DEP gives conditional approval to CMP transmission corridor
Courtesy / Maine Department of Environmental Protection
A rendering of the 150-foot-wide proposed CMP transmission corridor looking south from the observation tower at the summit of Coburn Mountain to the west side of Johnson Mountain. DEP has proposed a maximum width of 54 feet.
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The Maine Department of Environmental Protection's draft order for Central Maine Power's New England Clean Energy connect Project requires what DEP calls "an unprecedented level" of environmental and natural resource protection for approval.
The DEP will accept written comment until Friday, March 27, before making the decision final.
The application was accepted by DEP in October 2017, and it must be approved for construction of the $1 billion NECEC, which would enter the state in Beattie Township, in Franklin County on the Quebec border, and run to a new converter station in Lewiston. The project also includes upgrades to CMP's electrical transmission network between Lewiston and Pownal, Windsor and Wiscasset, and in Cumberland.
About two-thirds of the 145-mile transmission line is proposed to be built along CMP’s existing transmission corridor. The remainder of the line would run through commercial timberland in western Somerset and Franklin counties.
The order said that the project as originally proposed by CMP to have had substantial impact, particularly in the 53.5-mile portion of the corridor, Segment 1, which extends from the Quebec border to The Forks, in Somerset County. It said that the impact can be avoided and minimized through mitigation measures.
The project is part of a Massachusetts initiative to reduce carbon emissions there under the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities is reviewing 20-year contracts among the state’s largest electric utilities, Central Maine Power, and Hydro-Québec for the delivery of 9.45 terawatt hours of electricity annually from Canadian hydropower facilities.
CMP's parent company, Avangrid Inc. (NYSE: AGR), has said that the project will produce nearly $1 billion in economic benefits in Maine through construction employment, electricity cost savings, local property taxes and enhanced economic growth through 2027.
The draft order imposes conditions that it said were formed through the 29-month review process.
"Several of these conditions have never before been required for construction and maintenance of transmission lines in the state of Maine," a news release from DEP said.
The draft order requires:
- Corridor width: Originally proposed to be 150 feet, the order limits the cleared width of the new Segment 1 corridor to 54 feet at its widest point, limiting visual and habitat impact.
- Wildlife areas: In particularly vulnerable habitat areas covering approximately 14 miles along the 53.5-mile Segment 1 corridor, the order requires preservation of natural forest canopy or trees at least 35 feet tall across the corridor, protecting wildlife, wildlife movement and rare plant species.
- Deer habitat: The order requires the conservation of more than 700 acres of deer wintering area and the preservation of soft wood deer travel corridors across the transmission corridor in an important deer wintering area along the Kennebec River.
- Herbicide use: Herbicide use is prohibited throughout Segment 1 of the corridor.
- Conservation: CMP is required to permanently conserve 40,000 acres in western Maine. The conserved land may be open to commercial forestry using sustainable harvesting practices.
- Stream crossing improvements: CMP must set aside $1,875,000 for culvert replacement projects, which will enhance fish habitat by facilitating passage, reducing erosion, and improving water quality.
Groups criticize DEP decision
The draft order was criticized by groups that oppose the transmission corridor.
"The state agencies that are supposed to keep us safe continue to fail us, which is why the people of Maine deserve a vote to stop this project," said Sandra Howard, of Say No to NECED in a Friday news release.
"It’s deeply frustrating that DEP made its announcement as the country turns its attention to dealing with a public health crisis. This is not transparent, fair behavior. Mainers know that the corridor will do lasting, permanent damage to Maine in order to sell Canadian electricity to Massachusetts. It’s simply a bad deal for Maine.”
The Appalachian Mountain Club, Natural Resource Council of Maine and Trout Unlimited issues a joint release that said, in part, “Based on our initial review, the CMP corridor continues to carve an unacceptable path through a globally significant forested landscape and provides no verifiable reduction in greenhouse gas pollution. While we appreciate the department’s attempt to reduce impacts, this remains the wrong project in the wrong place."
The Land Use Planning Commission determined in January that the plan meets zoning requirements for the unorganized territory land it runs through.
Avangrid has said that the 20-year Massachusetts contracts will produce additional economic and environmental benefits in Maine through 2043, and separate agreements between CMP and Hydro-Québec could extend benefits to Maine for 20 years or more after that.
Gov. Janet Mills, in February, endorsed the project, including an agreement that includes a $50 million low-income customer benefits fund, a $140 million rate relief fund, a $10 million broadband fund, a $15 million heat pump fund and $10 million from Hydro-Quebec for electric vehicles.
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