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March 22, 2013

DEP wind denial reversed in 'precedent-setting' vote

A 14-turbine wind power project at Passadumkeag Mountain on Thursday successfully appealed a permit denial from the Department of Environmental Protection, giving new life to the project that DEP officials said would disrupt the scenic aspects of the adjacent Saponac Pond.

The DEP announced in a press release Thursday that the seven-member citizen-staffed Board of Environmental Protection voted 5-1 to overturn the DEP denial. Board member Susan Lessard of Hampden voted against the project and board member M. Wing Goodale of Falmouth was absent.

According to a DEP statement, the board's ruling marks the first time it has not upheld a DEP decision.

The Bangor Daily News reported that attorney Katherine Joyce — who represents developer Passadumkeag Windpark LLC, owned by the Texas-based Quantum Utility Generation, and landowner Penobscot Forest LLC — called the decision "precedent-setting" and said it "has the potential to control the future of wind development in Maine."

Joyce told the paper that while wind turbines have the potential to impact landscape, the decision Thursday allows consideration of whether that impact is unreasonably adverse.

That was the reason cited by the DEP for its project denial, which Gov. Paul LePage endorsed. In a prepared statement, LePage said he was "deeply disappointed" in the board voting to overturn the DEP's denial of the project.

The board is expected to review a written approval of that project in the coming weeks and cast a final vote that would give the official go-ahead for the project.

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