First wood chip shipment eyed for next month

The first shipment of wood chips through the port of Eastport is expected to occur next month, as a contract was expected to be signed this week for exporting the wood biomass to Nova Scotia. Port Director Chris Gardner says it will be only a matter of days after the agreement is inked before the wood chip shipments will begin.
Stephean Chute, managing director Ishofn Ltd., told the Eastport Port Authority board in April that plans call for the firm of E.J. Carrier Inc. to be shipping out 9,000 tons a month of biomass fuel that would be loaded on barges chartered by Great Northern Timber and taken to the plant in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. At the May 20 meeting of the board, Gardner said that Eastport has been selected for shipping the wood chips, but the split between how much the Nova Scotia plant acquires locally and the amount that is imported from Eastport had not been decided.
Gardner says the wood chip shipments are "exactly the type of opportunity we thought we would see" following the construction of the bulk conveyor system, which was completed over a year ago. "Unfortunately it's later than we hoped, but we are very fortunate it is here. We are looking forward to putting not only the assets and the conveyor to work but also the people of the region."
Plans also call for importing higher-quality wood chips that would be sold to pulp mills in Maine. Gardner says the import operations will not begin until sometime later.
The port authority is leasing the chip yard at the port terminal to Costigan Chip LLC, which is a subsidiary of a company owned by Larry Carrier. To handle the importation of wood chips, two hoppers will need to be added at the port terminal.

Breakwater repair
At the May 20 board meeting, Jerry Morrison of Morrison Manufacturing Inc., which is repairing the breakwater, reported that the project is "on schedule and on budget." Twelve sheet piles have been driven, with two more remaining, as of the board meeting. After the hole that was excavated has been filled back in, the area that has been patched will be repaved. It's expected that the breakwater will be reopened by the end of next week. However, no commercial vehicles will be allowed on the pier, and only one lane will be open.
Gardner noted that the repair will be "a band-aid on a gunshot wound," but he added, "We need to put it back together as best we can, to prolong its life as long as possible." He pointed out that the port authority does not know how long it will be before funding is obtained for a new pier.
To construct a new breakwater, the state is applying for a federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant. The port authority is providing $300,000 and the state $100,000 for the engineering and design work, and an engineering firm will be selected next week. HNTB, an engineering consulting firm, is preparing the application for the federal funding. Gardner said a decision on the next round of TIGER grants will be made before October.

Other action
The board approved the design proposed by CES Inc. for the new warehouse at the port, which will be a rubber membrane building. The project now will go out to bid. If there is any remaining funding from the $1.5 million state bond issue, an addition will be built onto warehouse #1.
The port authority still will have to pay Hershey Equipment Company approximately $100,000 for the commissioning of the bulk material conveyor system, when it begins loading wood chips. It was noted that the conveyor has been hit at least twice by lightning. The electrical cabling has now been replaced by fiber optic cables, so that the damage caused by any more lightning strikes will be more localized.
The Maine Department of Transportation has completed the design work for rebuilding County Road. Gardner said the new design will make the road look more attractive, with existing ditches to become shoulders. The wider lanes will allow for off-street parking, particularly near the ballfield.
Gardner reported that the HardiePlank siding on the Coast Guard Station building is not holding up well and that the building will have to be repainted this year.
Federal Marine Terminals Manager Al Day reported that 142,000 tons of wood pulp have been shipped so far this year, which is about the anticipated amount. However, no more cows have been shipped since February, about which he is "a little concerned."