Although the epicenter of concern is in the lower Penobscot River area, people from throughout northeastern Maine are appealing to the state Board of Environmental Protection to conduct open hearings on the license applications for a major coal-fired electrical plant proposed for Bucksport. Given the level of public interest in the project, its size and its environmental implications, the request for hearings is reasonable and should be granted.

Officials from the Department of Environmental Protection already have indicated that they plan to recommend today to the BEP that it schedule public hearings on all license applications by Applied Energy Services of Arlington, Va., for its proposed $309 million cogeneration plant that will produce steam for the papermaking process at the Champion mill in Bucksport and 180 megawatts of electricity for the New England power grid.

The department’s recommendation is a sensible response to what has been a moderate level of public interest in the AES plan. People in the immediate area are concerned about noise and local pollution problems that might be associated with the plant. Beyond Bucksport, the issues are broader, dealing with acid rain, downwind air pollution and the policy conflict between conservation and the development of new capacity.

Hearings are the right way to go on the AES application, and they also make good sense from a purely practical standpoint. In such a contentious atmosphere, controversial issues cannot be made to slide easily through the permit process. They cannot escape the glare of public scrutiny. Far better to let all sides have it out, in the open, on this coal plant, than to frustrate people who deserved an opportunity to comment publicly, and who eventually will have no recourse but to drag the issue into court.