CMP Wins Permits From Two State Agencies For Western Maine Power Line

By Fred Bever

The state Department of Environmental Protection and the Land Use Planning Commission signed off today on vital land use permits Central Maine Power needs for its proposed 151-mile power line through western Maine.

The permits include dozens of conditions the agencies say will mitigate damage to forest values, with special attention to reducing habitat fragmentation by a 51-mile section of all-new timber cuts stretching between the Canadian border to Caratunk.

"DEP's job is to apply Maine’s rigorous environmental standards to permit applications fairly and transparently," said DEP Commissioner Gerald Reid. "The result is a final permit that dramatically reduces the footprint of CMP's proposal, puts into place extensive protections for fish and wildlife habitat, and requires 40,000 acres of permanent land conservation."

But that isn’t enough to satisfy several environmental groups, including Trout Unlimited and the state’s largest, the Natural Resources Council of Maine. NRCM scientist Nick Bennett says, for instance, that a requirement to “taper” tree heights on each side of the line in the westernmost section depends on wholesale removal of all trees above a certain height.

Instead of a forestlike transition zone, he says, the result would be a patchwork of skinny trees.

“It’s not going to help with fragmenting effects. It’s not going to support creatures that need mature forest to survive, like many species of birds and pine martens. And it’s not going to provide shade or large wood inputs to brook trout streams,” he says.

NRCM and other opponents also argue that although the project ostensibly would bring low-polluting hydroelectricity to the region, there is no guarantee that it would actually reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases.

But two prominent environmental groups — the Nature Conservancy and the Conservation Law Foundation — are supportive of the permit.

CLF attorney Phelps Turner says the potential pollution reductions make the project worthwhile. But a balance should be struck.

Read the rest at:

https://www.mainepublic.org/post/cmp-wins-permits-two-state-agencie...

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Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

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(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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