Conservation Law Foundation Demands Fairness in Environmental Review of Northern Pass Electric Transmission Project
Objectivity of Environmental Impact Statement in Jeopardy
CONTACT:
Karen Wood: (617) 850-1722 or kwood@clf.org
Tom Irwin: (603) 225-3060 or tirwin@clf.org
CONCORD, NH February 10, 2011 – Conservation Law Foundation, with the Appalachian Mountain Club and Coos Community Benefits Alliance, has filed an objection with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) challenging DOE’s selection of a contractor to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement for Northern Pass Transmission, LLC’s proposed electric transmission project.
As part of DOE’s Presidential Permit process, a proceeding in which CLF has intervened, DOE is required to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and, given the magnitude of the proposed Northern Pass project, to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. NEPA requires that DOE, in preparing the Environmental Impact Statement, engage in a rigorous and objective analysis of the proposed project’s environmental and community impacts, as well as alternatives to the project proposal.
DOE has hired a consultant, Normandeau Associates, to prepare the EIS that will guide DOE’s analysis and decision making. However, the same consultant has also been hired by Northern Pass Transmission, LLC, the project applicant, to assist in securing state environmental permits. Accordingly, DOE has selected a contractor that has a conflict of interest, in violation of federal NEPA regulations.
“The preparation of an objective Environmental Impact Statement is a core requirement of the public review and fully-informed decision making mandated by NEPA,” said Tom Irwin, director of CLF New Hampshire. “DOE’s selection of a contractor—one that simultaneously owes a duty to the project applicant to help obtain state-level permits—flies in the face of this objectivity requirement and will undermine the legitimacy of the NEPA review process from day one.”
“The Northern Pass proposal is simply too important, given the profound effects it could have on the environment, communities and our energy future, to be based on a potentially biased review,” added Jonathan Peress, CLF’s director of clean energy and climate change. “DOE needs to cure the problem now, before the process proceeds, and retain a contractor who owes a duty only to DOE in preparing an objective and thorough analysis.”
The Northern Pass proposal consists of a 180-mile electric transmission line from northernmost New Hampshire, through the White Mountain National Forest, to Deerfield, NH. It proposes to import 1,200 megawatts of energy generated by Hydro-Quebec, in Canada.
The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) protects New England’s environment for the benefit of all people. Using the law, science and the market, CLF creates solutions that preserve natural resources, build healthy communities, and sustain a vibrant economy region-wide. Founded in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
