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Poll results

Central Maine Power’s controversial $950 million New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project in western Maine received a critical “certificate of public convenience and necessity” last Thursday from the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Additional hurdles remain as it makes its way through regulatory reviews by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Land Use Planning Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But a new wrinkle in the approval process has been introduced in the Legislature, where at least two bills have been introduced adding new requirements on CMP before its proposed 145-mile transmission line could be built. One bill would require CMP to receive approval in public votes from every town in the corridor before its transmission line is built. Another would mandate a study of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions before it can proceed. But Anthony Buxton, an attorney at Preti Flaherty representing the Industrial Energy Consumers Group, which supports CMP’s project, says partisan politics shouldn’t be allowed to override “the considered judgment” of regulatory officials. “If we have a process which allows a party to file for one solution and then have it reversed by the political process, what we have is no regulatory process at all,” he told the Bangor Daily News.

Do you agree that lawmakers should not interfere with regulatory processes already under way for CMP’s project?
Yes (42%, 1053 VOTES)
No (58%, 1432 VOTES)
Poll Description

Central Maine Power’s controversial $950 million New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project in western Maine received a critical “certificate of public convenience and necessity” last Thursday from the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Additional hurdles remain as it makes its way through regulatory reviews by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Land Use Planning Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But a new wrinkle in the approval process has been introduced in the Legislature, where at least two bills have been introduced adding new requirements on CMP before its proposed 145-mile transmission line could be built. One bill would require CMP to receive approval in public votes from every town in the corridor before its transmission line is built. Another would mandate a study of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions before it can proceed. But Anthony Buxton, an attorney at Preti Flaherty representing the Industrial Energy Consumers Group, which supports CMP’s project, says partisan politics shouldn’t be allowed to override “the considered judgment” of regulatory officials. “If we have a process which allows a party to file for one solution and then have it reversed by the political process, what we have is no regulatory process at all,” he told the Bangor Daily News.

  • 2485 Votes
  • 49 Comments
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49 Comments

  • April 17, 2019
    There are five conversations that need to be addressed, here. Also , there is way too much profit, on the table. $$$ has contaminated the whole process.....Mainers are getting the short end of the stick, again. have visited these projects, they are gargantuan ...
  • April 17, 2019
    I guess it all depends on how you look at things. To me a state that ranks high on Forbes business friendly list is likely to suffer from overdevelopment, sprawl, pollution, lots of low-paying service jobs, etc. You have to be careful what you wish for when you make yourself "open for business." Most of the big businesses want a place where they can make the most money for themselves and their shareholders. What happens to the people and places where they are located are a secondary concern.
  • April 17, 2019
    "We the People " should have the final say, these "elected officials" are SUPPOSED to be OUR voices in government.
  • April 17, 2019
    I've read the comments and one thing is very clear - the comments are coming from people that have little to no regard for public sentiment or the protection of what is left of the natural world. OF COURSE the public should have a say. Having a "say" is why we have the legislative body. Furthermore, IF the public's concerns were being taken into account the "regulatory bodies" would be taking those into account and not approving this project.
  • April 17, 2019
    We're our own worst enemy! What kind of message does this send to developers who may want to build projects here? That our Legislature can attempt to override our regulatory agencies at any point in the process. No wonder Maine is 48th on Forbes business friendly state rankings.