Kerri Bickford’s recent letter, “NECEC corridor a good deal for Maine” (Aug, 29), urged us to trade in Maine’s iconic brand for $116. As a Registered Maine Guide and volunteer who has represented 10,000 non-partisan grassroots activists for more than three years now, I strongly disagree. We have spent years educating Mainers about the many catastrophic environmental and economic impacts this corridor would have, and in fact, I’d say thousands of volunteers have invested personal time and money in excess of $116 to preserve western Maine’s natural resources including critical brook trout and deer wintering habitat, Maine’s heritage waters and our public lands.
Mainers can’t be bought, and that’s why an overwhelming majority of residents in 86% of the towns along the corridor route voted to reject the CMP corridor. And, on Nov. 2, the citizen’s referendum initiated by over 80,000 registered Maine voters will finally provide an opportunity for the people of Maine to ban the CMP corridor, preserve western Maine, and ensure that future large-scale infrastructure projects undergo a fair, deliberative and transparent process.
Who stands to lose if we’re successful? Spanish-owned CMP and Canadian government-owned Hydro-Quebec. These foreign corporations will lose out on billions of profit dollars, and Massachusetts will select one of the other 45 projects that put in bids to fulfill that state’s energy needs. That’s the real story.
The CMP corridor will further stymie in-state expansion of renewable power generation and will cause permanent job losses in the recreation tourism, biomass, and wood forest products industries. These are just some of the costs to average Mainers, in addition to the 10 percent rate hike that was just approved by the PUC to support CMP’s worst-in-the-nation service.
Vote yes on 1 to reject the CMP corridor this November.
Sandra Howard
Registered Maine Guide
director, Say NO to NECEC & No CMP Corridor
Caratunk
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