MOREOBSERVATIONS FROM AUGUSTA

Legislative Blog Post # 10

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2 Snow Days at the Legislature this Week

More on Tax Subsidies 

for General Dynamics/Bath Iron Works

"Bruce Gagnon is Right; 

Maine has been 'Outsourced' to Bath Iron Works " 

says Alex Nunez, reporter at this site.

A rally at the State House Thursday 

protesting LD 1781, the bill to give tax subsidies to 

General Dynamics (GD)/Bath Iron Works (BIW).

"BIW gets tax credit, but $15M less" This headline is misleading. They haven't got the credit yet: "The amendment language is currently under review by the State Revisor’s Office. It will need to be verified by the committee before going out to the full Legislature for consideration." There is still time to contact your legislators. This deal is not a reduction at all in the annual amount. $45 million over 15 years is still $3 million annually, the same annual amount they would be getting if the deal was $60 million for 20 years, and there is nothing to stop them from coming back in 15 years to ask for more.

Wind Development in Maine

Image of Mars Hill Development 

Friday, March 16, I attended the Public Hearing for LD 1810 "An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Expedited Permitting for Wind Energy Development," This is the Governor's bill to restrict wind turbine development in Maine. Specifically the bill seeks to change "from 8 miles to 40 miles the farthest distance from a proposed expedited wind energy development for which a visual impact assessment for potentially affected scenic resources of state or national significance may be required."  The "Expedited Permitting for Wind Energy Development" refers to a bill passed in the Baldacchi administration that made it possible for a "boom" in wind energy development according to an article from Bloomberg News: "Wind energy has boomed in Maine as developers have added enough turbines over the last two years to double the state’s capacity to 900 megawatts, according to the American Wind Energy Association. That’s more than all other New England states combined and enough to rival a nuclear reactor." 

The LD 1810 bill specifically defines "expedited permitting areas" as "specified places that are identified by rule and the eastern portion of Aroostook County, specifically described as the Town of St. Francis, St. John Plantation, the Town of Fort Kent, the Town of Wallagrass, the Town of Eagle Lake, Winterville Plantation, T14 R6 W.E.L.S., the Town of Portage Lake, Nashville Plantation, Garfield Plantation, T10 R6 W.E.L.S., Oxbow Plantation, the portion of Aroostook County east of those municipalities and also all municipalities in Aroostook County that are wholly located south of the northernmost extent of Penobscot County, excluding Cary Plantation and Molunkus Township." If the bill is passed these areas would no longer have expedited permitting. 

The purpose of the bill is to sharply reduce or halt the development of wind energy in Maine

James C. LaBrecque,  the Governor s Technical Advisor on Energy, began his testimony with a quotation from the governor: "Arguing about climate change is superfluous. Determining what solutions are viable is paramount." LaBrecque asked, "How many mountain tops is the state willing to allow the wind industry to blow up? What s the specific number of mountain tops that the Maine people are willing to sacrifice to wind? [. . . .] What is the plan for locating the cobweb of transmission and distribution lines necessary to move the wind to market?" He said, "When it comes to CO2, Maine is an oil state. If lawmakers are truly concerned about CO2, they should refocus their efforts on reducing oil use. This will have the additional benefit of alleviating the public s concern for the environmental impact caused by blowing up mountain tops, installing large numbers of wind turbines, and their associated cobweb of transmission and distribution lines." Listening to LaBreque's testimony could make one think the governor has evolved in his concern for the environment. 

Other proponents of the bill argued that wind turbine farms can do irreparable damage to the tourism industry, reducing the the industry by as much as half because tourists do not like the view of the turbines themselves and the blinking red lights, There are also complaints about the sound of the turbines. 

The most eloquent and persuasive proponent of the bill was Senator Paul Stearns: 'Many Mainers, including some with strong environmental leanings, have said "oh my, look how huge and out of place these things are."' "These massive wind turbines are far more intrusive and far reaching into the view-shed than ever imagined" "Southern New England has an appetite for 'green' energy. While these urban areas pour vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere their answer is to construct windmills hundreds of miles away and then take credit for being green." During the question period, Senator Stearns spoke of the legacy we are leaving to his grandchildren and Maine wild life. "I speak for the loons," he said.  

Opponents of the bill included representatives of the wind turbine industry, representatives of large and small landowners hoping to diversify their land use with wind power, and representatives of municipalities who like the property taxes paid each year by the wind power companies and other economic benefits to the town, and representatives of environmental groups.   

The Bloomberg article says that even with the wind power boom in Maine, "tourism, meanwhile, grew for the fifth consecutive year in 2017, according to LePage and a report from the state’s tourism office. The industry pulled in almost $6 billion in 2016, the most recent year for which numbers are available."

Dwayne Jordan said you can see turbines from Cadillac Mountain, and it hasn't reduced the number of tourists driving up to the top of the mountain to see the view.  

The Appalachian Mountain Club opposed the bill but suggested a compromise on the required visual distance: "Given the significant increase in turbine size and greater experience with their visual impact of these structures, the idea that visual impacts should be considered only out to 8 miles (as under current law) is no longer supportable. However, we believe that extending the visual impact distance to 40 miles is extreme and unnecessary. We have consistently argued that 15 miles is an appropriate distance, at least for the most significant scenic resources."

As I drive south from my home in Presque Isle, I enjoy the view of wind turbines in Mars Hill and Oakfield. I find them graceful, especially compared to the visual pollution of so much of our urban areas with oil tanks, industrial parks, neon lights, and so many advertising signs it is hard to distinguish your destination as you drive through. I do understand the problems cited by proponents of the bill, but I oppose this bill as it is currently written because I believe the benefits to the environment outweigh the problems.

  

More on Health Care for All

I didn't know about the debate between the states and the U. S. Congress over strategy for how to achieve National Improved Medicare for All (NIMA) until I read this article from health over profit. Some argue that states cannot enact single payer bill without complex Federal approval and that states' efforts to do so dilute the momentum for a Federal plan:  "Pressure is building at the federal, level where more than half the Democrats in the House have co-sponsored HR 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act. Nancy Pelosi wants that pressure relieved, so she tells activists to pass the law at the state level. She knows if pressure builds on Congress, she will be forced to say more than 'I have supported single payer since before you were born' and actually do something about passing it." 

I support both Maine's efforts to achieve a single payer plan for Maine and the Federal HR 676.  I believe that state efforts enhance rather than dilute the national effort, as it brings the local attention and understanding to the issue that is needed to achieve Federal support.