Shaheen, Ayotte, Bass Ask DOE for Comment Deadline Extension

Senators Shaheen and Ayotte, along with Congressman Bass, sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu requesting that the Dept. of Energy extend the deadline for comments on the scope of the Environmental Impact Study until April 30, 2011. The current deadline is April 12. As reported by Chris Jensen on NHPR here, the Delegation felt some New Hampshire communities (such as Deerfield) were just now finding out about the Northern Pass project.

The View from Deerfield

Deerfield residents turned out in force to discuss how the Northern Pass power line proposal will impact their town, where the preferred route follows existing AC transmission corridor. The meeting was organized by local residents who are more than a little concerned. As power company representatives themselves have pointed out, in "the existing ROW between Franklin and Deerfield, the most common structure height would be taller, around 110 feet, due to the height and configuration of the existing lines." That is to say, taller on average than any where else along the 180-mile route.

Some residents were also surprised to learn that an alternative route would clear all new corridor-essentially a second corridor--through Chichester, Loudon, Pittsfield, Epsom, Northwood and Deerfield.

State Senator Jack Barnes was on hand, and spoke to the crowd, several of whom urged him to support HB648, which would make it more difficult for Northeast Utilities, PSNH, N-Star and Hydro-Quebec to use eminent domain to take private property for their Northern Pass project. At least two State Representatives attended, as well as local selectmen.

As has frequently been the case, residents expressed frustration over a lack of communication from Northern Pass officials and downright anger over the permitting process, which seems to favor the applicant to the detriment of community and individual rights. Northern Pass was invited to attend the meeting, but declined.



You can read Tara Ballenger's coverage of the meeting in the Concord Monitor is here. Dan O'Brien's story in the Union Leader can be read here.

Trade Deficit

So here's a proposal for you: We in New Hampshire allow a crown corporation of Canada to spent more than a billion dollars ripping a scar across our landscape and building more than 1,000 towers across 180 miles in 44 towns. In exchange, New England electricy users send all their money to Quebec.

One wonders whether Gov. John Lynch will be arranging other such business arrangements during his trade mission to Canada later this week--a trade mission that would appear to be sponsored in part by PSNH. For just under $2,000 you can join the Governor--see the flyer here.

Thanks, But No Thanks

The Canadians are starting to figure out that their New Hampshire neighbors are less than enthusiastic about the extension cord they'd like to run to southern New England---this Montreal Gazette article makes interesting reading here.

Dear DOE

The Forest Society was among six organizations that sent a letter to the Dept. of Energy last week formally asking them to do at least two critically important things. First, to issue a report identifying the alternatives and impacts to be studied in the required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and to provide for public review and comment on that report BEFORE commissioning the EIS. Second, to issue a written decision on the various formal comments regarding the incompleteness of Northern Pass's Presidential Permit application. Read Paula Tracy's story about the letter in the Union Leader here.