BANGOR (AP) – A second application to build an onshore liquefied natural gas terminal near eastern Maine’s Passamaquoddy Bay is now in the hands of federal regulators already facing a flood of LNG development proposals along the East Coast.

Downeast LNG, of Washington, D.C., said Friday it has filed its formal application for a $400 million terminal in Robbinston with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The announcement came one week after a similar filing by Oklahoma-based Quoddy Bay LNG, which is seeking to build a terminal on the Passamaquoddy Tribe’s reservation at Pleasant Point and a storage facility in nearby Perry.

Both applications now face a federal review expected to take up to 18 months.

Demand for LNG unloading and processing facilities is especially high in New England, which some analysts predict could face serious natural gas shortages without additional supplies.

Downeast LNG seeks to build a terminal that can supply up to 625 million cubic feet of natural gas a day to the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline that runs from eastern Canada to Massachusetts.

The Quoddy Bay plan calls for a facility that would transport up to 2 billion cubic feet of gas. Both projects would require construction of pipelines to connect with the Maritimes & Northeast line, which would have to be expanded to accommodate either LNG terminal.

Dean Girdis, president of Downeast LNG, said the company has also filed most of its paperwork with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and received local permits from Robbinston, which endorsed the plan in a January referendum.

The DEP plans to ask its board to assume jurisdiction over the permitting process for the LNG facilities at the state level, opening the door to more public participation.

“This is the kind of development that is unique enough and the public interest in these facilities is strong enough for the board to take over jurisdiction,” said Jim Dusch, head of policy services for the DEP.

Plans for two offshore LNG facilities near Gloucester, Mass., recently won the endorsement of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Girdis said that if one of those facilities is approved, demand would still be high enough to support an LNG terminal in Maine.

“I wouldnt be doing this if I didnt think there was room for more than one,” he said.

The flurry of LNG applications and proposals, including at least nine in New England, has led to calls for FERC to adopt a regional approach in place of its project-by-project review.

Steve Hinchman, a staff attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, said the agency should base its site approvals on which project costs the least and has the lowest environmental impact.

“What we have is unplanned energy development,” Hinchman said. “This is energy planning via the Kentucky Derby: The first plant to the finish line wins.”