AUGUSTA – Residents packed into a legislative committee room Wednesday afternoon agreed on one thing – the bill receiving a public hearing was about a wind project, not a simple land annexation.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Walter Gooley, R-Farmington, would allow the town of Carrabassett Valley to proceed with plans to annex parts of neighboring Redington Township.

The drive behind the move comes from Endless Energy, a company that has twice had its plans for a 300-acre wind farm in the region denied by the Land Use Regulation Commission. LURC oversees the permitting process for Maine’s unorganized townships.

“If this portion of Redington Township, where the wind project has been planned for, were annexed to Carrabassett Valley, it would become part of an organized town,” said Dan Riley, a lobbyist working on behalf of Endless Energy. “Since the town of Carrabassett Valley is in an ‘expedited permitting zone,’ (the project) would get the benefit of the expedited process.”

Nearly two-thirds of Maine falls under what are called expedited permitting zones, which were created based on the recommendations of a wind energy task force and approved by the Legislature last year. Redington Township was not included on the expedited permitting list, despite lobbying efforts.

Proponents of the annexation, which include Carrabassett Valley town officials, the Greater Franklin Development Corp. and the Independent Energy Producers of Maine, said lawmakers should support the measure because it would preserve local control.

“You don’t have to worry about the environment or worry about LURC, or any other side of the issue,” Riley said to members of the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee. “The question for you is whether or not the town of Carrabassett Valley should have that option. And then there will be a process and all the people in this room will have a chance to be a part of that process.”

Riley was referring to the process by which Endless Energy would have to seek proper permitting for its wind proposal.

If the annexation legislation is enacted, Carrabassett Valley would hold a townwide referendum on whether to annex the land. If approved, the town would have to come up with a comprehensive plan approved by the State Planning Office. Only then could Endless Energy or any other company request a wind farm permit, said Rep. Wright Pinkham, R-Lexington Township, a co-sponsor of Gooley’s bill.

Pinkham said the project would also need approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection before a permit could be issued.

Opponents of the legislation said the bill is simply an attempt to circumvent the LURC rulings.

“Evidently, the developer now wants to hope that Carrabassett Valley can be more easily manipulated to approve his project,” said Carole Haas, executive director of the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, who testified in opposition to the measure.

Cathy Johnson of the Natural Resources Council of Maine said though her organization originally supported the wind farm project, it opposed Gooley’s bill.

“This bill would establish a very harmful precedent,” she said. “This would enable developers to do an end run around LURC and would undercut LURC’s ability to carry out its statutory responsibilities.”

Others speaking in opposition to the bill were representatives from the Maine Audubon Society, the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, the Appalachian Mountain Club and Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust.

The bill is scheduled for a work session May 6.

Copy the Story Link