CMP is running an ad on TV right now that claims that their unpopular corridor will cause “No destruction of public lands. But don’t take our word for it. Get the facts.”
Well, the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, who is charged with overseeing our public lands, recently sent a letter to the Bureau of Parks and Lands that states, “The clearing and placement of large transmission towers and lines on an approximately one-mile-long strip of land across constitutionally protected public reserve lands is a substantially different use of these lands and would substantially alter the use of those lands.” The letter goes on to say that the Bureau “undermined” the intent of the Maine Constitution in issuing leases to CMP without seeking the required two-thirds vote.
This letter was authorized by every single member of the committee but one, and the House Chair said that CMP’s leases were “secret, backroom deals.” Justice Mchaela Murphy is currently deciding how to proceed with the pending court case after finding that the Bureau in fact never determined if our public lands would be significantly reduced or altered before issuing the leases. This should enrage everyone, considering that nearly three-quarters of Maine voters supported the constitutional amendment to require legislative oversight for projects that would have this sort of impact on land that belongs to the people.
So there are the facts that CMP doesn’t want you to have. This November, vote YES to reject the CMP Corridor.
Theresa York
Farmington Maine
