Public Calls for Full Burial of Northern Pass

Northern Pass officials did their best to put the proposed 192-mile transmission project in favored light, but would appear to have convinced few of the people who attended the five recent public information meetings held as part of the Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) process. To the contrary, many of the public comments expressed little confidence in the credibility of information and answers provided by Eversource officials and their hired experts. Most frequently, public comments called on Northern Pass to bury the entire line, including 132 miles currrently proposed to be overhead on towers as high as 155 feet.

Many called for Northern Pass to look more closely at burial along the I-93 Interstate, an option that Eversource officials tried hard to suggest wasn't preferable, even as they acknowledged that it was technically feasible. Ultimately, Northern Pass, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eversource, steadfastly maintained that to bury the entire line would be "uneconomic", claiming that it would add $1 billion to the cost of the estimated $1.6 billion project.

Given that the transmission line is an elective project with the cost of construction born by Hydro-Quebec, many comments noted that additional costs for burial were simply not a factor for landowners and communities along the route. "Bury it all or go home," was a frequent refrain.

Will Abbott of the Forest Society spoke at the Whitefield SEC session, and those comments can be read here.

Question and Answer sessions yielded nearly as many additional questions as answers, including the accuracy of Northern Pass estimates of costs, promised savings for electricity consumers, property rights issues, and what behind-the-scenes communications may have transpired between Northern Pass officials and state agencies as part of the SEC application process. Many of the questions, answers, and comments are highlighted here. 

The transcripts of the sessions held in Franklin, Londonderry, Laconia, Whitefield and Lincoln (one in each county in which some portion of the line would be constructed) will eventually be posted on the SEC website. Video and audio recordings of the sessions can be found here. Media coverage of the hearings include this story  and this story by Jonathan Koziol in the Union Leader.

Public comments can be submitted to the Site Evaluation Committee at any time prior to them issuing a decision on the application, a process that will last at least through 2016. For more information about the SEC process, check out this FAQ here. Another good source of information about the process is the presentation made by SEC Attorney Michael Iacopino which can be viewed here. You can submit comments by sending them to:

New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee
Pamela G. Monroe, Administrator 
21 South Fruit Street, Suite 10
Concord, NH 03301

and by email to:

Pamela.monroe@sec.nh.gov

Feb 5 deadline to intervene in the SEC Process

The list of individuals, municipalities and organizations filing motions to intervene in the Northern Pass SEC process is growing. It includes the Forest Society, The Appalachian Mountain Club, the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust, and multiple Conservation Commissions. The deadline to file for intervention is Friday February 5. 

Responsible Energy Action has a helpful description of how to intervene here. You can look at already-submitted examples of petitions to Intervene on the SEC Site, such this one from individuals or this one from a local planning board or this one from an organization.  

As part of the process, there is a Counsel for the Public, Peter Roth, whose role it is to represent the public during the proceedings. Mr. Roth attended each of the recently held public sessions, and he encouraged anyone with questions or concerns to contact him by email at peter.roth@doj.nh.gov or by phone at 603-271-1270. He also noted that intervening in the process "is not difficult" and testimony from intervenors "carries more weight" in the proceedings.