Dozens of opponents of Central Maine Power's proposed 145-mile transmission line to provide Quebec hydropower to Massachusetts rallied at the State House today Friday and urged legislators to approve a bill that would assess the project's impacts on greenhouse gas emissions.
Sandra Howard, who leads the Say NO to New England Clean Energy Connect group, says the project will leave a permanent 55-mile, 150-foot wide scar in the western Maine's forests.
Howard also criticized Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who recently endorsed the project citing CMP's claim that it will lead to a net reduction in regional greenhouse gas emissions.
"And we're concerned that the buy-in from the Mills administration that talks about NECEC really garnering clean energy is really unsubstantiated," Howard says.
Lawmakers held a public hearing Friday on a bill requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to assess the emission reductions of the project.
Supporters of the transmission line say such a study could delay permitting.
