Members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point in Maine declared victory in their campaign against a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal.

Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon, or We Protect Our Homeland, opposed the project from its inception. They said the terminal would harm Split Rock, a sacred site.

The group sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs for approving a lease for the project. A judge dismisse the case but the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals revived it.

In the meantime, the tribe decided to cut ties to Quoddy Bay LNG, the developer of the project. The BIA then said it never formally approved the lease for the terminal.

The 1st Circuit heard the case for a second time and dismissed it, saying Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon to exhaust their administrative appeals within the BIA. But the agency decided to cancel the lease altogether.

Get the Story:
Feds pull plug on tribe’s LNG pact (The Bangor Daily News 4/28)

1st Circuit Decision:
Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtahkomikumon v. BIA (October 28, 2009)

Related Stories:
BIA stops lease for Passamaquoddy natural gas terminal (4/27)
1st Circuit dismisses Passamaquoddy LNG case (10/29)
Passamaquoddy Tribe cuts ties with developer (6/18)
LNG firm cuts payments to Passamaquoddy Tribe (7/28)
Passamaquoddy LNG terminal lawsuit back in court (7/2)
Court revives Passamaquoddy lawsuit against BIA (9/17)