The much-anticipated meeting to discuss appeals to a conditional license to build the New England Clean Energy Connect powerline was abruptly postponed to Monday.
According to a Monday statement by the board, half of Maine Board of Environmental Protections’ members, including its chair, have either tested positive or had direct contact with COVID-19. The seven-member citizen panel, among other duties, hears appeals regarding environmental licenses.
The meeting was to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be rescheduled for a later date, according to the board, possibly in mid-June.
Documents compiled for the long-delayed meeting contained new information. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection staff, which advises BEP, mostly rejected arguments regarding impacts such as scenic and recreation uses, soil erosion and wildlife habitat.
Staff also suggested that there is no need to hold a public hearing on appeals.
This postponement is one week after the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Oral arguments heardOn the legality and constitutionality of a new law intended to hinder the project. Expected rulings by the end of this summer.
Monday’s developments were dismissed by Project opponents. They claimed that the upcoming court rulings will reduce the impact of the BEP process which has been moving slowly since 2020.
The whole meeting was a waste of time, according to Tom Saviello, lead petitioner for Question 1 anti-corridor campaign which led to the new law in November. It doesn’t matter at this point, as the court will decide whether the project moves forward or not.
An attorney representing residents against the project, known as West Forks Plantation in the case, cautioned that the DEP staff made the recommendation before the board had done an independent review or decided whether hearings should be held on any appeals.
Attorney Elizabeth Boepple stated that this is far from a final order and decision from the board. We are confident that the board will accept this argument. We believe the board will see the necessity of holding public hearings in light of the existing corridor and the likely outcome that (at least) a portion of it will never be operational.
Boepple stated that a decommissioning plan and restoration plan must be reviewed and approved at a minimum.
Monday’s postponement was the latest twist to a process that began in 2017. NECEC Transmission and Central Maine Power were both subsidiaries of Avangrid Inc. when the NECEC project was first proposed. After a similar venture in New Hampshire, it was quickly reintroduced by Massachusetts officials and electric utilities.
The project has become Maine’s most controversial environmental issue in decades. Public opinion has been shaped by years of government review, citizen inputs, campaigns, and negotiations. There is little consensus on the impact that the transmission corridor, which is being built in part but still on hold per DEP orders, will have on the region’s renewable energy and climate goals, electric rates and Maine’s precious forestlands, as well as future power ventures.
The NECEC project costs $1 billion and is expected to generate 1,200 megawatts.The route connects Hydro-Quebec in Canada with the New England electric grid. It covers 145 miles and passes through a Lewiston converter station. The project is being constructed to help Massachusetts meet its clean-energy and climate goals. It is being paid for through the state’s electricity customers. It would be able to power approximately a million homes.
NECEC is under immense pressure to finish the project by August 2024 in order to satisfy Massachusetts utilities contracts. However, that timeframe was put at serious risk after nearly a year.60% of votersLast November, a ballot initiative rejected the NECEC project.
This story will be updated.
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