop beds. Noise pollution is likely to penetrate well into Canadian waters as well. Other contaminants, during construction or from subsequent failures, would affect similar areas.

The Rural Community of Campobello Island Council agreed to oppose the project at its August 31 meeting. Harvey Matthews, mayor and fisherman, raised the issue because he sees the threats from the project to the livelihoods of his constituents. With fishing such a major economic driver for Campobello and Deer Island and the waters already warming rapidly from climate change, the council feels it needs to oppose any activity that would put further stress on an already precarious marine ecosystem.

The Roosevelt Campobello International Park (RCIP) has also come out against the project because of the potential risks it could pose to the region's sensitive marine environment, fisheries, wildlife and the natural character of the waters surrounding Campobello Island.

"We are not opposed to innovation, but innovation must not come at the expense of one of the most sensitive and important marine environments in our region," says Jon Southern, the superintendent of RCIP. "Before infrastructure of this scale is placed beneath these waters, there must be clear, independent evidence that it will not harm marine ecosystems, fisheries, wildlife or the scenic and natural character that define this region and more specifically Campobello Island. Once these environments are disrupted, the consequences can be difficult - or impossible - to reverse, especially at a time when the region's fisheries are already significantly threatened."

Deer Island residents, too, are adding their voice. Bruce Smith, owner of Seascape Kayak Tours, has offered guided kayak tours around Deer Island, Campobello Island and the surrounding waters of Passamaquoddy Bay for 34 years. Over those decades he's seen many threats to these waters.

"Passamaquoddy Bay is a rich, biodiverse, yet fragile marine ecosystem. The bay is currently under threat from overfishing, aquaculture and climate change. The proposed underwater data center shouldn't even be under consideration. This is why we need to develop a marine protected area with firm legislation against future development."

Joseph Gough, whose family connections to Campobello go back more than 150 years and whose career focused on fisheries and government, points out that "the International Joint Commission was set up under the Boundary Waters Treaty to avoid American and Canadian pollution of each other's waters and has in the past dealt with thermal pollution."

The International Joint Commission specifies that its role is "guided by the Boundary Waters Treaty, signed by Canada and the United States in 1909. The treaty provides general principles, rather than detailed prescriptions, for preventing and resolving disputes over waters shared between the two countries and for settling other transboundary issues." To date, it is not evident that the commission has taken this project under consideration.

The Canadian press has shown interest in developments in Eastport. CHCO‑TV and its associated newspaper, The Courier, based in St. Andrews, covered the Eastport City Council meeting on August 5 about the DeepGreen proposal.