Resolve, To Require a Study of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions from the Proposed Central Maine Power Company Transmission Corridor
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0640
Committee Amendment CA_A-SA_A_S91 (Senate)

SENATE AMENDMENT "f\:-" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 202, 
L.D. 640, "Resolve, To Require a Study of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions from 
the Proposed Central Maine Power Company Transmission Corridor" 
Amend the amendment in section 1 in the 6th to 8th lines (page 1, lines 19 to 21 in 
amendment) by striking out the following: "total greenhouse gas emissions across all 
jurisdictions interconnected with electricity generation and distribution systems operated 
by the Hydro-Quebec company" and inserting the following: 
'Maine and other New 
England states, New York, Ontario and New Brunswick greenhouse gas emissions' 
Amend the amendment in section 1 by striking out all of subsections 1 and 2 (page 1, 
lines 30 to 38 and page 2, lines 1 to 17 in amendment) and inserting the following: 
'1. Except as provided in subsection 3, the department shall enter into an agreement 
with an independent, nongovernmental organization with expertise in energy and 
environmental policy and analysis, referred to in this section as "the consultant," to 
conduct the study described in this section. The consultant shall submit to the department 
a final report regarding its findings no later than July 31, 2019. 
The selection of the 
consultant and the agreement to produce the study as required by this section are not 
subject to the competitive bid requirements of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, 
chapter 155. The agreement must specify that, as necessary, the consultant is required to 
enter into agreements, subject to approval of the department, with other entities to 
conduct modeling or other analyses required for the study. The agreement must also 
require the consultant, with input from any entities that have been secured by the 
consultant to assist with modeling and analyses and with the approval of the department, 
to develop a scope of work and modeling assumptions to guide the study and to submit 
that scope of work and those modeling assumptions to the department to be submitted to 
the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and to be posted on 
the department's publicly accessible website for a period of no less than 10 days. Within 
that period of time, a person may submit to the department written comments regarding 
the scope of work and modeling assumptions. The department shall submit all comments 
received to the consultant and consider the comments in determining whether or not to 
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approve the scope of work. 
2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the department may accept funds 
from any source, public or private, to fund the costs of the study and report described in 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
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SENATE AMENDMENT" j\ "to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 202, L.D. 640 
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subsection 1, including, but not limited to, costs of the consultant in entering into 
agreements with other entities to conduct modeling or other analyses required for the 
study, and may only fund the costs of the study and report using outside funding received 
under this subsection. The department may use the outside funding for administrative 
costs associated with the study, including, but not limited to, costs associated with staff 
time expended on the study. 
The department may not accept funds that create an 
apparent or an actual conflict of interest or that otherwise violate the law. 
The 
department must deposit all funds received for these purposes into the Maine 
Environmental Protection Fund established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, 
section 351, and those funds must be segregated from other funds in that account and may 
be used only for these purposes.' 
Amend the amendment in section 1 by inserting after subsection 4 the following: 
'5. 
In the department's review of the consultant's proposed scope of work and 
modeling assumptions under subsection 1 and in its review of the completed study report, 
the department shall consult with the Public Utilities Commission staff on factors that are 
within the commission's jurisdiction, such as load growth, fuel costs, variation in dispatch 
of electricity among electricity markets, electricity transmission constraints, addition and 
retirement of electric generation facilities and technology development. 
6. The department may not consider the study or the results of the study described in 
subsection 1 in the department's decisions on applications for permits from the NECEC 
project under the laws governing site location of development or the Natural Resources 
Protection Act.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which amends Committee Amendment "A," adds a requirement 
that the Department of Environmental Protection review and approve entities the selected 
consultants seek to engage for assistance with the study and adds a requirement that the 
department review and approve the consultant's proposed scope of work and modeling 
assumptions. 
The amendment also prohibits the department from accepting funding for the study 
that creates an apparent or actual conflict of interest. 
The amendment narrows the geographic scope of the study to Maine and other New 
England states, New York, Ontario and New Brunswick. It specifies that the department 
may not consider the study or the results of the study in the department's decisions on 
applications for permits from the New England Clean Energy Connect project under the 
laws governing site location of development or the Natural Resources Protection Act. 
SENA TE AMENDMENT 
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SENATE AMENDMENT" h,-" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 202, L.D. 640 ( c'., - cl I~ 
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Finally, the amendment requires the department to consult with the Public Utilities 
Commission staff on issues that are typically within the jurisdiction of the commission 
and not the department. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
SPONSORED BY: 
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(Senator LIBBY) 
COUNTY: Androscoggin 
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SENA TE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 05/09/19 .wac 
LD 640 
LR 2042(04) 
Resolve, To Require a Study of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions from the Proposed Central 
Maine Power Company Transmission Corridor 
Fiscal Note for Senate Amendment 't'.f' to Committee Amendment "A" C :-:.:, 
Sponsor: Sen. Libby of Androscoggin 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
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Any additional costs to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to review and approve various aspects of 
the proposed study are anticipated to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. Any 
additional costs to the PUC from the amendment's requirement that the DEP consult with the commission on certain 
matters are anticipated to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. Whether the 
amendment's provision that prohibits the DEP from accepting funds from certain entities interested in the study will 
reduce the amount of funding available for the study cannot be determined at this time. 
LR2042(04) - Fiscal Note - Page I of I