Welcome to our special page to provide information on the Northern Pass transmission line project which would run high voltage power lines supported by 130' tall towers to run from Quebec to Franklin, NH and over to Deerfield, NH.

Information contained on this page is for informational and reference of issues discussed on the Bulldog Live! radio show and is not affiliated with any group, organization, company or government entity. Hopefully you find the information and opinions expressed and linked on this page to be helpful in your overall examination of this very important issue that could affect a large portion of New Hampshire's landscape and population.

State forests to be impacted: There are two state forests in Campton abutting Route 175. The lines are just on the other (West) side of 175; Blair State Forest and Livermore Falls State Forest, Scribner-Fellows State Park, (New Hampton), Bear Brook State Park, (Allenstown), Cape Horn State Forest, (Northumberland). Also: Nichols Natural Area, (Concord) (within view of the lines, it looks like), an unnamed park just north of that, The Rocks Estate, (Bethlehem), Hicks Hill Wildlife Management Area (Ashland), Webster Lake Wildlife Management Area, (Franklin), Great Gains Memorial Forest, (Franklin), and the Sugar Hill Town Forest.

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Stories, Opinion, Analysis:

Northern Pass’s Appraisal Expert Recants and Zaps Northern Pass
Responsible Energy Action LLC 5/10/12
Chalmers Now Says Value of Residential Land Near Transmission Lines Declines Up to 50%.

Massachusetts Can’t Rely on the Northern Pass Proposal as a Short-Term Climate Solution
Conservation Law Foundation 5/4/12
Last December, CLF identified a significant problem with Massachusetts’s “Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020”: it adopted and relied on Northern Pass’s sales pitch that the project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 5 million tons annually and then claimed all those emissions reductions for Massachusetts. After examining the basis for the 5 million ton figure, we concluded that – no way around it – the figure was just wrong; it was calculated on the false assumption – belied by Hydro-Québec’s own data – that imported hydropower has no greenhouse gas emissions. The way Massachusetts was relying on Northern Pass was dubious for other reasons, including the unfairness of Massachusetts claiming all the benefits of a project that will not be located in the state and the fact that there is no concrete commitment regarding how much Northern Pass power Massachusetts electric customers will actually receive.

An Open Letter on Northern Pass to Representative Charles F. Bass
Bury Northern Pass 4/28/12
Attorney Alan Robert Baker, Columbia, responds to Representative Bass and requests that Northern Pass's Presidential Permit application be rejected as stale and incomplete.

The Battle Over The Northern Pass
Business NH Magazine 4/24/12
The Forest Society has called on Northern Pass to withdraw the proposal and look at other options. Savage notes there is an existing Hydro-Québec high-voltage line that runs through northeast Vermont into NH at Monroe, through southern NH to Massachusetts, and he suggests looking at using that right-of-way. Others, including Republican Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, have called for burying the line.

Why the Free Ride for the Utilities?
Bury Northern Pass 4/14/12
Plymouth resident Peter Martin, a member of the No Northern Pass Coalition, is a former commercial airline pilot. In this guest blog, he questions why utility companies get a free ride on rights-ofway.

GCRC Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner 4/12/12
Alliance Against Northern Pass 4/14/12
Another Republican candidate for governor, Ovide Lamontagne, whose law firm happens to also represent PSNH and the Northern Pass project, stated that the Northern Pass needs to bury all of its cables underground and that no towers should ever be erected. Lamontagne also stated that he is in favor of having PSNH enter into a Purchase Power Agreement (PPA) guaranteeing that New Hampshire will receive the potentially low cost power first in the case of any major outages, and that without such a PPA, the project should not move forward. To be fair, Lamontagne has recently asserted that within his law firm, he has formally distanced himself from any and all matters pertaining to Northern Pass and PSNH and the Alliance has no reason to believe otherwise.

1 Year Down and No End in Sight
Responsible Energy Action LLC 4/12/12
As one might expect with a grossly incomplete plan, problems emerged almost immediately. The public EIS scoping hearings were hastily arranged and filled with people questioning the proposed route and complaining about the lack of any consideration of alternatives. Many citizens demanded that the application be withdrawn and resubmitted only when it was complete. Those complaints fell on deaf ears at DOE. The Applicant pressed on, the process continued, and DOE stood idly by – unable or unwilling to intervene.

Utility Merger Could Impact Northern Pass
NHPR 4/10/12
During a conference call, CEO Tom May said the acquisition would help his company pursue the Northern Pass project. "The new NU will, because of the financial strength of the combined companies, actually have credit rating upgrades, which should make it a lot easier to finance this project," said May.

The Right to Determine our Energy Future – No Northern Pass
Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund 4/9/12
Easton and Sugar Hill adopted the ordinance unanimously in both towns, earlier that same evening, with the approval of 76 and 175 voters, respectively. Plymouth adopted the local law a week later, with a vote of 75:42, followed by a comment from their town moderator that the vote was “advisory.” Holderness town moderator played the part of dictator that day and declared the ordinance “unenforceable.” He added that the town had decided to table the warrant article until next year and no discussion was allowed. In Northfield, there was a motion from the hall to table the article and it was seconded and approved by a swift voice vote, allowing for no discussion. Another warrant article unrelated to the Northern Pass, but also brought forward by petition to ban GMOs in the town of Warner was tabled before the petitioner could make her way to the microphone.

Northern Pass Developers Refuse to Face Facts about Hydropower Emissions
Conservation Law Foundation 4/4/12
Where do NPT’s non-responses leave us? Unfortunately, NPT seems poised to continue on with its false and misleading public relations campaign and has shown no interest in an open, honest debate. CLF will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to ensure that the public and decision-makers are fully aware of all the issues associated with the Northern Pass proposal.

Northern Pass May Face Right of Way Legal Battle
NHPR 4/3/12
Bob Baker is a lawyer who lives in Columbia and is working with groups opposing Northern Pass. “I would say that the odds of multiple legal fights are pretty good.”

Northern Pass Makes No Financial Sense Today. Why Build It?
Bury Northern Pass 3/30/12
When Hydro-Quebec (HQ) started planning Northern Pass (NP)several years ago, gas prices were four times higher, and HQ’s hydropower had a big pricing advantage. Not so now, when today, literally, gas prices hit a 10-year low. Today, HQ’s power does not enjoy a price advantage.

Interview With Brian "Bulldog" Tilton About The Northern Pass Project
Alliance Against Northern Pass 3/26/12
Heather from Alliance Against Northern Pass interviews Brian "The Bulldog" Tilton about his thoughts on the Northern Pass project. He has a unique perspective having spent many hours in the statehouse with Senators, attending events to support those in opposition to the project, and interviewing people about the subject.

Publisher offers perspective on Northern Pass project
Union Leader 3/23/12
“Northern Pass is a rallying point the likes of which I haven't seen since Onassis' oil refinery at the Isles of Shoals and the Seabrook nuclear plant,” McQuaid said Thursday night at the Northern Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce annual dinner in Whitefield. “My paper backed both, at the same time, though in hindsight we might have done better just backing the nuclear plant.”

White Mountain National ForestNorthern Pass Transmission Line Special Use Permit
U.S. Forest Service 3/18/12
WMNF is estimating 3/2013 as the start of the comment period for the Special Use Permit for NP to cross the national forest. This undercuts NP's projection that it will start the SEC process in late 2012. DOE and WMNF permits must be secured first. But notice WMNF's bureaucratic jargon of "milestone," as if collecting public comments is just one more routine step in NP's march to the end. We'd prefer to see "hurdle."

Northern Pass shows up on a dozen ballots
Union Leader 3/12/12
The rights-based ordinance language was developed by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), a Pennsylvania-based law firm. The Sugar Hill Northern Pass Action Committee (SNOPAC), appointed by the town last year to research ways to block Northern Pass, worked with CELDF to come up with the warrant article voters will consider.

Northern Pass hits roadblocks
Concord Monitor 3/11/12
Many North Country landowners refuse to sell their property.

Governor Lynch Signs HB 648 Into Law
Governor Lynch 3/5/12
"The use of eminent domain should be limited to projects designed to benefit the public as a whole. In 2006, the voters of this state overwhelmingly supported an amendment to our constitution that prohibited the taking of private property for private use. House Bill 648 is consistent with that amendment."

New push in Northern Pass fight
Concord Monitor 3/4/12
'Home rule' ordinance on slate at town meetings.

Normandeau Redux: They're Baa-ck!
Bury Northern Pass 2/29/12
Late last month, a 2012 NPT winter tracking map was posted in the document library of the EIS site. The map identifies two areas of lowland spruce-fir forest for winter tracking in 2012; this is the habitat of state and federal endangered and threatened species such as Canadian lynx and marten. The two areas are on the Stratford-Colebrook border and on the Coos loop PSNH right-of-way in Stark and Dummer.

Northern Pass Response to Hydropower Emissions Research Rings Hollow
Conservation Law Foundation 2/23/12
We agree that there is no one single solution to the climate challenge. But any serious effort to confront climate change in New Hampshire must also confront the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state – PSNH’s aging, inefficient, and uneconomic fossil fuel power plants. As Dr. Tremblay of Hydro-Québec admitted, in comments that NPT is now approvingly citing, “the major environmental challenge facing North America is to replace coal to generate power….” CLF couldn’t agree more.

Northern Pass Worse for the Climate than Advertised
Conservation Law Foundation 2/14/12
In light of today’s report, CLF is calling on NPT and its partners NU, NSTAR, and PSNH to stop citing that erroneous number and to withdraw all marketing materials for the Northern Pass project that state or imply that Canadian hydropower has no or minimal greenhouse gas emissions.

Northern Pass Foes Eye New Tactic: Attacking Corporate Power
NHPR 2/9/12
The Sugar Hill article is multi-pronged, with all of the points seemingly aimed at Northern Pass. One part declares corporations do not have the same rights as people.

NH House passes eminent domain bill without debate
NECN 2/8/12
The bill goes to the governor next.

For the Truth about Northern Pass from Its Sponsors, Go Out of State
Bury Northern Pass 2/8/12
"Under this structure, Connecticut can only win." --Raymond Gagnon, Northeast Utilities

It’s Time to Modernize NH’s PUC Nomination Process
Responsible Energy Action LLC 2/7/12
Here is our bottom line. We believe the current qualification and professional diversity requirements for PUC commissioners are inadequate to protect ratepayers and the public, and we believe the commissioner nomination process is deeply flawed. A legislative fix will ultimately be required. In the meantime, we respectfully request the Executive Council to defer action on these nominations at least until the Council can design and implement ad hoc procedures that protect the interests of ratepayers and the public.

North Country Towns Take On Northern Pass
Orleans Record 2/3/12
PSNH spokesmen Martin Murray and Mike Skelton have recently said Northern Pass was never predicated on the use of eminent domain, but testimony to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by Northern Pass Transmission President James Muntz says otherwise.

Senate passes revised version of eminent domain bill
Union Leader 2/2/12
They initially approved the bill last week, but several problems were discovered with the bill Senators had approved. The bill was tabled until the issues could be addressed.

A Tribute to North Country Landowners
Bury Northern Pass 1/31/12
Bury the Northern Pass joins with Bob Baker (Columbia, NH) in paying tribute to the brave and selfless landowners of Coos County who value landscape, heritage, and community over private gain.

Freshman Senator Forrester leaves big mark on eminent domain issue
Laconia Daily Sun 1/31/12
Opponents of Northern Pass rallied round the Forrester-Bragdon amendment. fearing that Bradley's language would allow Northern Pass and its corporate sponsors to qualify as a public utility then petition for the power of eminent domain. Their fears mounted when attorney Don Pfundstein, representing Northern Pass, told a House committee that the company did not intend to to use eminent domain, but if it did, the state would have to determine whether the project conferred a compelling public benefit.

Northern Pass's Newsletter (Issue 2): Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Bury Northern Pass 1/30/12
The column to read carefully, however, is “Working With You: Rights-of-Way Access.” You or your predecessor may have deeded a ROW to PSNH, but not to Northern Pass. Northern Pass has zero authority over your contractual relationship with PSNH. But read the column anyway. It’s tricky. Watch the sleight-of-hand and ask yourself why Northern Pass is giving you “guidance” on an easement that it does not own and rights of access that it does not have.

NH State Senator Bob Odell's Column at Sunacom.com
Sen. Bob Odell 1/29/12
Senator Odell is Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee; Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee; Vice Chairman of the State Parks Advisory Council; and member of the Capital Budget Committee.

Breaking Down Who Does–And Doesn’t–Support Eminent Domain For Northern Pass
State Impact/NPR 1/27/12
First of all, our bout of data entry made one thing abundantly clear: There’s strong–and in some cases, overwhelming–opposition to eminent domain across the demographic groups surveyed. Depending on the group, anywhere from 60 to 81 percent of respondents were against the project.

Lawyer advocates for municipal rights during presentation
The Citizen of Laconia 1/27/12
Supporters of such an ordinance say it is aimed at protecting the health, safety and welfare of each town by recognizes each town’s right to a sustainable energy future by prohibiting the siting of energy projects such as Northern Pass. Each town meeting will be asked to consider its adoption — a challenge due to its detail and length, some in the room pointed out.

Senate Passes Eminent Domain Bill (HB648)
Society for Protection of NH Forests 1/25/12
"HB648 still needs to be agreed upon by a Committee of Conference between the House and the Senate, but we are extremely pleased that the Senate has joined the House in speaking loudly and clearly on the sujects of which kinds of projects have access--and which do not have access-- to eminent domain under Article 12a of the New Hampshire constitution."

Re: the debate over eminent domain
Northern Pass 1/25/12
We are reviewing the amendment passed today by the NH Senate and what impact, if any, it may have on the project if enacted. Our initial review of the amendment suggests that:

Northern Pass Employment Study Released
New England Power Generators Association 1/23/12
Brian Gotlob, the author of the study said, “Results of this analysis indicate that the job impacts associated with the proposed transmission line project will be substantially lower than estimated in Northern Pass Transmission, LLC (NPT) studies. Our estimates of job impacts are less than one-half of the estimates presented in studies issued by NPT. The vast majority of jobs from the project will be short-term construction jobs and many of these will be undertaken by out of state workers who have specialized construction skills required for the project.”

Analysis: Two Reasons Why PSNH Will Not Announce a PPA with Hydro-Quebec
Responsible Energy Action LLC 1/23/12
Let’s look at the numbers. Fairly stated (that is, including an appropriate cost allowance for the Bow scrubber and the costs of the above-market small biomass PPAs), PSNH’s electricity rate is somewhere between 8.5 cents and 9 cents per kWh. This is a high rate (one of the highest in the nation) because PSNH continues to run its old, inefficient plants (Bow, Schiller, etc.), and also because PSNH has locked itself into a series of long-term, above-market PPAs. Wholesale prices run roughly 5 cents per kWh, which means PSNH’s customers are paying WAY above market for our power. We’re subsidizing PSNH’s failed business model.

Bradley Amendments Undercut NH Property Rights!
Bury Northern Pass 1/22/12
Bradley’s changes disregard our state constitution and the will of the people by enabling unconstitutional "takings." In sharp contrast, Bragdon-Forrester respects our state constitution and brings the eminent domain statutes into line with the strict constitutional limits in Article 12-a of the constitution against eminent domain by private development projects.

Northern Pass: taking land for greed, not need
John Harrigan, Union Leader 1/22/12
The project is the controversial Quebec Hydro transmission line, better known as Northern Pass. Push is coming to shove on the controversial issue of eminent domain, the question of whether and when the state should allow a utility to take property against the owner’s will. It is an issue that strikes directly at the heart of landowners’ rights, right up there with family legacy, tradition and religion.

Pinocchio Fact Checker: Arguments against HB 648 Bragdon/Forrester Amendment
Bury Northern Pass 1/20/12
In the spirit of the "Pinocchio Fact Checker," Bury the Northern Pass looks at the rhetoric and reality of arguments against HB 648 Bragdon/Forrester amendment (648 B/F)

Lakes Region senators in tug-a-war over Northern Pass
Laconia Daily Sun 1/20/12
Forrester insists that her overriding aim is to ensure that the constitutional prohibition against taking private property by eminent domain to serve private interests is upheld by statute. "The Constitution is the Constitution," she declared.

Poll: Most Granite Staters oppose eminent domain for Northern Pass
Concord Monitor 1/7/12
Earlier today, Northern Pass lobbyist Donald Pfundstein told a House committee considering other eminent domain bills that Northern Pass would be entitled to use eminent domain because although it’s a private project not deemed necessary by regulatory agencies, the energy from Canada would be benefit the public.

Why New Hampshire Needs HB 648 (Bragdon/Forrester amendment) Now: Some Q’s & A’s (Part 1)
Bury Northern Pass 1/14/12
HB 648 B/F does not target Northern Pass or any other specific project. It doesn't even mention Northern Pass or hydro power. It is general property rights legislation. But those who oppose 648 B/F typically want to talk about it in terms of how it is aimed at Northern Pass alone, so let’s start there with a few questions and answers. As you’ll see, however, 648 B/F is broad legislation that would protect all land and home owners, tenants, business owners, and others by preventing any private utility project, whether it be hydro, wind, biomass, solar, from abusing eminent domain.

New AMC Head Vows Continued Opposition to Northern Pass
NHPR 1/13/12
The proposed hydro-electric project would clearly have a detrimental impact on recreation and conservation, said Judge.

Pass the Bragdon/Forrester Amendment on January 18!
Responsible Energy Action LLC 1/11/12
Before January 18, please call or email your state senator and ask him or her to vote for the Bragdon/Forrester amendment to HB648. This amendment will ensure that private developers cannot use eminent domain for private, for-profit energy projects.

Huntsman heads north
Concord Monitor 1/7/12
"Well, first of all, private property rights need to be respected. I know how important that is to the people in this part of New Hampshire, indeed throughout New Hampshire," Huntsman told the Monitor at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods. "And there're very legitimate concerns about the environmental impact, the quality of life impact, and I believe it would be a legitimate request to ask that some of the lines be buried, if not all of the lines."

Anonymous donor pledges $150,000 to conserve land around Balsams resort
Associated Press 1/6/12
The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests said Friday that brings the amount raised so far to $609,000. A total of $850,000 is needed to meet a Jan. 15 deadline.

Republicans Forced to Take Awkward Pro-environment Positions in New Hampshire
Burnt Orange Report 1/6/12
Unsurprisingly, Mitt Romney is closely tied to the project’s coporate overlords. Greg Butler, the project’s Vice President and General Counsel, has co-chaired a major Romney fundraising event in New York, and has donated the $2,500 maximum to the Romney campaign. Romney’s lone statement about the project expressed concern (albeit cryptically) about the large scale use of eminent domain seizures the project would require, saying “if land is going to be taken for purposes of a private enterprise, that’s the wrong way to go.”

Gingrich opposes Northern Pass transmission project
Union Leader 1/5/12
If the request to build the above-ground corridor through the Great North Woods were to come to his desk as President, Gingrich said he wouldn't sign it. The project requires a U.S. Deptarment of Energy Presidential Permit as it crosses an international border.

The Kelo Decision: Robbing the Poor to Pay the Rich (2)
Bury Northern Pass 1/1/12
On December 8th the judiciary committee met again to straighten out the mess. The result was nothing short of farcical. The committee, comprised of supposedly intelligent adults could not seem to understand the words, “or a participant-funded (private) transmission facility,” added to a statute forbidding the use of eminent domain for the construction of a generating facility. They did, however, agree to substitute a three page amendment filled with instructions enumerating the procedures needed to take private property. So, they turned a bill meant to protect our private property from corporate for profit taking, into an instruction manual on how to take our property.

Northern Pass Mulls Options
Orleans Record 12/31/11
"The way PSNH and Northern Pass handled the Balsams situation has clearly triggered people's indignation," he said. "It remains to be seen whether or not this has long-term ramifications for the Northern Pass project, but there's no question that it has angered a whole new group of people."

The Kelo Decision: Robbing the Poor to Pay the Rich (1)
Bury Northern Pass 12/31/11
Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random. The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms. As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result. "[T]hat alone is a just government," wrote James Madison, "which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own."

Balsams deal appears key to power plan
Concord Monitor 12/29/11
She also believes Northern Pass is a "done deal" that will happen whether she agrees to sell or not. She said company officials never threatened to take their land by eminent domain, but she feared they would if they had to.

Northern Pass Attacks Land Conservation in New Hampshire, Loses in the First Round
Conservation Law Foundation 12/28/11
Last week was a vivid preview. And if you care about New Hampshire’s iconic wilderness landscapes or the organizations that protect them, it’s not a pretty picture.

Northern Pass’s Balsams Bid – A New Valuation Benchmark
Responsible Energy Action LLC 12/24/11
Landowners should also note that the Balsams benchmark reflects only the first part of the fair price equation – the value of the right of way to Northern Pass. There is also a second component of fair compensation, which is the loss in value to the landowner’s remaining land if the easement is sold and the transmission lines are built.

Letter of Approval from Charitable Trusts Unit
Society for the Protection of NH Forests 12/24/11
Having reviewed and considered the information provided to our office, and having discussed this matter with Attorney General Michael Delaney, we find that the Trustees have acted within the limits of their discretion and the provisions of the Trust. As such, we approve the Purchase and Sale Agreement between the Corporation and the Society.

AG okays Balsams land deal over Northern Pass objection
White Mountain News 12/24/11
This ruling clears the way for the Society for Protection of the NH Forests to purchase an easement on property in Dixville Notch.

Northern Pass sweetens Balsams deal
Concord Monitor 12/23/11
It wasn't immediately clear today how the offer would affect the pending agreement the land's owners already have with the forest society. That deal is awaiting approval from the state attorney general's office, which is overseeing the sale because the land is owned by a trust.

Project Offers to Purchase Conservation Easement
Northern Pass 12/23/11
The Northern Pass project today notified the Neil Tillotson Trust that it is willing to purchase the conservation easement over much of the property of “The Balsams,” if a sale of the easement to The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) doesn’t occur.

Northern Pass’s AG Filing: Just Plain Wrong on the Facts, Law and Policy
Bury Northern Pass 12/23/11
This blog analyzes the key arguments made in NP’s filing to support their claim that the conservation easement should be set aside insofar as it prevents the transmission lines. We conclude that NP’s arguments are wrong on the facts, law and policy. We believe it is highly likely the AG’s office will reject NP’s filing and will approve the conservation easement.

Bulldog's Letter to NH Dept. of Justice
Brian Tilton 12/22/11
This letter is in response to Attorney Bisbee's letter to Anthony Blenkinsop, Director of the Charitable Trusts Unit.

Northern Pass Tries to Torpedo Tillotson Conservation Easement
Bury Northern Pass 12/22/11
First, Northern Pass has now lost any remaining credibility in the eminent domain debate. Northern Pass’s original proposal in October 2010 would have relied on massive use of eminent domain to ram the transmission lines over the property of non-consenting landowners and through the very heart of the North Country. After a huge public uproar, Northern Pass supposedly saw the light and said it would find a new route through the North Country based on “consensual” transactions – that is, willing sales by landowners.

Northern Pass Asks AG To Help It Get Balsams Route
NHPR 12/21/11
“Clearly the Tillotson Corporation made a decision that our proposal was in the best interest of the North Country.”

Northern Pass Aims to Block Balsams Land Conservation
Society for the Protection of NH Forests 12/21/11
We believe that the Attorney General’s office will agree with the Tillotson Corp that the transaction outlined in our Purchase and Sale agreement with them is in the best interests of the North Country. The attempt by Northern Pass to interfere with a transaction between two private parties is a clear indication of their desperation. It’s the moral equivalent of using eminent domain to force a private landowner to sell to them.

Northern Pass Objections to Sale of Easement to SPNHF
Devine Millimet 12/21/11
This is from the law firm that Republican candidate for Governor Ovide Lamontagne owns that is representing Northern Pass.

Would Northern Pass swamp the regional market for renewable projects?
Conservation Law Foundation 12/21/11
The bottom line for CLF: any plan to increase imports will need a robust and comprehensive set of enforceable commitments – which are completely absent in the current Northern Pass proposal – for the region to ensure that New England’s own renewable energy industry will prosper and grow into the future.

Hydro-Quebec celebrates pulling plug on clients
QMI Agency 12/21/11
A recent memo, adorned with a wreath, congratulates staff in the termination department for "excellent results" after the unit pulled the plug on 50,680 clients so far this year.

The New Hampshire Gold Rush (3)
Bury Northern Pass 12/17/11
From these known facts, two obvious questions arise. First, it's clear why a new PSNH transmission line would "jump off" to the west of Franklin in order to inject Hydro Quebec power into Vermont, but why would one jump off to the east? Second, the Doucet Survey map shows the reestablished PSNH ROW passing through Rochester and ending at the Maine border? What would it connect to?

The New Hampshire Gold Rush (2)
Bury Northern Pass 12/16/11
The 19 mile PSNH easement from Deerfield to Maine crosses through the following towns: Northwood, Strafford, Rochester. PSNH's 32 mile easement from Fitzwilliam to Amherst crosses the town of Rindge, New Ipswich, Greenville, Mason, Milford, and Brookline.

The New Hampshire Gold Rush (1)
Bury Northern Pass 12/15/11
Whoever dreamed up this transmission line using Franklin as the "jump off point" for Hydro Quebec power would build towers from Franklin to Claremont through Newport, Croydon, Sunapee, Springfield, Wilmot, Andover, and other towns. (This line runs through towns in Senate districts 5 and 8, and both its senators, Matthew Houde and Bob Odell, respectively, voted against passing a bill, HB 648, that would strengthen eminent domain protection last June.) How much "widening" (read: eminent domain) would be required on the existing easement to include this new 345kV line?
BULLDOG NOTES: Further evidence of this proposal is at the bottom this document filed with the PUC in 2008. Here's the legal notice. See: "PSNH states an application for Certificate of Site and Facility Is not required".

The Bradley/Carson Amendment: All Smoke and Mirrors
Responsible Energy Action LLC 11/12/11
This proposed legislation purports to help landowners who are faced with the potential for eminent domain by Northern Pass or any other private, participant-funded transmission line. Does the bill really protect property owners?

Northern Pass buys 118 acres in Franklin, NH
Foster's Daily Democrat 12/12/11
The station would convert direct current from Canada into alternating current. The Concord Monitor reports it would take up between 30 to 40 acres of the former Thousand Acres Family Campground.

The Bradley/Carson Amendment 2: All Smoke and Mirrors
Bury Northern Pass 12/11/11
This guest blog continues to scrutinize Bradley/Carson and looks at four other proposals in the bill. Do they help landowners in any significant way? Do the provisions make any sense? No, and no again.

Why not bury power lines for Northern Pass project?
Op-Ed Nashua Telegraph 12/11/11
The line is still several years away from construction – if indeed it passes all the state, local and federal regulatory hurdles – but it makes sense to be con-sidering this now, not after the fact.

The Bradley/Carson Amendment: All Smoke and Mirrors
Bury Northern Pass 12/9/11
The first key change in the Bradley/Carson amendment is a new provision that purports to protect property owners from wrongful threats of eminent domain. Unfortunately for landowners, this provision is all hat and no cowboy. Let’s go to the scoreboard:

Decision bolsters Northern Pass
Nashua Telegraph 12/9/11
Will Abbott said the Senate panel ignores the so-called 12-A constitutional amendment voters overwhelmingly approved in 2008 that opposes eminent domain for private development. “They just threw 12-A under the bus,” Abbott said after the committee vote. “Private property owners are not protected.”

Latest NH bill no threat to Northern Pass project
Associated Press 12/8/11
"In my opinion, it's an attempt to not deal with an issue that's apparently too thorny to deal with," Mullen said. Mullen owns the Owl's Nest Resort in Campton and Thornton that lies within the proposed 180-mile route the transmission lines would take.

What the Keystone XL decision should mean for Northern Pass
Conservation Law Foundation 12/6/11
With all the legal, procedural, and substantive deficiencies our national advocate colleagues have been pointing out for years, the Keystone XL review (before last week) is a dramatic example of what we can’t allow to happen with Northern Pass. Right now, things don’t look good – it appears that the Department of Energy is engaging in an “applicant-driven,” narrow review of a few potential project routes, not the broad, searching analysis CLF and many others have demanded again and again (and again). Last week’s decision to conduct a wide-ranging new review of Keystone XL shows that there is still the opportunity (and now a clear precedent) for the Department of Energy to bring the same spirit of renewed scrutiny and public responsiveness to its review of Northern Pass.

Eminent domain bill to face panel
Concord Monitor 12/2/11
Sen. Fenton Groen, a Rochester Republican who supports Northern Pass, said Friday he will support the bill because he believes the state Constitution prohibits private companies from using eminent domain.

Committee unbiased on Northern Pass
Letter to the Editor Concord Monitor 12/2/11
Committee member Stephen Neily rebuts Tom True's opinion of the committee and reminds readers what the committee has indeed accomplished. One has to wonder why an actual employee of NP was on the committee in the first place. Why didn't True "conflict out" on the basis of his employment by NP? Could Deerfield find no other proponent of NP to put on the committee?]

Northern Pass: The 5 million ton elephant in Massachusetts’s climate plan
Conservation Law Foundation 12/1/11
Although you wouldn’t know it from the media or the developers’ “MyNewHampshire” advertising campaign, Northern Pass also is a Massachusetts issue. Why? As if hidden in plain view, it’s at the center of Massachusetts’s plan to combat climate change. You might say it’s the elephant in the room. Massachusetts’s 2010 “Clean Energy and Climate Change Plan” (the Plan) seeks to reduce Massachusetts’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) 25% below 1990 levels by 2020. CLF has applauded the Plan as an aggressive, nation-leading effort. However, we long have been dubious of the Plan’s reliance on potential imports of Canadian hydropower.

Anti Northern Pass group charges PSNH put the kibosh on them organizing debate with ad spokesmen
Laconia Daily Sun 11/30/11
"It appears PSNH is so desperate to win the debate over the Northern Pass that it is sacrificing the good names and the reputations of people it has an economic hold over – people who have unwittingly been lured into appearing in its ads because their firms, or in the instance of Casey, his union, are reliant upon fees for services from PSNH and the Northern Pass."

The "Northern Pass Transmission, LLC Bulletin," Issue 1
Bury Northern Pass 11/29/11
Pardon the lack of a glossy color format and the postage to mail it. (The Province of Quebec is funding you, not us.) We make no apologies for eschewing euphemisms and other rhetorical figures of speech and grammatical devices that obscure or misstate the facts. Indeed, we'll be calling out some of yours since they are highly offensive to us. This blog will spotlight the top five offenders.

Northern Pass Continues Land Purchases In Coos
Orleans Record 11/26/11
On Friday, Cochrane said, "They way they approached was we could never talk about the thing. It's totally confidential for a year."

Northern Pass and Morton's Fork
Bury Northern Pass 11/23/11
In other words, Northern Pass says, if landowners don't grant a wider easement, they face higher towers, towers closer to their residences, businesses, or schools, as well as higher EMF radiation levels. But the so-called choice is up to landowners. Give Northern Pass your left leg -- or your right arm.

Landowner Newsletter
Northern Pass 11/23/11
Expanding the right-of-way, however, must be a collaborative decision involving multiple landowners along specific portions of the existing rights-of-way proposed to be used for The Northern Pass project. If you have been identified as a landowner along the route where expansion is an option, we will be glad to show you the design and discuss options.

Tillotson: Trust, or Betrayal of Trust?
Responsible Energy Action LLC 11/17/11
In REAL’s view, it is beyond any serious argument that Northern Pass’s proposal — to bisect beautiful and largely untouched areas of the North Country with visually jarring, environmentally damaging and value-destroying above-ground transmission lines — is flatly inconsistent with the Trust’s mandates. The North Country’s natural resources would be irrevocably compromised; economic development in the region would be seriously impaired; and the wellbeing and sense of place of North Country residents would be critically damaged.

LITTLETON PETITION:No Northern Pass
Orleans Record 11/16/11
The warrant article reads, "This project would blight the landscape and devastate the values of properties within its transmission corridor and lines of sight."

Tillotson Corp. is considering sale of ROW for Northern Pass
Coos County Democrat 11/16/11
Selling a right-of-way that could be used as a route for the Northern Pass Transmission (NPT) line through the northern reaches of the state "has not been taken off the table," said Tillotson Corp. president Tom Deans in a Sunday afternoon phone call.

Conflicting Out: Northern Pass’s MyNewhampshire.com
Responsible Energy Action LLC 11/9/11
The Northern Pass project has been plagued by undisclosed COIs, bias, and worse. For instance, long employed by PSNH, Normandeau Associates failed to conflict out as the Department of Energy’s “neutral” EIS contractor until forced to do so, and even then they admitted no wrongdoing. The Memorandum of Understanding between the DOE and the new EIS contractor, SE Group, has a secret “consulting services agreement” between SEG and its paymaster, Northern Pass. Even the DOE doesn’t know what’s in the CSA, which is outrageous. And REAL has recently pointed out an official and prejudging action on Northern Pass by the NH Public Utilities Committee and called upon the chair to conflict out of further decisions about the project in the interest of maintaining public credibility.

Another Delay In The Northern Pass Project
Responsible Energy Action LLC 11/7/11
The updated timeline also pushes back the filing date with the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee to the fourth quarter of 2012. This is a delay of at least 6-9 months from the SEC filing schedule still predicted as of this morning by Northern Pass on its website (“early 2012”). This may indicate that there are further difficulties in locating a potential route in northern Coos County. NU previously forecast that a new route in northern Coos County would be announced by December 31, 2011, and this schedule may now be subject to further slippage.

A REAL Opinion Poll: Eminent Domain in NH
Responsible Energy Action LLC 11/7/11
REAL recently commissioned an opinion poll to ascertain the attitude of New Hampshire citizens on a single issue – eminent domain. The results of the poll are clear. With HB648 approaching a vote in the New Hampshire State Senate in January 2012, we feel it is imperative that our State Legislature realize, recognize, and vote in accordance with the priorities of the people they represent.

Romney Walks A Fine (Power) Line
The New Republic 11/4/11
It was lost amid Cainamania this week, but it's worth noting that there was a rare blip of trouble for Mitt Romney this week in the friendly territory of New Hampshire. The Boston Globe and Concord Monitor both reported on the support Romney's been getting from Greg Butler, the senior vice president and general counsel for the Northern Pass project, a controversial plan to import hydroelectric energy to New England from Canada along 180 miles of new transmission lines in New Hampshire. Butler has co-chaired two New York fundraisers for Romney this fall and contributed the $2,500 maximum to him in May. It may not surprise you terribly to learn that despite the strong support from Butler, Romney's stance on the power line has been...not to take a stance. This has left some New Hampshire voters distinctly nonplussed.

Power lines meet resistance
Concord Monitor 11/2/11
Pembroke coouple say no to Northern Pass taking their land.

PSNH's Way, NOT the Highway
Bury Northern Pass 11/2/11
Christopher Clement, the Commissioner of NH DOT, addressed the North Country Council annual meeting at Bretton Woods on October 27. He was asked about the possibility of burying utility lines, such as those for the Northern Pass project, in state-owned transportation corridors. Clement responded that the DOT has not received a proposal from the utility company. Upon receipt of such a proposal, DOT has a process for use of State-owned right-of-ways, and the DOT is prepared to perform the required analysis for such a proposal.

Northern Pass is Romney Friendly
Blue Hampshire 11/2/11
The power line path does NOT go through Wolfeboro. Romney's $10 million mansion will NOT be taken by eminent domain.

Romney still neutral on controversial N.H. power-line project
Boston Globe 11/1/11
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has not taken a position on the controversial Northern Pass power project in New Hampshire, although a top official involved in the project is co-chairing a Romney fundraiser. But Romney has opposed the use of eminent domain to seize land for the project.

Romney gets fund-raising aid from official with firm seeking to build controversial power line
Boston Globe 10/31/11
An official involved in a controversial power project in New Hampshire is co-chairing a fundraising event for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. According to an invitation provided by the liberal Center for American Progress, Greg Butler, the senior vice president and general counsel for The Northern Pass, is one of the co-chairs of a $500-a-head fundraiser for Romney at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan this Wednesday evening. Butler co-chaired another Romney fundraiser in September, and has donated $2,500 to Romney’s presidential campaign.

Northern Pass works on new preferred route
Union Leader 10/30/11
“This is a million-dollar view. If they put that line through, I’ve got to look right through that line to see the view. My dad saved this land for me, and I want to save it for my children,” he said.

Battle Lines: The Northern Pass Energy Project
Yankee Magazine 10/30/11
But "staggering and historic" is an apt description for another aspect of the Northern Pass proposal: the near-ubiquity and overwhelming ferocity of the public's opposition to it. Resistance began immediately following the project's official announcement in October 2010, and over the ensuing months has only gained momentum, like a chunk of granite careening down a mountainside.

There’s Nothing New or Renewable About Northern Pass
PowerOptions.org 10/27/11
The RPS is designed to provide needed financial support for new technology. Hydro Quebec does not need that financial support. In fact, in order to justify approval of the project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), they argued that it will reduce costs to the region by displacing higher cost generation in the market. By definition, that means it will be grid competitive. It does not need the added financial support of the RPS to be built.

Dressing Up Power Lines Comes With Limits
New York Times 10/27/11
Erik Gronlund, 53, has been dairy farming in the village since 1989, when his father bought a farm there with its 50 head of cattle. He now has 180 cows, and they graze regularly in the shadow of the pylons. “Many people here in the hamlet, we said no,” he said. “But the authorities said O.K.” Like most farmers hereabout, Mr. Gronlund received a lump-sum payment to compensate for the decrease in the value of his property because of the presence of the pylons.

New England still deserves a fair, big-picture review of Northern Pass, despite developers’ delay
Conservation Law Foundation 10/26/11
While DOE is in a holding pattern, CLF is continuing to fight for a fair and comprehensive environmental review of the Northern Pass project. Earlier this month, CLF filed new comments with DOE, supplementing the detailed comments we filed in April. Our new comments address:

CLF's Supplemental Scoping Submission
Conservation Law Foundation 10/26/11
The MOU fails to safeguard the legitimacy and independence of the EIS because NPT has been granted extraordinary rights, not shared by any other stakeholders, to influence the schedule, form, and content of the EIS:

Governor’s Office Responds to “the REAL Story”
Responsible Energy Action LLC 10/26/11
To recap, REAL’s blog disclosed a filing made by the Governor’s office and the NH Public Utilities Commission with a regional electricity planning organization, the EISPC. It was filed in the second half of December, 2010. In the filing, the Governor’s office and the NH PUC state (in writing) that the Northern Pass project has a “high probability of being constructed” and is sufficiently “certain” to be completed that the transmission lines should be included in the official regional energy plans.

To Inspect Live Utility Lines, Send in the Robots
New York Times 10/26/11
Are these the "new jobs" Northern Pass promises to create?

Petitions to stop the North Pass
WCAX 10/22/11
Nearly 5-thousand signed petitions were hung up on the Beloin Pariseau farm in East Hereford, Quebec. The entire display spread out over the size of about 11 footballs fields. The North Pass Project, which aims to run 180-miles of transmission lines from Canada to the New England grid has met stiff opposition.

Northern Pass Advisory Committee Report on Findings & Recommendations
Town of Deerfield 10/22/11
At that time, there were a number of questions as to the impact of the project on the Town of Deerfield (as well as the State as a whole). Many questions were posed by property owners on the PSNH right of way, the proposed route for the transmission line, as well as others in town who expressed concern over property values, health and safety, and the effect on our overall “quality of life.” In response, the Deerfield Board of Selectmen formed an informational committee, asking residents who had an interest in the NPT project to volunteer.

Northern Pass suspected in sale- Campground has closed down
Concord Monitor 10/22/11
The pending sale of Thousand Acres Family Campground in Franklin is fueling speculation that Northern Pass is buying the 118-acre site for its hydroelectric power converter station.

Scary world mailer to residents of Franklin
NH Coalition for Sustainable Energy 10/21/11
This is a mailer sent to Franklin residents from the front group for Northern Pass in order to scare the heck out of everyone.

Area businesses charged up over Northern Pass transmission proposal
NH Business Review 10/21/11
"We have no intention of this project depending on eminent domain," said Murray. He said the utility is working as hard as it can to secure agreements with landowners, though he did concede that eminent domain would be used if necessary.

Northern Pass’s Secret New Route
Responsible Energy Action LLC 10/20/11
REAL believes the secret route is already a failure. Families and individuals that we call “Landowner Heroes” (people like Lynn Placey, Bill Weir and many more) have stood tall and told Northern Pass’s land agents that they won’t sell to Northern Pass, no matter what. Because of these Landowner Heroes, REAL believes the secret route is already blocked by landowners who will not sell.

Northern Pass is not legally entitled to use eminent domain
Ransmeier & Spellman 10/20/11
On Wednesday, SPNHF fowarded the attached legal memo on eminent domain to the four members of the Senate Judiciary Committee; the rest of the Senate will receive it on Thursday. The authors of the memo, attorneys at the Ransmeier & Spellman law firm in Concord, conclude that "there is a strong argument to be made . . . that the developers of the Northern Pass are not legally entitled to the use of the power and authority of eminent domain to acquire property that may be needed for the project." In the cover letter to senators, SPNHF extends the findings of the memo to the current situation in Coos County and to the importance of passing 648, which seeks to clarify the protection against eminent domain seizure that Article 12-a affords NH citizens, a conclusion now supported by the authority of a prestigious NH law firm.

Eminent Domain Fight Has a Canadian Twist
Herald-Tribune 10/18/11
Randy Thompson, a cattle buyer in Nebraska, was informed that if he did not grant pipeline access to 80 of the 400 acres left to him by his mother along the Platte River, “Keystone will use eminent domain to acquire the easement.” Sue Kelso and her large extended family in Oklahoma were sued in the local district court by TransCanada, the pipeline company, after she and her siblings refused to allow the pipeline to cross their pasture.

NH PUC Botches Northern Pass During the Pre-Game
Responsible Energy Action LLC 10/18/11
Unfortunately for the public, who want to trust the fairness and objectivity of the PUC, the reality is very different. The Chairman of the NH PUC has already taken an official, public position in favor of Northern Pass in a filing with a regional organization.

Northern Pass buys up land
Concord Monitor 10/16/11
Those familiar with the agreements said the contracts forbid the landowners to discuss the deals and provide generous deposits they can keep even if the project doesn't go through.

How to Tell Astroturf from Grassroots
Bury Northern Pass blog 10/15/11
In July, the press pointed out Northern Pass's efforts to pass itself off as popular among average citizens in New Hampshire through the use of "unmistakably folksy" ads. This blog looks at Northern Pass's new "astroturfing" campaign -- and at a new pro Northern Pass website that also claims grassroots origins.

This Week’s Version of Eminent Domain from PSNH
Responsible Energy Action LLC 10/15/11
Long makes it sound as if eminent domain is not a problem that anyone needs to worry about right now—it’s “premature”– and as if the SEC would somehow be in charge of deciding whether or not eminent domain would be available to PSNH/NPT.

Mitt Romney's Northern Pass Connection
10/14/11
One of Mitt Romney’s donors, bundlers and fundraisers is Senior Vice President, Counsel, and Officer of Northern Pass. Thanks to a tip from a Northern Pass Opposition friend, we have learned that Gregory B. Butler, Senior Vice President and Counsel for Northern Pass, is also a bundler for Mitt Romney (puts together donations) and chief fundraiser for an event in New York City. Greg Butler is senior VP & general counsel for Northern Pass. This Greg Butler was a big donor to Romney. A few weeks ago he co-chaired a Romney fundraiser in NYC. He was on Romney's $$ committee and he was a bundler.

One Year Later, Northern Pass Battle Wages On
Colebrook Chronicle 10/14/11
The first couple of pages.

Does The Northern Pass Project Deserve Special Treatment?
Foster's Daily Democrat Op-Ed 10/13/11
The Northern Pass Project’s request to use eminent domain to take private property along the proposed route is wrong. This project is a private facility and, simply put, neither New England nor New Hampshire needs the power. Using eminent domain violates both the state Constitution and the regulatory process. Other competitive electricity projects, like generation and transmission projects, do not use eminent domain, so this would give the Northern Pass Project an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

NU's Northern Pass waiting on acceptable route
Hartford Business Review 10/12/11
Contrary to what opponents are saying, NU will not use eminent domain to secure the right-of-way for any part of the route, Skelton said. "That is not something that is in our plans," Skelton said.

Paul stands up for property rights
Union Leader 10/12/11
He was asked by Tom Thomson, son of the late former Gov. Meldrim Thomson known for his motto “Ax the Tax” whether if as President he would sign the permit needed for the project to bring Hydro-Quebec power across the Canadian border into New Hampshire. “I wouldn’t sign it. I wouldn’t give the permit,” he said. Private property rights are “really basic to solving our problems.” He said in his home state of Texas, where drilling for oil is the norm, there are strict property rights’ laws that he supports.

Land buys made for Northern Pass route?
Union Leader 10/11/11
In early May, Properties Inc. completed three other purchases from the same owner. That land is in Pittsburg at the New Hampshire border with Canaan, Vt., along Halls Stream Road, and previously has been designated as an entry point for the power lines into the state from Quebec.

PSNH's Gary Long On New Route For Northern Pass
NHPR 10/9/11
“The Columbia land was also purchased from King’s Arrow Realty (Trust). There is 114 acres in Columbia and it includes a winter logging road, the Roaring Brook (which comes out onto Rte. 26 near Diamond Peaks Restaurant), is bordered on the south by the Nash Stream State Forest and on the north by Tillotson Corp.”

Katie Rose shoots music video in opposition to Northern Pass
Littleton Courier 10/5/11
"It was so exciting to see car after car after car just pouring in" Katie said. "The energy was inspirational and powerful. Just seeing the mass of people wearing orange to show their support was amazing….when we sit alone in our houses, we can't do much, but if we join together unified, anything is possible."

Northern Pass foes: It’s about money
Union Leader 10/3/11
“Northern Pass is looking for special treatment and special eminent domain rights that are abusive to New Hampshire property owners and will give Northern Pass unfair advantages over the rest of the market,” said Jim and Sandy Dannis of Dalton, outspoken critics of Northern Pass who hired a study on the impacts of the project on property values.

Fed Plan to Consolidate Power Over Nation's Power Highway Has States Nervous
Fox News 10/1/11
"It turns the whole process on its head," said Robert Thormeyer, spokesman with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. He said the federal government would be "more inclined to build" than the states, if for no other reason than they probably wouldn't have as much interaction with citizens. A bureaucrat in Washington might not hear the not-in-my-backyard pleas as frequently as a bureaucrat in, say, Boise.

New England Power Generators Association Reacts to Proposed Northern Pass Transmission Project
Business Wire 9/30/11
Sole-Source, No-Bid Contracting: PSNH is proposing that New Hampshire state law be changed and the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approve a 40-year power purchase agreement that will allow them to enter into a no-bid, sole-source contract with NPTP to purchase power and supply their default service customers. While it is questionable whether PSNH needs the power, NEPGA believes that this type of supply, if it is needed, should be procured through a competitive bid process. This gives all market participants the opportunity to compete, and guarantees the lowest cost for consumers. NEPGA opposes sole-source, no-bid contracting and has concerns regarding the appropriateness of PSNH contracting with a project in which they and their affiliates have commercial interest.

Northern Pass Buys Up Land As New Line Takes Shape
Colebrook Chronicle 9/30/11
Weren't we told that Northern Pass was going to abandon the original route?

Northern Pass Foes Meet With Lynch
NHPR 9/30/11
After a meeting with Governor Lynch a group of five Sugar Hill residents says Lynch not only sympathized with their concerns about the adverse impacts of the Northern Pass project but agreed to ask the Department of Transportation to explore whether transmission lines can follow state roads.

All is NOT Well (for Northern Pass) on the Existing ROWs
Responsible Energy Action LLC 9/26/11
To get a sense of the specific limitations in the existing PSNH ROW easements, REAL started a dialog with affected property owners. We’ve also started our own deed research effort. Right at the start, what popped up are pole height limits that are flatly inconsistent with Northern Pass as currently proposed.

Musician Turns Opposition To Northern Pass Into Music Video
Orleans Record 9/26/11
"The purpose of this music video is to gather people as one body and change the outlook from victim-hood to empowerment," she said. "For the sake of the cause, it is imperative that we have a great turnout. We need as many people as possible to stand together and prove that we do not want the Northern Pass project in New Hampshire."

Airport Commission releases statement on Northern Pass
Great Northwoods Journal 9/24/11
Page 4 Letter to the Editor. Great, now we'll have blinking lights on the towers "thaqt will blend into the landscape".

Sugar Hill residents meet with Lynch about Northern Pass
White Mountain News 9/22/11
Lynch stated that he has met personally with PSNH leader’s to make clear that he does not believe the necessary community support exists. He has told PSNH officials that the company needs to go back to the drawing board and work to develop alternatives that can win community support if they wish to move forward with this project. He committed to contacting PSNH again for more information on alternative plans and the current status of the project.

North Country’s top pols differ on Northern Pass pledge
White Mountain News 9/21/11
The wording of the pledge is as follows: “As a Candidate for public office, I hereby pledge to honor the New Hampshire Constitution, which protects the property rights of New Hampshire’s landowners from all attempts by private persons and business entities to use eminent domain to seize real property without the owners’ consent for private development or other private, “for profit” uses in violation of citizens’ constitutionally protected private property rights.”

Northern Pass Foes Disappointed At DOE's Failure to Respond
NHPR 8/14/11
Christophe Courchesne. “It is fair to say we are deeply discouraged that there has been no specific response to our motion.” In fact, the DOE may not respond.

Hurricane Irene and Hydro-Quebec
Bury Northern Pass 8/29/11
H-Q's Patrice Lavoie had earlier promised that "the 54 teams sent to New Hampshire to help with that state's power outages over the weekend would not affect the provincial utility's ability to restore power in Quebec." Lavoie would eat those words soon enough. What did H-Q do late Sunday or early Monday morning when it realized the extent of outage in its home territory? Exactly what one would expect. It pulled the 54 crews out of New Hampshire and brought them home to work in Quebec.

All Is Not Quiet: Northern Pass Trying To Buy Land In Clarksville
Colebrook Chronicle 8/19/11
Both owners also asked why the Northern Pass project is looking to buy land before it has even been approved and they said they were told that the project needs to “be prepared.” Said one of the owners, “I told them I couldn’t do that to my neighbors, and he said that no one would know if we sold it—that they would create an LLC blind trust. They’ll try anything to persuade somebody to sell.” The officials then offered to buy the owners’ second parcel so that it wouldn’t be “affected” by the views of the towers. “They asked what would our objection be then. I told him, our objection is we don’t want to see towers going down our valley.”

Advanced Transmission Technologies
FERC 8/16/11
Check this out. A power point presentation by TransEnergie US a member of the Hydro Quebec Groups! What, Bury Transmission Lines?

The Not-So-New MOU: How the DOE Forgot the Public This Time
Bury Northern Pass 8/15/11
Before turning to the latest affront from the DOE, the MOU setting forth the “rules of engagement” for the newly-announced EIS consultants, think back. Remember our mindset when the DOE started its process late last year? We thought they’d be even-handed and fair. We thought the public had as much weight with the DOE as Northern Pass and its sponsors. We believed if we led the DOE toward the public interest, they’d see it and embrace it. We were so wrong.

DC Light application: Underground power links
ABB 8/14/11
The cost of an HVDC Light link now approaches the cost of an overhead line if all factors are taken into account.

What would Northern Pass mean for our climate?
Conservation Law Foundation 8/12/11
In fact, the study on which this claim is based – a report (PDF) commissioned by Northern Pass and authored by Boston-based energy consultant Charles River Associates – began with the assumption that hydro power is “zero-carbon.” Let me repeat that: the developers’ claim that the project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a net 5 million tons is based on their unexamined presupposition that the power to be delivered by the project has no carbon dioxide emissions at all. There’s no other way to say it: this assumption is false.

DOE Selects Contractor Team for EIS
Northern Pass EIS 8/12/11
The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected an integrated team of professionals from three environmental consulting firms to prepare the DOE Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) addressing the Northern Pass Presidential Permit application. This integrated team is composed of SE Group www.segroup.com , Ecology & Environment www.ene.com, and Lucinda Low Swartz www.lucindalowswartz.com.

Light and Invisible
Dag Ravemark, Bo Normark 8/6/11
The high costs of burying cables which has long made this mode unattractive is also losing ground as an argument. The combination of environmental concerns over the impact of overhead lines and the availability of new cost-saving technologies is leading to a re-think. Underground cables are now more attractive than ever before.

FERC Denies NHPUC Rehearing Request
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 8/5/11
In this order, we deny the request for rehearing of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC) of the Commission’s February 11, 2011 order, which accepted the bilateral, cost-based transmission service agreement (TSA) between Northern Pass Transmission LLC (Northern Pass) and H.Q. Renewable Energy Inc. (HQ Hydro) for transmission service over the proposed Northern Pass Transmission Line (NPT Line).1 Specifically, NHPUC states that it seeks rehearing with respect to the Commission’s authorization of: (1) a 166-basis point Return on Equity (ROE) adder for investment in new transmission facilities prior to and during construction, and (2) a 92-basis point ROE adder for investment in transmission facilities upon commercial operation of the NPT Line. In addition, NHPUC seeks rehearing on the Commission’s authorization of a 50-basis point ROE adder for participation in a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO).

Northern Pass construction delay announced
Union Leader 8/4/11
This winter, the plan for the northern route was scraped and a new preferred route through the North Country would be on the table by June 15, Northern Pass officials said. Six weeks since that date, the route has not yet been announced.

Helium Balloon in Lancaster
Unidentified Coos Resident 8/3/11
North Road – August 1, 2011. The Orange Balloon Represents the 135’ height of the proposed Northern Pass towers.

AUDIO: Northeast Utilities Earnings Conference Call (Q2 2011)
Yahoo Finance 8/3/11
Northeast Utilities, a public utility holding company, engages in the energy delivery business for residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts. It operates in three segments: Electric Distribution, Natural Gas Distribution, and Electric Transmission. The Electric Distribution segment engages in the purchase, delivery, and sale of electricity. As of December 31, 2009, it served electric services to approximately 1.2 million customers in 149 cities and towns in Connecticut; 490,000 retail customers in 211 cities and towns in New Hampshire; and 205,000 retail customers in 59 cities and towns in western Massachusetts. This segment also owns and operates approximately 1,200 megawatts of electricity generation facilities. The Natural Gas Distribution segment operates a natural gas distribution system in Connecticut and provides gas supply to residential customers for heating, hot water, and cooking needs, as well as to commercial and industrial customers. It also offers gas transportation services to commercial and industrial customers. This segment serves approximately 205,000 customers. The Electric Transmission segment provides transmission services. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut.

Northeast Utilities' CEO Discusses Q2 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
Seeking Alpha 8/3/11
See for yourself that NU wants to do to all of New England like they want to do to NH.

Listening to Northeast Utilities' Q2 Earnings Call Today
Bury Northern Pass 8/3/11
For the first time, the securities analysts on the call honed in on the right of way, eminent domain legislation, and timing issues for Northern Pass. There were tough, direct questions. This hasn’t happened before, so it’s clear the analyst community is becoming aware of the substantial issues facing Northern Pass.

Will Northern Pass raise electric rates in New Hampshire?
Conservation Law Foundation 7/29/11
As explained in a piece on NHPR featuring our own Jonathan Peress, the above-market costs of PSNH’s aging fleet are causing large customers to buy power from (or “migrate” to) cheaper suppliers. Regulators this week turned back PSNH’s attempt to saddle those customers with its fleet’s escalating costs. But this situation is creating a so-called “death spiral,” because PSNH is forced to raise its rates again and again on a shrinking group of customers – homeowners and small businesses who do not have the purchasing power to contract with another supplier.

ll Northern Pass harm home sales?
Concord Monitor 7/24/11
Bulldog's Response: Name me one property that these so-called "experts" studied?

NStar warns delay could end deal
Boston Globe 7/22/11
And they are threatening to raise people's rates if the deal is delayed. A disapproval of the merger could threaten the Northern Pass deal also.

FERC Transmission Planning, Cost Allocation reforms to benefit consumers
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 7/21/11
The transmission planning requirements established in the rule include development of regional transmission plans, consideration of transmission needs driven by public policy requirements established by state or federal laws or regulations, and coordination between pairs of neighboring transmission planning regions.

U.S., Seeking to Reshape Electric Grid, Adopts a Power Line Rule
New York Times 7/21/11
The new rule, passed unanimously on Thursday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, does not specify what the formula should be for allocating costs, or precisely how new lines should be planned. But it does lay out general guidelines, including the notion that the costs should be borne by those who benefit.

Conservation Law Foundation Sues PSNH for Clean Air Act Violations at Merrimack Station
Conservation Law Foundation 7/21/11
CLF’s complaint contends that the plant, which is more than a half-century old and is in the midst of a major, multi-faceted life extension project, never obtained required permits authorizing renovations to major components of Merrimack Station, including much of an electric-generating turbine, even though the changes increased pollution from the plant. As predicted by PSNH’s own projections, the changes led to more emissions of pollutants, including smog-causing nitrogen oxide and particulate matter, or soot, which causes respiratory problems when inhaled and is linked to increased hospitalizations, lung damage in infants and children, and premature death.

Northern Pass: Too many towers
Union Leader Editorial 7/20/11
The original Northern Pass plan would be the least costly to build and operate, and that is no small concern. But Northeast Utilities and Hydro Quebec will do better in the long run for both themselves and New Hampshire by opting instead for either buried lines in more sensitive areas or an alternative route through Vermont.

Hydro power's dirty side
Montreal Gazette 7/20/11
On July 25, 2008, two filmmakers and two environmentalist dipped their canoes into the headwaters of the Romaine River on the lower North Shore and began a 500-kilometre trip down nature's version of a condemned man. They were about to travel down a dead river flowing

FAA approves Northern Pass towers near airport
NECN 7/19/11
The Federal Aviation Administration said some towers initially proposed were too high. A Northern pass spokesman says engineers are designing a new plan with shorter towers.

Land Grab Nightmare, Northern Pass, July 7th, 2011(part two)
Margaret Jones Productions 7/18/11
Bulldog was interviewed about eminent domain and this episode could air on your local public access TV. It gets clipped at the end, but continues here.

Northern Pass: A call to action
Op-Ed, Foster's Daily Democrat 7/17/11
"Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Thus reads the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution in regards to the question of eminent domain. Land can only be taken for "public use" and only when "just compensation" is rendered. But how does the transmission project known as the Northern Pass qualify as "public use?" Certainly this project isn't focused on bringing needed energy into our state; our state already produces an energy surplus.

If Gov. Lynch can't stop Northern Pass, who can?
John Harrigan, Union Leader 7/11/11
Open letter to Gov. Lynch.

FAQs about the Proposed New Power Lines through the White Mountain National Forest (Part 1)
Bury Northern Pass 7/8/11
Northern Pass's Special Use Permit application to construct two new power lines through the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) does not contain FAQs. Here are questions that some people are asking. This is Part 1 in a series.

Official comments from The Wilderness Society on the Northern Pass Transmission line
Wilderness Society 7/7/11
In June 2011, The Wilderness Society submitted the following comments on the proposed Northern Pass electric transmission line in New Hampshire.

Northern Pass: Deerfield takes a hard look
Union Leader 7/6/11
Boswak said the town’s analysis was done over the past two weeks after selectmen formed a committee of residents specifically to examine the potential local impacts of Northern Pass, a controversial $1 billion project that would bring hydroelectric power from the town of Pittsburg at the Canadian boarder via transmission lines 180 miles south to Deerfield.

Come to the North Country to see what Northern Pass will do
Op-ed, Union Leader 7/4/11
What are the intended consequences of Northern Pass? Disfigurement of the landscape that is our livelihood and an invaluable resource for all of New Hampshire. Abuse of the State's police power of eminent domain, forcing landowners to surrender their property against their will. Enormous profits for huge corporations and financial penalties for the average landowner and town in its path. These are not fuzzy “unintended consequences.”

Presidential candidates talk Northern Pass
Littleton Courier 7/1/11
The presidential race is starting to gain momentum, and with it comes more focus on the Granite State and its issues. At the forefront of many New Hampshirites' minds in this race is the Northern Pass project, and presidential candidates are beginning to weigh in on the issue.

"To the extent possible": Northern Pass's Conditional Environmentalism
Bury Northern Pass 7/1/11
In the abstract, Northern Pass talks with great certitude about its commitment to the environment. On the ground, it speaks with less conviction, as this sampling of conditional statements from Northern Pass's Special Use Permit application to construct an HVDC power line in the White Mountain National Forest illustrates (emphases added).

WMNF Special Use Permit application filed
Northern Pass 6/29/11
The filing notes, for example, that the project can likely be located within the existing 150 wide transmission corridor, but that structure heights can be reduced if the corridor were widened or if the “span length” between structures were reduced (i.e. reduced height but more structures).

VIDEO: A Land Grab Nightmare
DRM Jones Productions 6/29/11
Includes an extensive interview with State Rep. Al Baldasaro of Londonderry about eminent domain.

Northern Pass opponents try floating balloon
Union Leader 6/27/11
Sunday's flight went up just off U.S. Route 2 east of downtown Lancaster, from the home and farm of Steve and Jenn Hatfield, which is on the proposed route of the Northern Pass. There is an existing power line that goes through the property, but the towers don't rise much beyond the treeline.

Power generators: Hydro savings aren’t a given
Hartford Business Journal 6/27/11
Hydro-Quebec “is presenting itself as a presumptive low-cost provider. This claim is simply unsubstantiated,” said Sandi Hennequin, vice president of the New England Power Generators Association Inc. “We do not have any information on the actual price of (Hydro-Quebec) electricity under any potential contract.”

Northern Pass: NH power play
Nashua Telegraph 6/26/11
But no matter what happens with these and other issues over the next two or three years of debate, comments made by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu during a visit to Hudson in May hold sway. “There are no easy choices. All energy options have drawbacks,” Chu said in response to a question about Northern Pass. And then, showing that even a Nobel Laureate physicist can act like a politician in something this complicated, he declined to say whether he thought the line should be built. “That’s a decision for the state to make, not the federal government,” he said.

Childhood Cancer Cluster near High Voltage Lines in Plymouth NH
Bury Northern Pass 6/24/11
I would also like to object to the distinction being made between cutting through new property and using existing ROWs for these towers. Both are deplorable, but more attention is being paid to ruining virgin land. I wish to point out, however, that the existing ROWs in question have been around from the 40s, with wooden poles that do not rise above the tree line. Previous approval for this does not mean that existing ROWs should be treated as a ''given'' that can be done with as PSNH pleases. They will definitely have to be widened, the towers will affect the surrounding homes in an entirely new way.

Power politics
Boston Globe 6/23/11
An NStar-NU merger could create a voice with massive clout in the energy debate.

Gov. Straddle: Lynch fakes a northern pass
Union Leader Editorial 6/19/11
In fact, Lynch didn't tell PSNH anything it hadn't already announced it was doing months before when it withdrew alternate routes for the Hydro Quebec lines and said it would work to obtain a route with the cooperation of landowners. Whether that happens remains to be seen. But for Lynch to claim that his initial, overwhelming, slobbering support for Northern Pass was somehow conditional is breathtakingly preposterous. The man does know how to straddle a fence. But straddling a high-voltage power line may be too tricky even for him.

Neighbors wary of taller power towers
Concord Monitor 6/19/11
Mary Lee works in the garden of her Northfield home, June 16, 2011. A stand of white pine trees stands between her house and the power lines that run through the area. Lee fears she will lose that buffer if the Northern Pass is built. "Imagine New Hampshire without trees," says Lee.

The Biggest Land Grab in New Hampshire History
Bury Northern Pass 6/17/11
In reality, both situations represent new ROWs. The difference between them is simply whether the new ROW would be created to abut an existing ROW or not. It doesn't matter whether 10', 25', 50' or 250' is taken if your house or land is seized by eminent domain. PSNH has no inherent right to "expand" their ROWs. The easement deeds do not contain blanket permission for PSNH to come back and take more land whenever it wants it. PSNH would have to condemn and take the additional private property by eminent domain.

N.H. should take a pass on Northern Pass
Burt Cohen, NH Business Review 6/16/11
Once again, the big guys intend to own all the power. And not just electric power. For many decades, PSNH has acted like they own this state. They've never hesitated to trumpet their charitable contributions. They've relied on their power over the Legislature.

NH's Lynch expresses concern about power project
Associated Press 6/15/11
Northern Pass organizers submitted comments in April that it was working to identify additional routes. The Department of Energy has reopened a public comment period as it waits for more information on those routes.

Republican Presidential candidate Andy Martin asks to intervene in New Hampshire’s Northern Pass controversy
Andy Martin for President 6/14/11
The People of New Hampshire are being treated like a colony of Southern New England and potentially New York. Northern Pass represents a process where overseers from afar wish to negatively impact the quality of life in the Granite State to benefit other more affluent regions that have strong “NIMBY” movements. My presidential campaign is committed to defeating Northern Pass. Most respectfully, I request to be designated as an Intervener.

New Public Hearings on Northern Pass Likely
NH Public Radio 6/14/11
The DOE is doing that because it expects Northern Pass to file a new route for the power lines from Canada, according to a Department of Energy spokeswoman. The spokeswoman couldn’t immediately say how long that extension would be. If Northern Pass files the new route that will trigger a new series of public hearings, the spokeswoman said.

Ron Paul, Mitt Romney weigh in on Northern Pass during NH debate
Manchester Examiner 6/14/11
Distaso framed the question within the context of the controversial Northern Pass project, albeit without mentioning the project by name. If completed, Northern Pass would supply New England’s power grid with hydroelectric electricity from Canada. But first, developers need to build 140 miles of new direct-current transmission line and 40 miles of new alternating current transmission line to transport the power from the Canadian border to a converter terminal in Franklin and a substation in Deerfield. Environmentalists, private landowners and property rights activists have joined together to oppose the project.

Gov. Lynch Says Opposition To Northern Pass Means Time For Plan B
NH Public Radio 6/13/11
“PSNH needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with a different model.”

Northern Pass project spurs lobbying effort
Union Leader 6/12/11
Speaking on the opposite side of the Senate debate on the eminent domain bill was Donna Gamache, PSNH’s director of governmental affairs. As a paid lobbyist for PSNH, she’s been in good company this legislative session. Twelve people were registered to lobby on behalf of PSNH and its Northern Pass partners this legislative session, according to records kept by the Secretary of State’s Office. As of late April, PSNH had spent more than $80,000 on lobbying. (It’s not clear how much of this activity concerned Northern Pass.)

Northern Pass occupies Burton’s school visit
White Mountain News 6/10/11
The long-time Executive Councilor continued to prod Governor John Lynch to take a stand against the project. It would make a big difference if Lynch wrote a letter to PSNH and told them, ”No thanks. We’ll use our own power.”

What Lies Ahead For Northern Pass?
WMUR-TV 6/9/11
Northern Pass also needs go-aheads from the forest service and the public utilities commission, and the legislature is still wrestling with issues of eminent domain.

NEWS CONFERENCE Andy Martin opposes “Northern Pass” project in New Hampshire
Andy Martin for President 6/3/11
Republican Presidential Candidate Andy Martin puts New Hampshire’s “Northern Pass” controversy on the presidential campaign agenda. Martin says he has studied the Northern Pass proposal and opposes the project as currently planned. Martin’s appeal to New Hampshire environmentalists is certain to roil the 2012 Republican presidential primary.

DOE Issued Interpretive Guidance
Northern Pass 6/3/11
Thus, while the permit applicant should identify alternative routes and any alternatives it deems practical in the application, DOE reviews a range of alternatives and is not limited to only those alternatives identified by the applicant.

NH Senate Session on HB 648
NH Senate 6/2/11
The complete session of the Senate and debate on HB 648.

NH Senate wants more time on eminent domain bill
Associated Press 6/2/11
The final vote was 14-10 to send it back to the Senate Judiciary Committee for more study. Senators for and against the action agreed the bill was flawed, and although it was designed to change state procedures to take land by eminent domain, debate often focused on the controversial project that inspired the bill: the Northern Pass.

Pass on HB 648: More study needed
Union Leader Editorial 6/2/11
The unintended consequences of this bill could be severe. As Northern Pass is still in the permitting stage, there is no hurry to pass it before its effects are fully understood. The Senate should hold this bill for further study.

Conn. refuses review of massive utilities deal
Associated Press 6/1/11
Connecticut regulators declined Wednesday to review Northeast Utilities' proposed $4.81 billion purchase of a Massachusetts power company, dealing a blow to consumer advocates who fear slower response times to problems and more development in northern New England at the expense of southern New England.

HB 648 opponents: It’s about land rights
Union Leader 6/1/11
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to recommend the bill be retained for study, meaning there would be no decision this year. The Senate is expected to pick up the bill at 1 p.m. Thursday, Senate President Peter Bragdon said. Gov. John Lynch said he has not decided what he would do with the bill if it gets to his desk.

Northern Pass: PSNH disputes drop in value
Union Leader 5/30/11
The Dannises said they do not believe Underwood went on their posted property and saw its magnificent views, which take in Burke Mountain in Vermont. Underwood said he drove by the tract in Dalton off Blakeslee Road, but noted he was not asked to do a full replica appraisal by Northern Pass. Thus, he said, he does not have a before and after value of his own for the property.

Northern Pass Committee Seeks Guidance from Select Board
The Forum 5/26/11
Jeanne Menard appeared before a recent meeting of the (Deerfield) Select Board to ask for a bit more direction as to the role of the Select Board Northern Pass Advisiory Committee. The Committee is gathering facts about the project but requested guidance from the Board as to whether the Committee's function was solely to provide information or could the Committee make recommendations on its own.

North Country Residents Fight Against Northern Pass
WMUR-TV 5/24/11
The views from Roland Cotnoir's hilltop property in Colebrook are nothing short of spectacular, but he said they could be destroyed by a major utility project being planned.

Northern Pass: Pushing a Vermont alternative
Union Leader 5/22/11
VELCO's Johnson said any attempt to piggyback on the Vermont route would be complicated by two wildlife refuges — one federal and one state — designated after those earlier approvals. They are the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge and the West Mountain Wildlife Management Area.

Northern Pass: An Elective Upgrade by the Developer
Bury the Northern Pass 5/20/11
ISO-NE considers Northern Pass to be a "part 4b" project: "these projects may be promoted by any entity electing to support the cost of the transmission changes. The entity sponsoring the changes will have their own justification for their actions." Because they front the cost themselves, Part 4 and 5 projects are not subject to the scrutiny, planning, and management that traditional reliability projects needed to keep the lights on are. The new merchant and participant-funded projects can end-run the lengthy regional planning process by fronting the initial funding themselves, although of course they intend to recover it handsomely later on. Northeast Utilities has said that the motive for Northern Pass is not to keep the lights on, but to respond to "social policy goals" and to make money.

Northern Pass opponents and supporters pack hearing
Union Leader 5/20/11
HB 648 would prohibit public utilities from using the state eminent domain process to take private land for the construction or operation of a transmission facility that is not needed for “system reliability.”

Bill Targeting Northern Pass Could Have Major, Unintended Consequences for the State
PSNH 5/19/11
In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Public Service of New Hampshire today testified in opposition to House Bill 648 (HB 648), noting that the bill as proposed could stop many necessary electric transmission upgrades in New Hampshire—including an upgrade to the Coös Loop—and result in other far-reaching, unforeseen impacts.

Five reasons to back the Northern Pass, by Julia Frayer
Keene Sentinel 5/19/11
Julia Frayer is managing director of the Boston office of London Economics International, a global advisory professional services firm specializing in energy and infrastructure. This column was provided by Public Service Company of New Hampshire, the prime proponent of the project.

More Extension Cords Across New Hampshire?
Bury the Northern Pass 5/17/11
On March 15, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) held a one-day technical conference on merchant and participant-funded transmission. After the conference, various utilities filed written policy comments. On May 5, 2011, NU/NSTAR filed a comment requesting more flexible regulatory treatment by FERC; the full comment is here. In the two sections examined in this post, NU first explains that Northern Pass, a participant funded transmission project, is not needed for reliability: it's not intended to keep the lights on, but to respond to social policy goals and to make money. Second, NU dreams about building more big transmission lines from rural to urban areas.

Comments Of Northeast Utilities And Nstar Electric Company Regarding March 15, 2011 Technical Conference And Supplemental Notice
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 5/17/11
Northeast Utilities' own words that this "participant funded" model is not not needed to keep the lights on.

What We Have Left
Atta Girl Records 5/17/11
New protest song filmed in Thornton.

Taking the Measure of Northern Pass's New Visual Simulations
Bury the Northern Pass 5/16/11
Here is the "visual simulation" of existing poles (left) and the proposed new transmission towers (right) at Forest Lake Road, Whitefield. (There's another pole to the right the same height as the ones on the left).Those towers sure are ugly, aren't they? But let's stick to the numbers for now. Those towers are about to get bigger and uglier (more ugly).

Taking land for private gain is simply just not right
John Harrigan, Union Leader 5/15/11
Opponents of this money-grubbing scheme are convinced that Northern Pass proponents cannot demonstrate a need, which should be an absolute perquisite for taking private property against the owner's will. My bumper-sticker slogan for this is: “No eminent domain for private gain.”

Northern Pass expects to announce land accords for new route
Union Leader 5/15/11
Long said he believes the odds are “very high” Northern Pass will get needed governmental approvals and get built. “With time, the chance goes higher and higher.”

Our Lives are at Stake
"Bulldog" Brian Tilton 5/13/11
Scroll down to page 4 to read Bulldog's call to action.

Hotel New Hampshire: No Vacancy
Bury the Northern Pass 5/13/11
This guest post contains an editorial cartoon by another creative opposition member who has graciously shared her work. We look forward to seeing more.

Power plan sparks outrage
Montreal Gazette 5/13/11
Marc Beloin and wife, Hélène Parizeau, were preparing to retire and turn over their East Hereford farm over to their two daughters when they learned that Hydro-Québec is considering planting a transmission tower on their front pasture for the Quebec leg of the Northern Pass.

Local realtors gather to learn about Northern Pass
Plymouth Record-Enterprise 5/11/11
Among the concerns raised during the question-and-answer session was whether local contractors would have the technical skills needed to install the towers, and whether such small companies would be able to post the required bonds. Donna Gamache, Director of Governmental Affairs at PSNH, explained that Northern Pass officials have already talked with unions such as the IBEW, which have agreed to put up the bonds and hire local labor whenever possible as subcontractors for the actual construction.

Northern Pass believes it will be able to acquire ROWs
Coos County Democrat 5/10/11
Both NSTAR and Northeast Utilities (NU) state in their most recent 10K quarterly reports filed last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Northern Pass Transmission (NPT) expects to be able to acquire the necessary rights-of-way (ROW) to go forward with the controversial project.

Matt Bonner Letter to Media
Matt Bonner 5/10/11
Bulldog Live! was the only radio show and the Pulse was the only radio station to receive this letter.

Quebec and Vermont join hands at ‘Hands Across the Border’ rally
Sherbooke Record 5/9/11
Jan Marvel, a New Hampshire resident and organizer of this weekends “Hands Across the Border” demonstration speaks very passionately about the issue “it has very much so become a personal affair for many people” she continues “it should be one of our basic rights to buy a piece of land or property and be left alone”. As for the purpose of the weekend event, she claims it to be pivotal for Americans to show Quebecers that they are both fighting for the same cause “the event was organized really to show support to the people of Quebec by the thousands of people in New Hampshire that are against the project, people in Quebec don’t necessarily have the support and numbers that we do and those affected by the project can sometimes end up feeling very alone” she says.

Video Report of Hands Across The Border
Colebrook Chronicle 5/8/11
The opposition gathered at the approach to the border crossing and walked in a sea of orange in the direction of the border. Once at the line, they symbollicly linked hands, forming a line which stretched a considerable distance.

In the path of Northern Pass
Concord Monitor 5/8/11
Small town, based on tourism, worries.

Remarks by Will Abbott, SPNHF
Bury The Northern Pass blog 5/8/11
Will Abbott, SPNHF, has kindly shared his prepared remarks delivered at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce "debate" with Gary Long this past week. Will presents a comprehensive overview of the myriad reasons why Northern Pass is a bad idea and a bad deal. He puts matters in their proper perspective, e.g., PSNH may now be focusing on old (existing) rights of way, but they would construct upwards of 1100 new and much higher towers on them. He answers a few of the "unanswered" questions, e.g., in sixty years, has the DOE ever denied a Presidential Permit application?

Northern Pass Says No Legal Reason for DOE To Delay
NHPR 5/5/11
In a filing with the DOE Northern Pass says several court cases make it clear that the motion by the Conservation Law Foundation and other groups “has no legal merit.”

Project response to CLF call to halt the process
Northern Pass 5/5/11
“…The CLF Motion is without legal support. It appears instead to be nothing more than an attempt to delay consideration of the Northern Pass application for a Presidential Permit, a permit that would enable the delivery of clean, low carbon power to New Hampshire and to New England as a whole and that would likely hasten the shutdown of aging, more expensive sources of fossil-fuel generated power. The Motion also seems designed to postpone the day when this job-creating, economic development-enhancing project can begin delivering on the promise it represents for New Hampshire…”

Reel Brook Trail Field Report
Bury The Northern Pass blog 5/2/11
This was so clearly an area where the lines should never have been allowed to go. There must have been extensive damage and erosion during the construction, though, sixty years later, that is covered. There is no way to put new towers, concrete, access roads, and lines up there without unthinkable amounts of destruction. The “project” route must have been thought up by a bunch of people who either didn’t know or didn’t care about the terrain that is there.

The White Mountain National Forest “Roadless Rule” and Northern Pass
Bury The Northern Pass blog 5/1/11
In 2005, the WMNF raised the idea of removing the current PSNH power line in Easton, Lincoln, and North Woodstock. It's time to revisit the idea.

Taking private land sets dangerous precedent
Jasen Stock, NHTOA 4/30/11
As an organization founded 100 years ago on the principle of protecting landowners and their property rights, the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association cannot support any project that would stretch the power of eminent domain. Our board of directors reaffirmed this position following a project briefing with representatives from Public Service of New Hampshire and Northern Pass LLC.

Rep. Bass on Northern Pass at Colebrook meeting
YouTube 4/29/11
Rep Charles Bass met with residents of Colebrook, NH on April 27th and said he would oppose the Northern Pass project until it becomes "manifestly popular." Video from New Hampshire Public Radio.

Newfoundland Premier Bashes Hydro Quebec
Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams 4/30/11
Speech given on June 9, 2010 at a Canadian Club of Ottawa meeting. Speech turns into a no-hold barred attack on Hydro-Quebec and what they will go through to rush this project through NH.

Groups ask to put NH Northern Pass project on hold
Forbes 4/29/11
Among the groups filing the request to delay the Northern Pass project are the Conservation Law Foundation; the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust; the Appalachian Mountain Club; the Coos Community Benefits Alliance; the North Country Council; the Owl's Nest Resort & Golf Club; the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests; and others.

Groups want broader power answers
Concord Monitor 4/29/11
"When you have more than one project and there are cumulative actions and impacts, you should go forward with a single document" reviewing those impacts said Christophe Courchesne, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, which drafted the letter.

Response to broadband question…
Northern Pass 4/28/11
Landowner Susan Schibanoff recently sent a letter to PSNH President Gary Long questioning our recent announcement on how The Northern Pass might assist in the effort to bring broadband technology to areas of the state that are currently without it.

An Open Letter to Mr. Gary Long
Easton Residents 4/26/11
A letter to PSNH President and CEO from five Easton residents about the recent reports that Northern Pass would like to provide broadband internet.

PSNH head touts benefits of hydropower project
Keene Sentinel 4/26/11
“Where I think you’d really notice it ... if we combine our fleet with power from Canada, you’ll see everyone else’s rates go up a lot more than ours,” he said. “New England is sort of a high-cost energy market; we’re hoping to make New Hampshire’s (cost) lower than the rest of New England.”

Couple: Northern Pass kills land value
Union Leader 4/25/11
The results? A 135-acre tract with no home on the site would lose 63 percent of its value. Smaller tracts would see higher losses.

Jim & Sandy Dannis Intervenor Public Scoping Comments to DOE
Jim & Sandy Dannis 4/25/11
This is about their property reports as reported in today's Union Leader.

Who's behind Northern Pass opposition?
Concord Monitor 4/24/11
Former State Sen. Bob Letourneau says it's the same old big-money crowd.

Protect private property from Northern Pass project
Sen. Jeannie Forrester 4/22/11
I am not arguing against clean energy, I am arguing for property rights. And quite rightly, there are others who believe in this basic concept, since it is written into the NH Constitution.

N.H. Family: Northern Pass Would Impact Three Generations
Littleton Record 4/20/11
Erin said Lynch should be fighting to get the permit denied. "He knows the people of New Hampshire don't want this," she said.

Northern Pass exploring broadband in northern NH
NECN 4/20/11
An official says a high-capacity, reliable broadband system has been a major impediment to economic development efforts in the area. Gary Long of Public Service of New Hampshire said Wednesday the intent is to provide "backbone" fiber infrastructure and partner with state and local telecom providers for service to business and residential customers. PSNH is a subsidiary of one of the companies involved in the power project.

From PSNH, more of the same
Jim Rubens 4/20/11
Poor treatment goes back decades.

Northern Pass: No to underwater, underground
Union Leader 4/18/11
As for burying cable underground, the filing cites "prohibitive costs given terrain and geology" and it being "too fanciful or hypothetical to require detailed analysis."

Easton Conservation Commission's Meeting on Northern Pass
Bury Northern Pass 4/17/11
The towers would cross the Easton Valley, entering at an elevation of 1800' on the northwest corner, dropping to 1200' on the valley floor, then climbing to 2600' on the southeast corner in the WMNF. In the fragile habitat of high-elevation spruce-fir forest, 2600' is the highest point for towers along the entire proposed 180-mile route.

New Hampton Resolution
Bulldog Live! 4/16/11
By a vote of 140-5, New Hampton town voters authorized the selectmen to send notice to the governor, state and federal officials that it is the position of the town to oppose Northern Pass.

Congressman Guinta Letter to DOE Secretary Chu
Congressman Frank Guinta 4/15/11
Congressman Guinta urges a very thorough review of the project.

Gov. Lynch Letter to DOE Brian Mills
Governor John Lynch 4/15/11
Gov. Lynch asks DOE to weigh any possible benefit against any negatives.

Public comment period extended for NH on Northern Pass
Associated Press 4/15/11
The U.S. Department of Energy says it will extend by two months the public comment period for the proposed Northern Pass, giving New Hampshire residents more time to weigh in on the power line transmission project. It's now June 14, instead of April 12.

Northern Pass request stirs up residents
Concord Monitor 4/14/11
The request by Northern Pass for the Department of Energy to drop consideration of five controversial alternative routes on its proposed plan to bring hydroelectricity from Canada via 180 miles of power lines has opponents confused and agitated, not placated as the company had hoped.

Important considerations for NH from a Canadian's perspective
Daintre Alberts 4/13/11
Written by a former resident of Quebec who is a non-traditional student at Plymoutbh State University.

Letter to the Governor
NH Association of Conservation Districts 4/13/11
William Stockman, president, writes on behalf of the organization in opposition to Northern Pass.

DOE must step back and consider Northern Pass in its broader context
Conservation Law Foundation 4/13/11
And, consistent with our prior comments and those of Senator Ayotte and Congressman Bass last Friday, our comments also call for DOE’s EIS to consider and compare all reasonable alternatives to the project proposal – including siting, design, and non-generation alternatives. We also emphasize that the EIS must include a searching, technically detailed account of all environmental, social, cultural, and economic impacts associated with the project, as federal law requires.

Northern Pass drops alternatives
Concord Monitor 4/12/11
"We're going to reach out and talk to those communities and make it clear to them," said Gary Long in an interview yesterday. "We don't want people to be concerned when there's not a reason to have a concern."

Why I changed my mind on Northern Pass
Rebecca Brown 4/11/11
Rebecca Brown of Sugar Hill is executive director of the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust, the regional land conservancy for the North Country.

Hydro power's dirty side
Montreal Gazette 4/9/11
On July 25, 2008, two filmmakers and two environmentalist dipped their canoes into the headwaters of the Romaine River on the lower North Shore and began a 500-kilometre trip down nature's version of a condemned man. They were about to travel down a dead river flowing.

Northern Pass backers consider alternative routes
Montreal Gazette 4/9/11
Lynch, after addressing the Conseil des relations internationals de Montréal, said he favours New England's plan to import more Quebec hydro power but is well aware of opposition generated in New Hampshire by the proposed 65-kilometre routing outside the utility right-of-way.

Ayotte, Bass Announce Opposition to Northern Pass in its Current Form
Congressman Charlie Bass 4/8/11
In a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Ayotte and Bass encouraged the Department of Energy (DOE) to study alternative options as it prepares a draft Environmental Impact Statement, including: the feasibility of burying the transmission line; the feasibility of burying the transmission line under the Connecticut River; and the relative impact of using only existing rights-of-way, or other appropriate routes, while also eliminating or minimizing the use of tall towers.

Delegation seeks longer power line comment time
Concord Monitor 4/8/11
Martin Murray, a spokesperson for Northeast Utilities, the company being paid by the Canadian utility Hydro Quebec to complete the project, said that the project supports the extension of the comment period. However, he emphasized that notices were sent to residents about the project in February and early March, in time for them to participate and comment.
Bulldog's Response: I spoke to Deerfield Selectboard chairman Steve Barry on 1/31/11 following the presentation by Northern Pass and I asked him if the board has taken a position on the project and he told me "this is the first time we are hearing of it."

Northern Pass opponents urged to get proactive
Plymouth Record Enterprise 4/6/11
The future of sustainable forestry also depends, at least in part, upon the continued growth here in New Hampshire of the market for forest products, including the biomass plants that are liable to be put out of business if the Northern Pass is approved. The project could have a chilling impact on energy investment funding for the emerging market in locally produced renewable power, "freezing out" investment in biomass, micro hydro and other alternatives.

Northern Pass catches town by surprise
Union Leader 4/6/11
The Neilys said they had to do something after finding red ribbons on their Haynes Road property last December. They discovered through research days later that the ribbons were put there by Northern Pass workers outlining where transmission lines may lie in the future. "We had our house on the market. We took it off because we knew it wasn't going to sell," Gina Neily said.

Northern Pass: Six groups seek info
Union Leader 4/5/11
"We believe that DOE should not only prepare such a report, but also provide the public the opportunity to comment on it. The report on the scoping process that DOE currently intends to issue -- one that simply summarizes public input -- is not enough, especially for this project. The project provides almost no information on alternatives and environmental impacts ... and that lack of information has undermined the public's ability to provide meaningful feedback during the scoping process as a result."

Northern Pass: 2012 campaign issue
Tom Thomson 4/3/11
My suggestion to all potential candidates is to do your homework on this important and very passionate issue, because you will be asked where you stand and "We the People" will be voting come 2012 election.

Northern Pass Knocks on Deerfield's Door
The Forum 3/31/11
We have recently been contacted by agents of Northern Pass regarding the purchase of sections of our property for the purpose of installing these lines. After speaking with several neighbors, we've become quite alarmed at the lack of information present in the community regarding this serious issue. This needs to change. We're calling on every concerned resident to attend an informational meeting at the Deerfield Community School, 66 North Rd., on Tuesday, April 5th at 7pm. The meeting is to be held in the cafeteria.

Northern Pass foes celebrate a win in eminent domain fight
Union Leader 3/31/11
"I am so glad you lost today," said Martin, extending his hand to the Manchester Democrat, who shook his hand. Levasseur was in the minority on a 317-51 vote on Wednesday for a bill that would prevent public utilities from taking private land unless a project is needed for the reliability of the electrical system.

New Hampton selectmen urged to side against Northern Pass
Record-Enterprise 3/30/11
A crowd of about 50, including state Sen. Jeanie Forrester and Sean Thomas from U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta's Manchester office, gathered at the New Hampton School for last Wednesday's meeting, which board Chairman Paul Tierney said the selectmen had scheduled in an effort to gather public input on the project before deciding whether to take a public stance.

NH House votes to slow Northern Pass project
Associated Press 3/30/11
The bill would allow construction if the transmission facility is needed for reliability of the electric grid. Project opponents say that would stop the Northern Pass project from using eminent domain because the electricity from the proposed project is not needed.

Ray Burton's Letter
Ray Burton 3/28/11
Executive Councilor Ray Burton wrote a letter to HydroQuebec, PSNH, Dept. of Energy and White Mountain National Forest.

Northern Pass depends on PSNH, governor says
Concord Monitor 3/27/11
Lynch told Monitor editors last week that he supports the project because it will create jobs and bring to the electric grid as much energy as the state's entire energy load. But he said PSNH must gain the support of the people who would live near the power lines.

A closer look at the Northern Pass project
Union Leader 3/27/11
Much of the debate centers on a simple question: What would Northern Pass look like? The answer: Not sure yet.

Forest Society Calls For Withdrawal Of Northern Pass Proposal
Society for the Protection of NH Forests 3/25/11
Power Companies Should Listen to the Public, Go Back to the Drawing Board.

Hundreds show up for Northern Pass hearing in North Haverhill
The Bridge Weekly 3/24/11
Half of New Hampshire’s Congressional delegation was there to speak with members of of the crowd. US Senator Kelly Ayotte and US Representative Charles Bass appeared at the session and stood with the crowd as the testimony wore on through the afternoon. The hearing began at 1:00 and was to end at 4:00 but people stayed on for 30 more minutes.

In House, a vote for Northern Pass foes
Union Leader 3/24/11
Rep. Naeda Kaen, D-Durham, said the presence of concerned property owners made a difference in how quickly the committee acted. "To sit idly by and see all these people in such stress would have been inappropriate," she said. "My concern was to provide relief for those people who are stuck in limbo and will be as long as it takes to get the questions around this project settled."

Northern Pass Project Hits Snag
WMUR-TV 3/23/11
The House Science Technology and Energy Committee voted Tuesday in favor of the bill, which would prevent public utilities from taking private land to build a plant or transmission facility.

Opponents Crowd Haverhill Public Hearing on Northern Pass
Valley News 3/21/11
“If you've had an impacted wisdom tooth, you know how that feels, and you know what you need to do. You need to extract that problem. So let's extract the Northern Pass,” Schibanoff said.

Gingrich says he's best candidate, rips Obama
Union Leader 3/20/11
Asked about the local furor over Northeast Utilities' plan to build the Northern Pass high-voltage power line to bring Canadian hydroelectric power through New Hampshire to southern New England, Gingrich said: "There's a way to get to a 'yes, if' rather a 'no' on that. Under what circumstance would (opponents) say 'yes?'

Northern Pass foes voice their objections
Laconia Citizen 3/19/11
Whoever came up with the alternate route for Northern Pass, said Marocco, "could not have devised a more environmentally destructive path."

PUC: Northern Pass incentives too high
Union Leader 3/18/11
In the February order, federal regulators granted Northern Pass's request for a 1.66 percent incentive before the transmission line is operational, a 0.92 percent incentive after it is operational and a .5 percent incentive when the company joins a Regional Transmission Organization. The PUC notes the effect of the incentive awards is an overall rate-of-return on investment of 12.56 percent, compared to regional electric grid operator's -- Independent System Operator-New England -- current rate of return of 11.14 percent on transmission projects.

Request For Rehearing Of The The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission
NH Public Utilities Commission 3/17/11
This is the formal document from the NH PUC.

Northern Pass divides crowd
Concord Monitor 3/16/11
Unlike the first meeting the department held in Pembroke on Monday night, where strong opposition dominated the discourse, the hearing in Franklin seemed to have at least as many supporters as detractors. Many who spoke in favor of the project were from Franklin, where a $250 million converter station is planned. Proponents said that the city is struggling economically and could use the boost to the tax base.

Northern Pass hailed, criticized at forum
Laconia Citizen 3/16/11
City Manager Elizabeth Dragon said the economic benefits of the project would be far reaching, noting that over half the city's students or one out of every two qualify for free or reduced lunch because they are living in poverty.

Hundreds turn out to oppose Northern Pass project
Union Leader 3/15/11
Hundreds of people from Hudson to Stewartstown packed Pembroke Academy High School on Monday night to say they're against the Northern Pass hydroelectric project because it threatens to destroy 180 miles of scenic views and numerous homes along its path.

Northern Pass elicits debate
Laconia Citizen 3/11/11
Speaking in favor of the article for disapproval was former Grafton County Commissioner Martha Richards whose property the power line would pass. "New Hampshire is only to be a conduit for this project of greed," Richards warned. "I attended a hearing in Concord earlier today and they came there from as far away as Colebrook and Pittsburg to object."

Opposition Articles All Approved
Colebrook Chronicle 3/11/11
Dozens of towns up and down the Connecticut River voted on a non-binding warrant article during Town Meetings this week to gauge how residents feel about the proposed Northern Pass transmission line project.

House committee delays bill that would impede Northern Pass
Union Leader 3/10/11
The House Science, Technology and Energy Committee voted 13-5 to hold on to HB 648, which would have prevented utilities from using eminent domain to take land for “a private, large-scale transmission line.” The committee voted 14-4 to also retain HB 649 which would require a regional planning commission to issue a cost benefit analysis of similar projects before the state Site Evaluation Committee.

Northern Pass: Redux Of 1970's Pope County Michigan
Granite Grok 3/10/11
Once Big Power has a lock on your land, they control how you use that portion of land and anything in proximity that they perceive to have an effect. They may exercise a right to keep people off of the land, even the owner! Big Power will often control specifically what activities you engage in on your land. They might write restrictions into leases and easements that effectively vest some future property right against your interests. The only hope and remedy private citizens have against the behemoth big power company willing to take their land, is HB 648.

NPT asks DOE to end Normandeau Associates role in EIS process
Northern Pass 3/7/11
In it’s letter to the DOE, the project acknowledged some public expressions of concern regarding the use of Normandeau in developing a single body of environmental data for both the federal EIS process and the state permitting process.

Northern Pass hearing: Busloads expected
Union Leader 3/7/11
Rappaport said his bill, if made law, would preclude for-profit transmission projects from the state's eminent domain law.

Bills bar NH regulators from using eminent domain to take land for Northern Pass Project
Associated Press 3/6/11
The House Science, Technology and Energy Committee has reserved the House chamber, which holds over 400 people, for the hearings. Both bills would prohibit state regulators from seeking permission to take private property by eminent domain for the construction or operation of a private, large-scale transmission line.

No long-term benefit to the state
Concord Monitor 3/5/11
Jane Difley is the president/forester of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

In Groveton: Pipeline Asks For $5 Million Abatement
Colebrook Chronicle 3/4/11
Bottom of page 1 and continued on page 18.

Eye on Concord presents: "NORTHERN PASS" A Primer of What’s to Come - Part I
Eye on Concord 3/2/11
Homes, land, businesses and essential livelihoods of NH residents are in jeopardy.

Building up the state’s energy future, by Gary A. Long
Keene Sentinel 3/2/11
Gary A. Long is president and chief operating officer of Public Service of New Hampshire.

On the trail of the Northern Pass project
Union Leader 2/28/11
Reporter Paula Tracy traveled to Coos County to tour the proposed route of the Northern Pass hydropower high-transmission line.

Northern Pass opponents meet with Shaheen
Union Leader 2/27/11
"People come up to this region to get away," said Lancaster Realtor Peter Powell, who noted that in the few months since the project was announced, "properties have been stigmatized. It's already hurting us, and it hasn't even happened yet."

Conflict Of Interest- Northern Pass and Its Consultant
Valley News 2/26/11
To be clear: Normandeau has been hired both to promote the corporate interests of private utilities underwriting Northern Pass and to advise a federal agency responsible for protecting the public's interest as it relates to Northern Pass. It's like a law firm representing both plaintiff and defendant.

Shaheen Wins Extra Hearing on Northern Pass; Presses Administration on Conflict of Interest
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen 2/23/11
"The citizens of our state have many unanswered questions and many concerns about this project, and their voices should be heard," Shaheen said. "An exhaustive and fair environmental review process is mandated by law, and I intend to see that process is followed."

Northern Pass critics speak out
Foster's Daily Democrat 2/20/11
As to concerns that Northern Pass would put small biomass energy producers in the state out of business, Long said that was a "red herring," but Burton on Friday questioned PSNH's seeming reluctance to sign contracts to buy power from plants in Bridgewater, Tamworth and Bethlehem.

VIDEO: Northern Pass Route Unveiled
Colebrook Chronicle 2/18/11
After a four-month wait, residents of Pittsburg and Clarksville finally received information on the routing of the Northern Pass transmission line through their towns during selectmen meetings on Monday night.

Northern Pass foes charge conflict
Concord Monitor 2/18/11
Opponents say the Department of Energy - the agency responsible for evaluating the environmental impact of power projects that would cross international borders - should have selected any other firm except Normandeau Associates. The Bedford-based environmental consulting firm was hired by Northern Pass, the company heading the project, to assist it in obtaining the federal permit by providing information to the DOE and other agencies and to help win state approval, which would occur later.

Taking stands on the issues
Laconia Citizen 2/18/11
During a question-and-answer period Sharps asked them what they thought of the Northern Pass project and what they thought about the fact that the town still pays 100 percent of employee health insurance premiums. Heidenreich said she believes the project will become a reality whether or not Ashland approves. "We need to fight for our town and make sure property values are not decreased by it," Heidenreich said. Steward said she opposes the project and feels it would make the town uglier and lower property values. Straw and Coleman agreed. Potter said he was undecided; the project has pros and cons. One pro is that it is clean energy. A con is the towers that would be placed in Ashland and throughout the state. Golden also said he has mixed feelings.

Northern Pass path at border revealed
Union Leader 2/17/11
The Indian Stream Farm, owned by John Amey, and the Washburn Family Forest, owned by the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, could see huge transmission towers in their midst as the line crosses Route 3 and the Connecticut River in the preferred route. Amey said it is "about time they came through with that information ... They were supposed to have it in by Jan. 31, and they missed it by a couple weeks."

Eminent Domain Letter
"A Concerned Citizen" 2/17/11
This is what eminent domain looks like right next door in Vermont involving a utility company. The resident in this letter requested anonymity.

Environmental Groups Want Normandeau Assoc Out of Northern Pass Study
NHPR 2/16/11
In order for the U.S. Department of Energy to approve the project, the DOE must consider an environmental impact statement. That study would evaluate potential environmental, social, cultural, and economic impacts.” The Department of Energy has given the work to Normandeau Associates, an environmental consulting firm from Bedford. NorthernPassofficials asked the Department of Energy to give Normandeau the deal. But Normandeau Associates is already working for Northern Pass, helping it to get state permits.

Northern Pass advocates make their case, seek dialogue
Laconia Citizen 2/15/11
Brosseau agreed, saying the fact that people talked to him about Northern Pass "doesn't mean you support the project." He later said Northern Pass would use eminent domain only as a last resort to acquire land.

Find a way to bring hydro power south
Concord Monitor Editorial 2/13/11
Also missing from the arguments of objectors: the potential of replacing a big chunk of the electricity now generated by burning fossil fuels with renewable, hydroelectric power from existing reservoirs in a system that has excess capacity. New and widened power corridors harm New Hampshire's forests. But the forests will be harmed far more if climate change isn't minimized.

Fed hearings scheduled for NH power project
Associated Press 2/12/11
Hearings are Monday, March 14, Pembroke Academy; Tuesday, March 15, Franklin Opera House; Wednesday, March 16, Mountain Club on Loon, Lincoln; Thursday, March 17, Mountain View Grand Hotel, Whitefield; and Saturday, March 19, Colebrook Elementary School. Colebrook's hearing is 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; the others are 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Department of Energy Environmental Impact Statement Public Scoping Meeting
U.S. Dept. of Energy 2/11/11
Northern Pass Transmission LLC (Northern Pass) applied to DOE for a Presidential permit to construct, operate, maintain, and connect a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line across the U.S.-Canada border. The proposed HVDC transmission line would be capable of transmitting up to 1,200-MW of power in either direction (Canada to the United States; United States to Canada). The line would extend south from the U.S.-Canada international border approximately 140 miles to a HVDC converter terminal that would be constructed in Franklin, New Hampshire. The converter terminal would convert the direct current to alternating current (AC) and allow the HVDC line to connect to a new 345-kv AC line that Northern Pass proposes to construct between the Franklin converter and the existing Deerfield Substation in Deerfield, New Hampshire.

Northern Pass Transmission Service Agreement approved by FERC
Federal Energy Regulatory Committee 2/11/11
Northern Pass explains that, under section 3 of the TSA, the parties have the right to terminate the TSA under certain circumstances subject to certain cost reimbursement obligations. During the development phase, the construction phase, or following commercial operation, Northern Pass states that HQ Hydro may terminate the TSA for convenience.

Ignore the Northern Pass fear and rhetoric
NH Business Review 2/11/11
Joe Casey is president of the New Hampshire State Building and Construction Trades Council.

Opposition, supporters power up their Northern Pass positions
The Bridge Weekly 2/10/11
Haverhill Town Manager Glenn English said last week that a petitioned article opposing the project will be included in the March 8 annual town meeting warrant.
story continues

Residents push for buried lines
Concord Monitor 2/7/11
"I don't know what the good part is. What would be the good part?" said Pastoriza, a stay-at-home mother who's part of a group called Bury the Northern Pass, one of several formed in opposition. Their take: If the project can't be stopped, why not bury the lines underground?

Officials: Burying the lines not feasible
WCAX-TV 2/6/11
The proposed Northern Pass Project would carry Canadian hydroelectric power to the New England grid. Some North Country residents are concerned that a 40-mile section of the transmission line would be an eyesore and effect tourism and property values in the region.

John Harrigan: Northern Pass is about greed, not green
John Harrigan, Union Leader 2/6/11
Sunday News outdoor columnist and former North Country newspaper publisher John D. Harrigan shares with our readers today a letter he sent to state Sen. John Gallus, R-Berlin, regarding the proposed Northern Pass powerline project proposed by Hydro Quebec and the parent company of Public Service of New Hampshire.

Northern Pass Explained?
Deerfield Forum 2/5/11
Locally, the preferred route follows that of the current 7.3 mile PSNH ROW through Deerfield which enters from Allenstown near Bear Brook State Park. If that route is selected, 5.3 miles will require an expansion of the ROW by 35 feet or more.

Opposition Meeting Addresses Landowners’ Rights
Colebrook Chronicle 2/4/11
The meeting was moderated by Peter Riviere of Lancaster, who said, “This project is in New Hampshire’s backyard. Nobody is going to be unscathed by this. Unfortunately, folks below here are not well informed. The press below here is not well informed.” But, he said, “The coalition is building. This is a uniting issue—it’s about as uniting as New Hampshire has ever seen.”

Letter to the Editor
Russ Johnson 1/29/11
Public Service has a horrible track record. Look at the Seabrook Nuclear plant. Poor management and government regulations put the cost of construction into the stratosphere. Costs you are still paying for on your electric bill and they only completed one of the proposed three generators. Make no mistake about it. It’s cheaper to go through private land and or use the eminent domain trump card than any other alternatives.

Hydro-Québec asks customers to reduce consumption during cold snap
Montreal Gazette 1/24/11
The utility is expecting an unusually high demand for electricity Monday and Tuesday as Quebecers cope with temperatures that are forecast to be around minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Power plan has local connection
Concord Monitor 1/21/11
Worries about how transmission lines would affect property values, scenic views and the environment, echo sentiments heard in the North Country, where the proposal of 40 new miles of right of way has sparked significant protest.

What is Merchant Transmission?
Bury the Northern Pass 1/19/11
In March 2006, Canada-based New York Regional Interconnect Inc. (NYRI) sought state approval to erect a 190-mile aerial HVDC transmission line from Marcy, New York to the outskirts of New York City. It was to ship a massive amount of power generated by upstate big hydro sources south to the energy-hungry metropolitan area. Its route would have ripped through thirty seven towns and villages and countless farms and then down through the Catskills and the historic Hudson River valley. The line was to be private, a merchant transmission venture.

Northern Pass sign bares local anger
Union Leader 1/12/11
Since losing his job as a mechanical engineer a few years ago when Wausau Paper in Groveton shut down, McCullock and his dad have been nurturing the sugar bush on 70 acres, tapping 1,400 maple trees. Last spring, Mystical Mountain Maple Syrup produced 375 gallons. "We've done a lot of things over the past 20 years and now this is going to run through the middle of the best section," McCullock said of the $1 billion Northern Pass project, which was unveiled in October.

Northern Pass: 'Green' has consequences
Union Leader 1/2/11
All of which leaves Public Service Company of New Hampshire in a fix, partly of its own making. (PSNH and its owner no doubt plan to use Northern Pass power as a RGGI carbon offset.)

Northern Pass Transmission LLC files Transmission Service Agreement with FERC
Business Wire 12/16/10
"This project is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to align energy and environmental policy in a way that will be of enormous economic benefit to New Hampshire electric consumers, while providing HQ access to New England's competitive marketplace for its low-carbon, hydroelectric power," said Gary Long, president and chief operating officer of Public Service Company of New Hampshire. "Because of the participant-funded model, the Northern Pass line will be entirely paid for by H.Q. Hydro Renewable Energy, Inc, and customers' rates will not increase from this project. In addition, the construction and operation of the line will create hundreds of local jobs and provide significant tax benefits for the citizens of more than 30 New Hampshire communities," Long added.

Nature Conservancy public comments filed with the Department of Energy
Nature Conservancy 12/10/10
The Nature Conservancy has helped to protect over 270,000 acres in New Hampshire by utilizing sound conservation science and working with a wide variety of public and private partners. As one of the state’s largest land trusts, we own and manage 30 preserves comprising 25,000 acres of land throughout the state and hold conservation easements on more than 37,000 acres.

Is this what the project could look like?:

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Presidential Permit/Dept. of Energy:

Public Scoping Meetings Notice 2/11/11

US Dept. of Energy, Response to Letters and Motions Objecting to Selection of EIS Contractor 2/16/11

US Dept. of Energy, Addendum Update to Presidential Permit Application 2/15/11

Northern Pass Presidential Permit Application (PDF) 10/14/10

Federal Register Notice (PDF) 11/16/10

MOU among DOE, Northern Pass and Normandeau Associates (PDF) 12/1/10

Northern Pass Answer to Motions to Dismiss and Motions to Intervene(PDF) 1/6/11

DOE Letter to Interveners (PDF) 1/27/11

North Country Council Response
Motion to Intervene (MS Word) 12/14/10

Letter to Towns (MS Word) 12/17/10

Survey of Towns (MS Word)

The Nature Conservancy Response
Nature Conservancy public comments filed with the Department of Energy (pdf) 12/20/10

Conservation Law Foundation
Scoping Comments Of The Conservation Law Foundation (pdf) 4/13/11

Motion To Stay Proceedings And For Preparation Of Comprehensive Assessment Of Need For Imports Of Canadian Energy Into Northeastern United States (pdf) 4/28/11

Official comments from The Wilderness Society on the Northern Pass Transmission line (pdf) 7/7/11

Conservation Law Fondation's Updated EIS Comment (pdf) 10/16/11

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Interview with Jack Savage 4/18/12:
Jack Savage of the Society for Protection of NH Forests discussed their investigation into issues of Northern Pass wanted to use existing ROWs and what legal challenges there might be.

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Deerfield Meeting 4/10/12:
Over 100 people attended a meeting of concerned citizens at the Deerfield Community School to hear from opponents to the Northern Pass project in a moderated panel discussion.
Listen Here...

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Interview with Martin Murray 4/25/12:
Martin Murray is the spokesman for Northern Pass & PSNH and was a guest on NH Today with Jack Heath to promote Northern Pass
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Interview with Will Abbott 4/25/12:
Will Abbott of the Society for Protection of NH Forests was a guest on NH Today and spoke in opposition of Northern Pass.
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Interview with Jim Dannis 4/5/12:
Jim Dannis and his wife Sandy are PSNH ratepayers from Dalton and filed a couple of motions to the NH Public Utilities Commission and the PUC commissioners made a ruling yesterday on one of them. More info from REAL's blog.
Listen

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Interview with Gail Darrell 3/26/12:
Gail Darrell is the New England Community Organizer for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund and discussed the recent local basis through Rights-Based Ordinances passed at some town meetings and what they mean and how they function. Visit www.celdf.org for more info.
Listen

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Interview with Nicolas Boisclaire 3/12/12:
Christophe Courchesne of the Conservation Law Foundation talks about the movie Seeking the Current and the effects of large scale hydro projects on the environment.
Part 1    Part 2

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Interview with Christophe Courchesne 3/5/12:
Christophe Courchesne of the Conservation Law Foundation talks about the movie Seeking the Current and the effects of large scale hydro projects on the environment.
Part 1    Part 2

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Ray Burton Hearing on PUC Nominees 2/8/12:
Executive Councilor Ray Burton held a public hearing on two of Gov. Lynch's nominees for the NH Public Utilities Commission. The full Executive Council will hold a hearing on February 22, 2012 at 1:30pm in the Council Chambers at the State House.

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Gov. John Lynch Statement 1/31/12:
During his State of the State Address to a joint session of the Legislature, Gov. Lynch made comments regarding the Northern Pass proposal.

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Senate Debate on HB 648 1/25/12:
Full audio of the Senate debating and roll call on HB 648 along with amendments to read. Listen

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Interview with Sandi Hannequin & Jim Monahan:
Sandi Hannequin of the New England Power Generators Association and Jim Monahan from The DuPont Group talk about a study they conducted that shows the jobs impact from the proposed Northern Pass project will be much lower than predicted by the project proponents.

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Interview with Jack Savage 12/28/11:
Jack Savage of the Society for Protection of NH Forests discussed their approved Purchase & Sale Agreement for the conservation easement of 5800 acres of the Balsams property as well as their fundraising effort to raise $850,000 by January 15th to complete the deal. Visit www.forestsociety.org for more info and also their blog for updates: http://savethebalsamslandscape.blogspot.com.

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Interview with Jeanie Forrester & Gene Chandler 12/28/11:
State Sen. Jeanie Forrest (R-Meredith) and State Rep. Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett) discussed the Northern Pass attempted interference in the sale of the Balsams conservation easement to the Society for Protection of NH Forests. Sen. Forrester also discussed HB 648 which is coming up for a Senate floor fight on January 18, 2012.

Part 1    Part 2

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HB 648 Executive Session 12/8/11:
The Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive session on HB 648 relative to eminent domain by public utilities. This bill was re-referred to the committee back in June. Amendments were made to the original bill. Over 100 were in attendence and most were wearing orange.

Listen here

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Interview with Gail Darrell 12/1/11:
Gail Darrell is the New England Community Organizer for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund and discussed how citizens can fight Northern Pass on a local basis through Rights-Based Ordinances. Visit www.celdf.org for more info.
Listen

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Holderness Meeting 11/2/11:
Over 50 people attended an opposition meeting at Holderness Central School to discuss the latest in the fight against Northern Pass, issues of existing ROWs that need to be addressed and to answer the audience questions.

Listen here

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Colebrook Meeting 10/29/11:
Over 100 people attended a landowner's meeting at Colebrook Elementary School to discuss the latest updates in opposition to Northern Pass, what could be the new route Northern Pass is seeking as well as some courageous landowners who have turned down Northern Pass' attempts to purchase their land.

Listen here

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Interview with Kelly Ayotte 10/13/11:
U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte was asked about the Dept. of Energy and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's proposal to take power away from approving and siting transmission lines. Read story
Listen

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Interview with Michele Bachmann 10/3/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann was asked about Northern Pass.
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Interview with Jon Huntsman 9/29/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman was asked about Northern Pass.
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Interview with Ovide Lamontagne 9/19/11:
Republicaqn gubernatorial candidate Ovide Lamontagne was asked ab out Northern Pass in his first interview since announcing his candidacy.
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Interview with Donna Jordan 9/15/11:
Donna Jordan of the Colebrook Chronicle talked about Northern Pass attempting to buy properties along the original proposed routes despite their promise that they would seek alternate routes due to strong opposition.
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Interview with Rick Perry 8/17/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry was asked about Northern Pass.
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Interview with Buddy Roemer 8/8/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Buddy Roemer was asked about Northern Pass.
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Colebrook Rally 7/29/11:
Republican Presidential Candidate Andy Martin held a rally at the Colebrook Country Club on the eve of his "Walk the Line" March.

Listen here

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Interview with Newt Gingrich 7/26/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was asked about Northern Pass.
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Interview with Margaret Jones 7/20/11:
Margaret Jones is a N. Stratford property owner who has started a video series "Land Grab Nightmare".
Part 1    Part 2    Part 3

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Interview with Rick Santorum 7/18/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum was asked again about Northern Pass.
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Interview with Gary Johnson 6/27/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Gary Johnson was asked about Northern Pass.
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Interview with Charlie Bass 6/24/11:
Congressman Charlie Bass (R-2nd NH) was asked about the extention of the Public Scoping period for Northern Pass.
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Interview with Tim Pawlenty 6/10/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty was asked about Northern Pass.
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Interview with Rick Santorum 6/9/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum was asked about Northern Pass.
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Bristol Meeting 6/6/11:
This portion of a longer interview with Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) dealt with eminent domain issues.
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Interview with Andy Martin 6/6/11:
Republican Presidential candidate Andy Martin is the first candidate to speak out against Northern Pass and chose Bulldog Live! as the first place to announce his stance.
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Interview with Thaddeus McCotter 6/3/11:
This portion of a longer interview with Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) dealt with eminent domain issues.
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Senate Debate on HB 648 6/2/11:
Full audio of the Senate debating and roll call on HB 648. Listen

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Interview with Rick Samson 5/31/11:
Rick Samson of Stewartstown called in to discuss landowners closing off their properties in protest.
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Interview with Jeanie Forrester 5/31/11:
State Sen. Jeanie Forrester of Meredith discussed HB 648 which is coming up for a vote before the full senate tomorrow.
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Interview with D.J. Bettencourt 5/27/11:
House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt of Salem brought up the topic of HB 648 in an interview that was about the state budget.
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HB 648 Hearing 5/19/11:
A public hearing HB 648 relative to eminent domain by public utilities was held before Senate Judiciary Committee. About 400 were in attendance (most of them wearing orange).

Listen here

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Interview with Andy Sanborn 5/19/11:
State Sen. Andy Sanborn discussed HB 648 and eminent domain issues.
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Interview with Matt Bonner 5/18/11:
Matt Bonner, NBA basketball star from Concord discussed his opposition to the Northern Pass project. He grew up in Concord where he graduated with high honors from CHS. He won three basketball State Championships, earned a full scholarship at the U Florida, where he was a basketball and academic All-American. He plays for the NBA San Antonia Spurs where he won an NBA Championship. Matt worked on this letter while he was in the NBA Playoffs. He could have waited until it was over but he felt expressing his opposition to the NP was too important
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Interview with Tom Thomson 5/18/11:
Tom Thomson, tree farmer from Orford discussed private property rights and why it is important to pass HB 648.
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Interview with Larry Rappaport 5/18/11:
State Rep. Larry Rappaport (R-Colebrook) is the prime sponsor of HB 648.
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Interview with Jasen Stock 5/18/11:
Jasen Stock, Executive Director of the NH Timberland Owners Association discussed his support for HB 648 which will protect landowners.
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Interview with Will Abbott 5/11/11:
Will Abbott VP for Policy & Land Management Society for the Protection of NH Forests talks about HB 648.
Part 1    Part 2

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Pittsburg Meeting 5/7/11:
Following the Hands Across the Border rally in Beecher Falls, Vt., there was opposition information meeting in Pittsburg to talk about legislative updates as well as a presentation by the Society for the Protection of NH Forests and other issues that are being learned about.

Listen here

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Hands Across the Border 5/7/11:
The opposition movement to Northern Pass has grown to be an international issue. A number of opposition members from Quebec and New Hampshire joined hands at the Beacher Falls, Vt. border crossing to bring awareness to both American and Canadian media.

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Chichester Selectmen 4/26/11:
State Rep. Brandon Giuda gave an overview on HB 648 which would ban eminent domain from being used for a Northern Pass type project. Sen. Jack Barnes spoke about his support for the bill and how he reached that conclusion and was joined by Sen. Jeanne Forrester of Merideth. About 50 people were in attendance.

Listen here

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Interview with Jim Dannis 4/25/11:
Jim Dannis and his wife Sandy had an independent appraisal of their property values as well as an independent environmental analysis and the results are stunning and completely contrary to anything Northern Pass officials have said so far about "minimal impacts".
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New Hampton Meeting 4/12/11:
Over 55 people attended a meeting of concerned citizens at the New Hampton Community School to hear a presentation by Will Abbott of the Society for Protection of NH Forests.
Listen Here...

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Interview with Martin Murray 4/12/11:
Martin Murray, spokesman for Northern Pass talked about the revised route options that NP filed with the U.S. Dept. of Energy. View old map, view new map. Read Project Journal entry for April 12th to see the new filings.
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Hanover Meeting 4/11/11:
Over 60 people attended a meeting of concerned citizens at the Richmond Middle School in Hanover to hear a presentation by Will Abbott of the Society for Protection of NH Forests, Real Estate Agent Peter Powell and Attorney Bob Baker.
Listen Here...

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Interview with Charlie Bass 4/11/11:
Congressman Charlie Bass (R-2nd) talked abut his opposition along with Sen. Ayotte to the project as well as his call for extending the public comment period on the EIS.
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Press Conference with Gov. John Lynch 4/8/11:
Gov. John Lynch did a conference call with NH media from his trip to Montreal, Quebec on his trade mission, but from the very first question it became about Northern Pass.
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Interview with Katie Rose 4/8/11:
Katie Rose of Whitefield discussed her Northern Pass protest song "Live Free or Die".
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Deerfield Meeting 4/5/11:
Over 100 people attended a meeting of concerned citizens at the Deerfield Community School to hear primarily from opponents to the Northern Pass project.
Listen Here...

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Interview with Christophe Courchesne 4/4/11:
Christophe Courchesne of the Conservation Law Foundation talks about how wide the scope of review should be.
Part 1    Part 2

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Public Scoping Meeting- Haverhill 3/20/11:
The U.S. Dept. of Energy held the seventh in a series of Public Scoping Meetings on the Northern Pass Project. They held their seventh and last one in Haverhill. There were approximately 280 in attendance.
Listen Here...

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Public Scoping Meeting- Plymouth 3/18/11:
The U.S. Dept. of Energy held the fifth in a series of Public Scoping Meetings on the Northern Pass Project. They held their fifth one in Plymouth. There were approximately 670 in attendance.
Listen Here...

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Public Scoping Meeting- Franklin 3/15/11:
The U.S. Dept. of Energy held the second in a series of Public Scoping Meetings on the Northern Pass Project. They held their second one in Franklin. There were approximately 350 in attendance.
Listen Here...

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Public Scoping Meeting- Pembroke 3/14/11:
The U.S. Dept. of Energy held the first of a series of Public Scoping Meetings on the Northern Pass Project. They held their first one in Pembroke. There were approximately 500 in attendance.
Listen Here...

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Interview with Russ & Kathy Johnson 3/10/11:
Russ & Kathy Johnson of Columbia discussed their experience at the state house yesterday testifying on HB 648 & HB 649.
Part 1    Part 2    Part 3

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Interview with John Harrigan 3/4/11:
NH Wake Up Show host Peter St. James interviewed Union Leader outdoors writer John Harrigan about the Northern Pass.
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Interview with Attorney Bob Baker 3/7/11:
Bob Baker is in attorney who lives in Columbia, NH and talked about HB 468 which would ban eminent domain for a project like Northern Pass.
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Chichester Selectmen 3/1/11:
Officials from Northern Pass gave a presentation to Chichester selectmen at their regular meeting.

Listen here

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Interview with Tom Mullen & Darlene King 2/23/11:
Tom Mullen, owner of the Owl's Nest Resort in Campton and Darlene King of King Realty in Campton talked with Bulldog Live! about how the project is affecting their businesses.
Part 1    Part 2    Part 3

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Interview with Ken Merrifield 2/14/11:
Franklin Mayor Ken Merrifield talked with Bulldog Live! about how the project will support his city.
Part 1    Part 2.

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Interview with Joel Harrington 2/9/11:
Joel Harrington, Director of Government Relations with The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire explains their opposition to the Northern Pass.
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HB 302 Hearing 2/8/11:
A public hearing HB 302 relative to renewable energy portfolios was held before House Science, Technology and Energy Committee. Following action on the bill, a Public Information Session was held on the Northern Pass project.

Listen here

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Interview with Ray Burton 2/1/11:
In a brief interview with District 1 Executive Councilor Ray Burton, he states his position on the Northern Pass project.
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Deerfield Selectmen 1/31/11:
Officials from Northern Pass gave a presentation to Deerfield selectmen at their regular meeting.

Listen here and see presentation

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Colebrook Meeting 1/28/11:
On January 28, 2011, over 120 people gathered at Colebrook Elementary school to listen to a presentation of concerned citizens, business owners, real estate agents, an attorney and a state representative.

Listen here...

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Interview with Martin Murray 1/27/11:
Northern Pass spokesman Martin Murray talked with Bulldog Live! about the project.
Part 1    Part 2.

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Interview with Rick Samson 12/30/10:
Rick Samson, a resident of Stewartstown and former selectman and planning board member, talked with Bulldog Live! about the project and implications it could have for the North Country.
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Find your State Legislators:

Getting in contact with your state representative is usually very easy to do. You can find your state legislators on this clickable map through the NH General Court's website or lookup by name.

NH Site Evaluation Committee Members

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