Local permits obtained for electric lines Bangor Hydro high-voltage interconnect nears final nod

BREWER – The final piece of local permitting required before Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. can proceed with its planned new high-voltage electrical transmission line between Orrington and Point Lepreau, New Brunswick, fell into place Monday.

The Brewer City Council unanimously voted to amend the city’s land-use code during its regular meeting to allow gas or electric transmission lines as a permitted use in two of three shore-land districts, and in doing so gave Bangor Hydro the go-ahead for its Northeast Reliability Interconnect.

While working to get local permitting, Bangor Hydro simultaneously applied for state and federal licenses, which have been issued or are nearing completion, said Steve Sloan, Bangor Hydro NRI permitting manager.

“We can see the light [at the end of the tunnel],” he said Monday morning.

The Northeast Reliability Interconnect is an 85-mile-long, 345-kilovolt transmission line planned to increase reliability, improve electric markets, reduce line losses, and allow electricity to flow from New England to the north.

Bangor Hydro personnel have gone to all nine communities along the proposed route to get permits, with Brewer being the last one.

The proposed NRI route begins in Orrington, follows the existing Maine Electric Power Co. transmission line through Brewer for approximately 15 miles, then turns east for approximately 13 miles until it joins the Stud Mill Road in Bradley and the Maritimes & Northeast Gas Pipeline.

The route then follows the road and the pipeline east to the St. Croix River and will connect to a New Brunswick Power-built transmission line to Point Lepreau, which is connected to the current MEPCO line.

Brewer didn’t take into account existing utility lines when it enacted its shore-land zoning years ago, and for that reason Bangor Hydro requested the land-use amendment.

A MEPCO electric transmission line and a Maritimes & Northeast pipeline, both built years ago, now pass through Brewer and were in violation of the former land-use rules. The new amendment allows the code enforcement officer discretion to allow uses in the shore-land zone.

Now that the Brewer City Council has approved the zoning amendment, Bangor Hydro needs only to return to the code office to get building permits.

The proposed electric line, which was given Maine Public Utility Commission approval in August, runs through Brewer, Orrington, Holden, Eddington, Bradley, Milford, Great Pond, Princeton and Baileyville.

Bangor Hydro has been trying to build a second 345-kilovolt power line to connect with the Canadian electric grid for 25 years. To neutralize environmental concerns, approximately 84 percent of the project will be co-located within existing utility rights-of-way.

Bangor Hydro is constructing the 85-mile power line to the Canadian border, which is expected to cost $90.4 million. New Brunswick Power will build, own and operate the remaining 60 miles of the transmission line in Canada.

In addition to local permits, Bangor Hydro has gained state approval but is still working on two federal applications before the final go-ahead for the project is given. Bangor Hydro applied to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection for two permits and a water quality certification, which the company has received, Sloan said.

“We got that permit last week,” he said. “That was a very big one for us.”

The local electric company also has asked the U.S. Department of Energy for an amendment to a presidential permit Bangor Hydro was issued in 1996. DOE officials will use an environmental impact statement to make their determination.

“The final [environmental impact statement] is just about completed,” Sloan said. “It should be complete this week.”

After the final EIS is completed, DOE personnel have 30 days to “write a recommendation of decision and grant a permit” or not, Sloan said. “We anticipate having the permit by the end of December.”

A pending U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wetland mitigation permit is under consideration, but, “again, we’re projecting [to receive it by] late November, early December,” Sloan said.

“Everything looks very positive right now,” he said.