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The last public comment hearing on Northern Pass drew about 125 people to Plymouth Regional High School Thursday night with many wearing their true colors – orange shirts for those opposed to the project, and navy blue “Got Hydro?” shirts for supporters.
The applause after each speaker followed the orange/blue split as the state Site Evaluation Subcommittee listened to both sides and held a brief meeting afterward.
Wearing orange, Grafton County Commissioner Martha Richards said there would be chaos in a number of downtowns that would undoubtedly cause some businesses to fail if the project is approved as is.
“Here I stand before you again tonight with a simple message that Eversource is loathe to keep hearing: Bury the whole project under I-93 and other state transportation corridors,” Richards said.
Eversource’s Northern Pass isn’t dealing with a bunch of “backwoods hicks,” she said.
“(They) couldn’t even buy off Plymouth with $10 million to move the line,” Richards said. “We the opposition can tell you: it is not needed and not wanted.”
he Site Evaluation Subcommittee is made up of state department heads and two public members. By law, the SEC reviews, approves, monitors and enforces compliance in the planning, siting, construction and operation of energy facilities.
Northern Pass would bring 1,090 megawatts of electricity from Hydro-Québec’s hydroelectric plants in Canada and run 192 miles from Pittsburg to Deerfield then to the rest of New England.
Rep. Herbert Richardson, R-Lancaster, said: “I am here to tell the SEC that I have many local contractors in my district and county that are very happy with the project.
“They feel Northern Pass is making a concerted effort to hire local contractors as part of this project,” Richardson said.
The $200 million Forward NH fund is very important to Coos County and the state of New Hampshire, he said. “The small amount of these dollars that have already been given out are helping in my district.” He mentioned the fund’s financing of an electric car charging station and a local child-care center.
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About InDepthNH: Nancy West founded the nonprofit New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism in April. West is the executive editor of the center’s investigative news website,InDepthNH.org. West has won many awards for investigative reporting during her 30 years at the New Hampshire Union Leader. She has taught investigative journalism at the New England Center for Investigative Reporting’s summer program for pre-college students at Boston University. West is passionate about government transparency. The New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News, formerly called Investigative News Network, which is also InDepthNH.org’s fiscal sponsor. Click here to read about INN to learn more about the mission of nonprofit news.
