LEWISTON, Maine (AP) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is holding a public hearing Thursday on Central Maine Power’s proposed 145-mile (230-kilometer) 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 (85 kilometers) 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.
