The size of a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Washington County has doubled.

Facing stiff resistance from neighbors, environmentalists and Canadian communities adjacent to the Split Rock site of the LNG terminal, the news that the proposal had grown fourfold will only invigorate opposition.

Oklahoma-based Quoddy Bay LLC is negotiating with the Passamaquoddy tribe to build a terminal on its land. When the plan was first described, the project would have been capable of handling 500 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. When the company filed its paperwork with the federal government, the capacity had increased to 4 billion cubic feet a day. While the facilities would exist, the company would likely be limited to transferring only about 2 billion cubic feet a day into the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline, the Bangor Daily News reported last week.

The BDN also reported that Quoddy Bay is looking in Trinidad and Tobago for a potential partner in the project.

As the Passamaquoddy tribe has moved forward with negotiations with Quoddy Bay, it has resisted making the process public. Meetings have been closed to the press and others who aren’t members of the tribe. While the courts have upheld their ability to hold secret meetings, they have only acted to increase the distrust among the various stakeholders in the communities surrounding the proposed site of the terminal.

The now larger size will only increase the divisions. It means there will be more waterway traffic and more industrialization of waterfront property. Closed meetings and drastic changes to development plans are poor ways to build support or consensus.