Embden residents oppose CMP corridor at annual town meeting

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, Embden residents voted overwhelming, 50-10, to oppose the CMP corridor. The town also passed an Elective Electrical Moratorium Ordinance as a result of residents voting to support the ordinance with the necessary two-thirds majority.

Embden becomes the fourth town along the corridor route, joining Caratunk, Wilton, and New Sharon, to enact an electrical transmission moratorium ordinance, which serves as a pause in any electricity transmission corridor development in a town for 180 days. Twenty-five towns have rescinded support or formally oppose the destructive project.

This vote has been long anticipated in Embden after the town’s select board refused to schedule a special town meeting for this vote when town residents submitted the citizen’s petition for a town vote on these articles in September 2019.

“Embden’s vote to oppose CMP’s corridor is another example that Mainers do not want this destructive to harm Maine’s environment, economy, and way of life. We appreciate that Embden residents thoughtfully considered the negative aspects of this project and enacted the moratorium, giving the town additional time to fully review CMP’s application and not feel pressured to make permit decisions in haste since CMP is trying to ram this transmission corridor through the heart of western Maine,” Sandi Howard, director of Say NO to NECEC said.

“Other towns are in discussion of enacting moratorium ordinances. Mainers simply don’t trust CMP to build this for-profit project when CMP can’t adequately serve rate payers, correct their billing errors, and when the company is hiring private investigators to follow corridor opponents. The level of trust is at an all-time low,” Howard continued.

To date, CMP has not received approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Army Corps of Engineers, and the DOE/Presidential Permit. CMP is asking towns for provisional permits, which would take full effect only after the state and federal permits are secured. It is important to note that the U.S. EPA has raised serious concerns about CMP’s permit applications. CMP is under multiple investigations by state energy regulators right now, so allowing any municipal permitting to go ahead puts the town at risk.

Submitted by Sandi Howard, director, Say NO to NECEC.