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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

    I believe it never should have gone this far. I have no concern that Massachusetts is willing to devastate our western mountains so they can reach their goals. Especially when they have blocked the Atlantic Bridge pipeline that would provide clean natural gas at a lower energy cost to Maine.

  • April 17, 2019
    Nimbyism at its finest. Never mind the benefits to the populace-at-large, just protect my views and impose them on everyone else. We will never have a new road with these proposals, never mind electricity. And how about telephones: lines or cell towers! They will never pass these rules proposed. Also, how do they justify ex post facto rules being applied to a submitted proposal? Any application can now have to meet new rules after the application was submitted meeting all the rules in place when the application was submitted. No project will ever be able to be completed, nor will anyone try as such negativity will drive all development out of Maine.
  • April 17, 2019
    Legislators set the regulatory standards ahead of time and the agencies enforce these. Changing it in mid-proposal can be an option for the Legislature, but should be reserved for only the most damaging of project proposals.
  • April 17, 2019
    Changing a regulatory process after an application is received should only happen in extreme circumstances. This is a state level decision, not a one town at a time decision.