GOULDSBORO, Maine (AP) – A Maine construction company Tuesday abruptly scrapped its proposal for a $300 million liquefied natural gas terminal in this eastern Maine town.

Peter Vigue, president and chief executive of Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp., met Tuesday night with a group of more than 300 residents, many holding “NO LNG” signs, who were openly opposed to having an LNG terminal in town. The group was made up mostly of fishermen who were concerned LNG tankers would hurt the lobstering industry and a 200-year way of life.

After giving a 15-minute presentation to the group, Vigue asked: “Do you want more information? Or is this the end of it?”

“This is the end of it,” several people shouted back, as the room broke into thunderous applause and cheers.

Dana Rice, a selectman and lobster buyer, asked Vigue to cancel a meeting with residents Thursday. “I don’t think there is any need to carry this any further,” Rice said, prompting some standing ovations.

Vigue said afterward that he wished he had a chance to properly pitch the idea to the town, but is sensitive to the wishes of the community.

“I think for the most part, people have made up their minds,” he said. “All we would do is pit neighbors against neighbors and divide a community.”

Cianbro announced just last week that it was interested in building a terminal on 450 acres that were formerly part of a Navy surveillance base near Cranberry Point in Corea, a harbor on the town’s eastern shore. Town voters would have to approve the plan for the project to move ahead.

An LNG terminal would accept a liquid form of natural gas from giant tankers that bring it from overseas. Once at the terminal, the gas would be converted back to vapor and pumped into pipelines for distribution.

The Gouldsboro project was brought to Cianbro by the Nale brothers of Waterville, two lawyers who said they wanted any LNG terminal to benefit Mainers as much as possible, Vigue said. The company expected the project would have created 600 jobs, and up to 100 year-round workers would be needed to operate the plant.

Though Cianbro is stepping away, some Gouldsboro residents fear that energy companies will still target their town, now that it’s been identified for its deep water and easy ocean access.

“We may win the battle but lose the war,” Rusty Elliott, a 61-year-old summer resident, said during the meeting. “Somebody else may come down the pike.”

After the meeting, John Nale said he doubts any other company will approach Gouldsboro.

“I think we kind of helped Gouldsboro by giving them this opportunity to give a resounding ‘no’ that will be heard by everybody else who might want to look at it,” Nale said.

The end of Cianbro’s proposal means that only one Maine community is actively considering a proposal for an LNG terminal.

The Passamaquoddy Tribe last month voted to negotiate with an Oklahoma-based energy development partnership for an LNG terminal on Passamaquoddy Bay near Eastport.

AP-ES-09-08-04 0812EDT