What to know about Question 1 on the CMP corridor
Question 1 on the statewide Nov. 2 ballot asks Maine voters whether they want to ban or allow Central Maine Power’s new electricity corridor, New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) to be built. Learn more about the project and the controversy surrounding it.
Question 1 At A Glance
Question 1 is a citizen initiative that seeks to block Central Maine Power’s electricity transmission line project, known as New England Clean Energy Connect, that would bring hydropower from Quebec, Canada, and connect it to the New England power grid.
Opponents of the project petitioned to get Question 1 on the ballot, so a “yes” vote would ban the 145-mile project, while a “no” vote would let its construction continue.
Question 1 reads: “Do you want to ban the construction of high-impact electric transmission lines in the Upper Kennebec Region and to require the Legislature to approve all other such projects anywhere in Maine, both retroactively to 2020, and to require the Legislature, retroactively to 2014, to approve by a two-thirds vote such projects using public land?”
Corridor's Path
The 145-mile corridor will encompass 92 miles of existing power lines shown in the solid orange line on the map, plus a new 53-mile path being cut through western Maine forest shown by the dotted orange line.
It will connect hydropower from Quebec to the New England grid at a substation in Lewiston.
The 53-mile stretch near the Maine-Canada border has generated the most controversy because it involves clear-cutting a new path for new utility poles and power lines through remote parts of Somerset and Franklin counties.
Environmental Impact Debate
The environmental impact where trees are being cut down for NECEC is the top concern among opponents who live near the corridor's path.
CMP however, argues its New England Clean Energy Connect corridor will combat climate change by delivering electricity generated in Quebec, Canada, by hydropower – a cleaner process than burning fossil fuels — to the New England power grid station in Lewiston.
“The fact is that we need power in order to live our lives,” said NECEC Community Relations and Outreach Manager Katie Yates. “And this power is going to be so reliable. It’s so much greener than fossil fuels. Why wouldn’t we make use of it?”
Fifty-three miles of trees near the Maine-Canada border are being clear cut for new utility poles and power lines to run through a remote part of Somerset and Franklin counties.
"The damage will really happen when they put the poles up. Some of them are 120 feet high,” said Somerset County resident Ed Buzzell, who believes the project will become a permanent scar on the landscape.
“It’s stretching through some of the most beautiful scenery in the whole state," Buzzell said. “There’s no development whatsoever.”
Buzzell said the path being cut is much wider than the 54 feet residents were told.
"It's certainly not 54 feet wide, that's for sure. I've measured it with a tape measure, and it's 100 feet,” Buzzell said.
Until this year, Buzzell owned Kennebec Kayak, a whitewater rafting guide and boat rental service in West Forks.
Buzzell lives nearby on a property he discovered by snowshoeing 27 years ago. From the deck of the cabin he built, he has a spectacular view of the forest and Coburn Mountain.
“Yeah, I said this is where I want to be,” he said.
Like many visitors to the area, Buzzell enjoys fishing, hunting, and exploring the Maine woods.
“By putting in lines straight across that mountain out there, that is not going to help out tourist industry, that’s for sure,” Buzzell said. "I've seen them cut right over mountains, cut right across some of our best brook trout fisheries that we have out there.”
Two-thirds of the corridor’s path already exists. New metal poles being added are rusted brown to blend in more naturally with the landscape.
"This is an actively logged land – happens every year. It's responsible forestry, and we're part of that,” said NECEC’s Katie Yates.
Yates previously worked for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the National Park Service.
Yates said, “As a conservationist and as an environmentalist, this is what we need to do, and these are the measures we need to take on order to have more renewable energy in our state.”
Yates said NECEC has made changes to the project to limit the impact on wildlife and natural resources.
“We have increased the buffers around cold water streams to reduce the impact on cold-water fish species," she said.
While 1,000 acres of forest are being cut down for the corridor, 40,000 acres will be set aside as a nature preserve, in accordance with the permit issued by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
"The worst thing that we could do for our natural resources and wildlife — fish and wildlife species in the state of Maine -- is nothing when it comes to climate change. Climate change is the number one thing that will be affecting them,” Yates said.
Buzzell said he understands the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels, but he sees the corridor as fragmenting pristine forest and fears more energy infrastructure will follow.
"If this goes through, you know, anything can happen. I mean wind towers, the whole land will be developed,” Buzzell said. “It’s a scar that won’t heal. It’ll never heal.”
While hydropower generation is not carbon emission-free, its emissions are lower than from burning coal or gasoline, and Yates believes the project is a step in the right direction.
“I don't think everything is 100% perfect, right? And if you look at how they create solar panels, that's not 100% green either,” Yates said. "I wouldn't work for this project if I didn't believe fully that this was the right step for Maine to move into the clean energy space."
Economic Impact Debate
In addition to the environmental impacts of the NECEC project, supporters and opponents have argued over its expected economic benefits.
On a recent visit to the Somerset County town of Bingham, WMTW News 8 witnessed how work on the corridor is already underway, even while the fate of the project is uncertain.
NECEC construction manager Jim Wright said 830 poles are needed to string wiring through the 145-mile corridor, about six poles per mile.
The corridor will encompass 92 miles of existing power lines plus a new 53-mile path being cut through western Maine forest.
Wright sees the 600 construction workers already hired, with 1,000 more jobs projected, as a top benefit.
Wright said, “Those people, by working on this project, they’re going into stores, they’re going into local businesses, and they’re spending money, and the money is staying in the communities.”
Chris Hartsock, from Waterville, has been working on the project for months, earning union wages as a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
"I've had to travel all over the country to do this line of work, and this job helps me be home every night with my family,” Hartsock said.
Construction is expected to last two to three years, and maintenance work will follow.
"When people say they're temporary, right, a temporary job, would you say that to a contractor building a house?” Hartsock said.
Jason Durant, a forester from Lagrange, who is clearing trees and tapering vegetation in rural Somerset and Franklin counties, said his paycheck is as large as he’s ever earned.
"Yeah, absolutely," Durant said. “There's a little convenience store that I go by every morning. I stop there every morning. I'm buying stuff."
NECEC has committed to 80% of its workforce being Maine residents like Hartsock and Durant.
Wright also touted tax benefits for three dozen corridor towns.
"The communities that this line is going through – they're seeing, you know, tax relief, on their property taxes. That's a big one. You put the money back in everyone's pocket,” Wright said.
Lewiston, where the corridor will terminate, is projected to collect the most corridor property taxes at eventually $8 million per year.
Towns ranging from West Forks ($73,466) to Wiscasset ($227,539) are already receiving property taxes paid this year by NECEC, as are Livermore Falls, Jay, Farmington, Anson, Greene, Moscow, and Embden.
In West Forks, where the clear-cut path begins, many residents are opposed to the project.
"It's all about money. This whole thing is about money,” resident Pete Dostie said.
Twenty years ago, Dostie built the Hawk’s Next Lodge, in West Forks, across from the Dead River, hosting seasonal hunters, fishermen, rafters, and snowmobilers.
“My question is why doesn’t Canada keep all that hydropower and clean up their own act, up in Canada, so they won’t have to burn tar sands and oil?” Dostie said.
His wife, Sarah Dostie, who runs the lodge, also opposes the corridor.
"I get it. I love the idea of renewable, sustainable energy, but it has to be done correctly, and just grabbing at straws and taking the first project, from Quebec to Massachusetts, cutting through our woods without us – we're not even getting the power,” Sarah Dostie said.
The hydropower generated in Canada will be used primarily by Massachusetts customers, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who supports the project, has said Maine will reap $258 million in benefits.
The state will buy some electricity at a discount, and some CMP customers are expected to receive rebates on future bills.
"I know that Janet Mills says it'll bring in $258 million, but that's over the course of 40 years, which is pennies per person per year,” Pete Dostie said.
The Dosties also dislike how corridor profits will leave the state and country because CMP’s parent company is Spain-based Iberdrola.
"To me, it is a foreign-owned company raping our backyard for their profit margin, not ours. We're getting very little out of this if anything at all,” Sarah Dostie said.
Question 1 supporters, opponents argue about 'retroactive' language
Question 1 opponents claim there will be unintended consequences of voting yes to ban the project because of retroactive language in the referendum.
They contend that other existing business leases on public land, such as a communications tower in Aroostook County, and an underground phone-cable line to a summer camp, could be in jeopardy.
"These leases would be rendered void if this referendum passed,” retired Maine Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Wathen said. "The assertion that this will never affect anybody, have no impact in anybody in the state of Maine except the Clean Energy Corridor, is patently false."
Yes on 1 campaign attorney Adam Cote disagrees with Wathen’s assessment.
"It affects them retroactively, but it doesn't affect anybody else,” Cote said.
Cote said there have been dozens of retroactive laws in Maine, such as to clean up PFAS chemicals and accuses CMP and its allies of spreading fear.
"They're not talking about their project. They're trying to roll out a parade of horribles, red herring after red herring to get people scared and get people nervous,” Cote said.
Wathen, who is now a partner in Pierce Atwood, the law firm that represents CMP, said that had no bearing on his opinion about Question 1. He also said he was not paid to render it
Question 1 Money
Question 1 is on pace to be one of the most expensive campaigns in Maine history.
A week before the election, both sides had raised nearly $100 million for the campaign.
The political action committee in support of Question 1, Mainers for Local Power, had raised $26.8 million. NextEra Energy, based in Florida, gave $20 million. Calpine Corp. and Vistra Energy Corp., both based in Texas, gave $2.7 million and $2.5 million, respectively. All three own fossil-fuel-burning plants in Maine.
The financial reports showed opponents of Question 1 had raised $67.5 million. Clean Energy Matters, a political action committee encouraging a “No” vote, has raised $43 million. Hydro-Quebec Maine Partnership, the political action committee for Hydro-Quebec, had raised $24.5 million.
What's Next After The Election?
It is likely that Question 1 will not settle the future of the CMP corridor. There are ongoing legal challenges to the project, and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection is considering whether to revoke its license for the project over a disputed 1-mile lease on state land.
Earlier this year, a judge ruled that Maine's Bureau of Public Lands did not have the authority to grant a lease for land needed for the project. The state has appealed the ruling.
If the court ruling is upheld, any future lease would require a two-thirds majority vote from the legislature.