State regulators deadlocked Wednesday on whether Central Maine Power's proposed powerline through western Maine would have unreasonable impacts on a remote pond in Beattie township.
Everett Worcester is Chair of the Land Use Planning Commission, which acts as a zoning board for Maine's unorganized territories.
“At this point I think we're comfortable with the Kennebec Gorge, I think we're grudgingly comfortable with the Appalachian Trail, and I think we have sort of a deadlock on Beattie Pond,” Worcester says. “Rather than proceed at this point with a lack of five votes one way or the other, I am going to move this issue to the October meeting.”
CMP's 141-mile transmission line would bring hydroelectricity produced in Canada through Maine to serve customers in Massachusetts. It still needs permits from the land use panel, from the state Department of Environmental Protection and from federal authorities.
Opponents, meanwhile, are seeking a statewide referendum that aims to kill the billion-dollar project.
Originally published 4:09 p.m. Sept. 11, 2019