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 from the board, half of the Maine Board of Environmental Protections members (including the chair) have tested positive for COVID-19, or had direct exposure. The seven-member citizen board, which includes the chair, hears appeals for environmental licenses and has other duties.
The meeting was originally scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. The board indicated that the meeting will be rescheduled for a later date, 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 argumentsOn the legality and constitutionality of a new law intended to hinder the project. Expected rulings by the end of this summer.
Monday’s announcements were downplayed by project opponents. They claim that the upcoming court decisions will lessen the impact on the BEP process, which has been moving slowly ever since 2020.
Tom Saviello who was the lead petitioner in the Question 1 anticorridor campaign that resulted in the new law last November, stated that the whole meeting was a huge waste of time. 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 said that this is far from being a final decision. We believe that the board will uphold reason when it considers this. We believe that the board will recognize the need to hold public hearings, especially considering the fact that the corridor has been cut and the likelihood that only a small portion of it will ever become operational.
Boepple suggested that at the very least, a plan for decommissioning or restoration must be reviewed, evaluated, and approved.
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. Despite years of government review, citizen input and campaigns, the public’s opinion has only gotten more polarized. There is no consensus as to the impact of the transmission corridor, currently partially constructed but on hold pursuant to DEP order, on the regions renewable energy goals and climate change goals, electric rate, Maine’s prized forestlands, and future power ventures.
The NECEC project, worth $1 billion, is expected to produce 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 funded by Massachusetts’ electricity customers. It would have the ability to power around a million homes.
NECEC is under immense pressure to finish the project by August 2024 in order to satisfy Massachusetts utilities contracts. However, that deadline was put at serious risk after nearly a year.60 percent of votersThe ballot initiative that was passed last November to reject the NECEC proposal was defeated.
This story will be updated.
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