LEWISTON, Maine - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is holding a public hearing Thursday on Central Maine Power's proposed 145-mile transmission line to bring Canadian hydropower to New England. Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden called on the Army Corps to hold a hearing on the $1 billion project that has met with stubborn resistance in many communities along the path. Critics of the project hope the Army Corps will require a look at alternative routes for the corridor.
Most of the transmission line would follow established utility corridors, but a new swath would be cut through 53 miles of wilderness on land that CMP owns in western Maine .
The Maine Public Utilities Commission has given its green light to the project. But the Department of Environmental Protection and Land Use Planning Commission have yet to rule.
