Three environmental groups are appealing a decision allowing continued construction of the controversial 145-mile New England Clean Energy Connect corridor through western Maine. The appeal was filed on Wednesday.
A federal judge in Portland ruled against the groups last month, who had argued that the environmental impact of the line, which runs through forestland, was downplayed.
The project, which is commonly known as the CMP power corridor, will bring Canadian hydropower to 1 million homes in New England.
The Appalachian Mountain Club, Natural Resources Council of Maine, and the Sierra Club Maine sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Energy in 2020, claiming the Army Corps underplayed the environmental impact of the transmission line.
Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker ruled in favor of the federal agencies last month, saying the environmental study was thorough and appropriate.
The lawsuit will now go to an appeals court in Boston.
Maine voters rejected the corridor in 2021, but a Cumberland County jury found that developers had a “vested right” to continue building.
The corridor is expected to be finished by the end of the year. It was organized by Connecticut-based Avangrid Inc., the parent company of Central Maine Power Company (CMP). Both are controlled by the Spanish energy company Iberdrola.
Backers of the project say it’ll reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while opponents question the environmental benefits and contend the transmission line runs through pristine forests in Maine.
