As a small-business owner in Western Maine relying on outdoor recreation tourism, I have major concerns with the Central Maine Power corridor. The new 53.5-mile segment would blaze through the heart of Maine’s wilderness. The corridor will have a negative impact on regional tourism, residents’ quality of life and wildlife habitat.

My businesses abuts the CMP corridor. CMP paid money to establish a nonprofit organization called Western Mountains & Rivers Corps. This involves a few Forks-area business owners who quietly made agreements with CMP while asserting they were representing the viewpoints of other business owners and area residents. No one made the effort to contact me? Avangrid’s outreach efforts garnering support for the project were done without public consensus. As more project details are becoming revealed, the majority of Mainers are in opposition to the project. Not one town along the new corridor area is in support of the project and opposition is growing in Franklin County.

In May 2018, CMP donated $250,000 to support WM&RC’s start-up and legal fees. These funds are being used to pay for legal counsel to support WM&RC as an intervening party at the state permit proceedings. Essentially, CMP bought, and brought in, an intervenor attempting to appear as a supportive grassroots organization.

Additionally, Peter Mills, brother of our governor, is a WM&RC board member who signed on for the million-dollar agreement. This helps us connect the dots that CMP has been carefully planning to use buyouts and bribery since 2017.

CMP spokesman John Carroll recently said, “this is how a lot of complex cases get resolved,” which suggests that they can buy permit approval. That is simply wrong.

 

Cliff Stevens

owner, Moxie Outdoor Adventures/Lake Moxie Camps

The Forks