Hydro-Quebec obtained a partial legal victory for its electricity transmission line to Maine on Tuesday, when the Supreme Court of that state ruled that the referendum whose result opposed the passage of the line was unconstitutional.
According to the court, it was the retroactive nature of the referendum that violated the promoter’s constitutional rights.
The victory is not complete, however, since the highest court in the state has at the same time ordered the referral of the legal proceedings to the court of first instance, in this case the Superior Court of Maine. This means that the US partner of the Quebec Crown corporation, New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) Transmission LLC, will now have to demonstrate that it has obtained the necessary permits and authorizations in accordance with existing laws and regulations and that the work in progress continued on the basis of them in good faith.
In addition, another decision by the Supreme Court of Maine is yet to come, namely that on the validity of the lease obtained by Hydro-Québec’s partner on public lands where a 1.4 kilometer section of the transmission line is to pass. contested.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Hydro-Quebec said it and NECEC Transmission LLC are “currently reviewing the court rulings to determine the next steps and potential impacts on the transmission line construction schedule.” .
The state-owned company takes the opportunity to recall that NECEC obtained the building permits “following an independent and rigorous process” which recognized “the environmental and economic advantages of the project”.
The American-Quebec project aims to eventually export Quebec electricity, up to 1,200 megawatts, which represents enough electricity to supply one million homes.
Most of the 233 kilometer transmission line must be built in existing corridors, but a new 85 kilometer route must be built to reach the Canadian border.
The workers were already cutting down trees when the state governor called for the work to be suspended following the referendum. Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection was then to suspend his permit, but that decision could be overturned depending on the outcome of the legal proceedings.
The referendum on this project proved to be the most costly in Maine’s history, with a bill of 90 million US dollars, and led to deep divisions.