Correction: The Reporter incorrectly reported that CMP had received some of the necessary state and federal permits. The article has been corrected to reflect that permits had not been acquired.
Neighbors of a proposed electric station that Central Maine Power hopes to install just off Wadleigh Lane in the Powderhouse Hill area lined up in opposition to the project at a recent Planning Board meeting.
“There are so many people in addition to abutters who will be very upset by this because neighborhoods all around use this area for recreation and enjoyment,” said Christy Woods of Union Street, one of 30 residents who showed up in opposition.
CMP must now file a formal application with the Planning Board for a major site plan review of its project, which the utility said is necessary due to increased demand for electricity.
A public information session with CMP organized by state representative Tiffany Roberts will be held 5 pm Friday, Sept. 5, at Town Hall.
Central Maine Power anticipates receiving federal permits required by the Natural Resource Protection and Natural Environmental Policy Act, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and any permits required by state agencies, according to Heather Stralozzi, CMP project manager.
CMP’s first presentation of its plan on Aug. 27 was attended primarily by people who live nearby and use the area for recreation. After CMP presented its plans to the board, about a dozen neighbors spoke and expressed fears that the structure would be ugly, harm wildlife and habitat or interfere with local recreation.
Public comments about the proposal were allowed by board chair Hershey Hirschkop, although commenting at Planning Board meetings is usually only permitted for addressing items not on the agenda.
One of the biggest landowners abutting the property was among five speakers who suggested moving the site to another location, such as the field next to the town reservoir on the top of Powderhouse Hill.
“There are 110 acres of undeveloped land used by everyone in town…and basically available to anybody,” said Cynthia Gagnon, whose family owns these acres, which for years have been available for community use. “It would seem as if something like this could go up the road with the cell phone tower that is already there.”
In addition to the 10 residents who spoke, the board received comments from seven residents, including two teachers at Great Works School who said they routinely use the area for outdoor project-based learning.
A letter was also submitted to the board from a group called Friends of the Powderhouse Conservation Area. The letter was accompanied by a wildlife habitat report by Deborah Perkins of First Light Wildlife Habitats, based in Poland Springs, that included a description of a 340-acre area.
In addition to the substation, the proposed project includes installing 500 feet of new transmission line and electric poles as well as eventually removing .75 miles of existing power lines from the location of the proposed substation down to the Salmon Falls River, according to Heather Strolazzi Ward, a project manager and wildlife scientist from TRC of Portland, a global consulting and engineering company.
The new substation would replace the existing substation next to the hydroelectric plant on Liberty Street near Counting House Park, Strolazzi Ward said, adding that there is no room to expand at the current location.
“This substation, parts of which came online in 1970, is at the end of its operational life,” according to Dustin Wlodkowski, CMP communications manager.”
Without urgent work to replace the substation and alleviate overloading from increased energy demand, more than 2,300 customers, including five area schools, could face unreliable power, Wlodkowski said in a statement. He said smart technology would also be added at the new site allowing some outages to be restored remotely in as little as five minutes or affect fewer people.
The project is located in the R1 village residential zone, where public utilities are allowed. This zone includes Powderhouse Hill and areas in the Liberty Street historic district and Salmon Falls River resource protection zones.
In other business, the Great Works Regional Land Trust presented a minor site plan for a public park at the Old Fields Road site of the Salmon Falls Tidal Waters Preserve. The park will include a parking area, trails, lookouts, benches, and a gathering area, according to Jill Crosbie, the Great Works Regional Land Trust stewardship director. Voters approved a contribution of $250,000 for the project in November 2022.
A portion of the preserve along the river is in the resource protection zone regulated by the state which requires that the project must not disturb more than one acre of land, according to DeCarlo Brown, town planner and economic director. The board and Brown directed the land trust to hire an engineering firm, estimated to cost the non-profit organization $1,250, to calculate if the proposal will meet the standards for minimal disturbance in the resource protection zone as one of the conditions of their unanimous vote that the application was complete.
The Planning Board and Brown scheduled a site walk for a look at the property before the final review. The land trust must continue meeting the standards the planning department and board require before granting final permission for the project.
