EUT Committee Hearing January 13th
A Reminder:
Monday, January 13, 2014 @10 am
at Burton M. Cross Building - Room # 211
ATTEND IF YOU CAN, BUT IF NOT, BE SURE TO EMAIL THE COMMITTEE
2 LDs that are important to all of us will have public hearings:
LD 1147, "An Act To Protect Maine's Scenic Character" and
LD 1323. "An Act Regarding Wind Power Siting in the Unorganized Territory"
LD 1147 is a major strengthening of our protection of Maine scenic vistas and natural resources. The key provision is the extension of the arbitrary 8 mile scenic impact zone to 15 miles for the Appalachian Trail corridor, Acadia National Park, Allagash Wilderness Waterway and Baxter State Park. Additional strengthening of the scenic impact regards cumulative impact, allowing consideration of locally designated areas of scenic significance, and expanding the impact on great ponds. This would be a HUGE change and we need to vigorously support it! We have a strong ally with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and we also have First Wind lawyer Juliet Browne on record in the Maine Law Court stating that her client would welcome more clear definition of scenic impact (in the Oakfield appeal). Well, let's give it to them by getting this bill passed! To read more about the bill, click here: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?ld=1147&PID=1456&snum=126 To help you get ideas for points to make in an email to the committee, click here to review some of the written submitted testimony from a previous hearing: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?paper=HP0812&PID=1456&snum=126&sec3# (click on "Public Hearing Testimony")
A link to emailing the EUT Committee is at the bottom of this notice.
Gaining passage of LD 1147 will prevent this from happening:
This is Record Hill Wind from the summit of Baldpate Mt. on
the Appalachian Trail. With a 15 mile scenic impact zone, this
project could have been opposed on that basis. The wind site
would violate scenic impact on Mt. Blue State Park and the
Mahoosuc and Tumbledown Public Reserved Lands as well.
If we don't act, this, or worse, will be the fate of our beautiful
state and we become "Turbineland" rather than "Vacationland"
LD 1323 is important to the people who live in the de-organized towns, plantations, and townships designated as the Unorganized Territories of Maine. (UT) This bill is about restoring the rights of those residents to have a say in all proposed developments in their area which must be reviewed by the Maine Land Use Planning Commission (formerly LURC). However, as yet another favor to the wind industry, the Expedited Permitting Area was arbitrarily established and people who live in the UTs do not have a right to local self determination on any wind projects. That is why this bill is important to those opposed to the proliferation of utility scale wind projects in Maine. However, it is citizens' rights to equal treatment that is the core issue. Those who have worked diligently on this LD request that statements of support address the issue of citizens' rights for citizens residing in the UTs and DO NOT include issues regarding wind power. We fervently believe that keeping this strictly about citizens' rights broadens the chances of passage. If it passes, then it helps all of the State of Maine!
To read more about the bill, click here: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?ld=1323&... To help you get ideas for points to make in an email to the committee, click here to review some of the written submitted testimony from a previous hearing: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?ld=1323&...# (click on "Public Hearing Testimony")
PLEASE ATTEND, or CALL/WRITE/E-MAIL THE EUT COMMITTEE
DO NOT BE COMPLACENT! THE WIND INDUSTRY IS LOBBYING VERY HARD
TO DEFEAT THESE BILLS AND WE CAN SHOW THE COMMITTEE STRENGTH
IN THE NUMBERS OF INVOLVED CITIZENS. SOME TIME IN THE NEXT THREE DAYS, TAKE SOME TIME TO TAKE ACTION!!!
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE EUT COMMITTEE:
No need to re-invent the wheel, so I am providing a link to an excellent page on the website of the "Friends of the Highland Mountains" This page is a wealth of guidance for a citizen activist with many links. The link for the EUT Committee is the first listing under the Contact Information heading towards the bottom of the page. Click here: http://highlandmts.org/2011/03/track-and-act-on-wind-legislation/
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Comment
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(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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We have the facts on our side. We have the truth on our side. All we need now is YOU.
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-- Mahatma Gandhi
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Vince Lombardi
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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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