Eliot's Blog

THE CONTEXT

People live here, move here, and visit here because Maine has a very special quality of place and a unique civic culture. Maintaining these important characteristics – the very soul of Maine – is one of the most important investments we can make. That means respecting and protecting our natural environment and our wild and scenic places. That means preserving farmland, forest, harbors and downtowns. And that means ensuring that people in the historic mill towns and villages of Maine can both live here and earn a living. As a waitress reminded me in one lakeside town not long ago, “You can’t eat the view.”

We cannot do all the things we need to do in Maine – protect our natural resources, maintain our parks and recreation areas, invest in education, promote and develop Maine tourism and recreation – without a growing economy. Towards that end, I want to lower the cost of living and doing business in Maine so that we can attract investment, jump start our economy and restore jobs, incomes and opportunity. And I want to invest wisely in Maine’s competitive advantages – our forests, farms, fisheries, renewable energy resources, quality places and people – the distinctions that set us apart from other states. Two critical areas of reform to achieving those ends are 1) reducing the cost of energy in Maine and 2) addressing inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the regulatory system that deter responsible investment in our State.

High energy costs burden Maine residential and business consumers alike. This puts Maine at a competitive disadvantage when we try to encourage businesses to expand, retain existing capital, and attract new investment to the State. Although Maine’s commercial and industrial electric rates are the lowest in the Northeast, they are considerably higher than the states and provinces with which we compete for economic activity and investment. For example, our great shipbuilders in Bath compete for Navy business only with a shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. – where electricity costs 25% less than in Maine. Maine enterprises like boat building, precision manufacturing, farming, pulp and paper mills and forest products are highly dependent on electricity, and the Cutler Administration will pursue a focused strategy, outlined here, to lower the price.

Along with the Wall of Cost (where electricity is one of the most important bricks in the wall), the other barrier to investment in Maine is the Wall of No – the uncertainty, unpredictability, and lack of timeliness that now characterizes too much of our regulatory process.

I helped Ed Muskie write several of the landmark laws that protect our environment, including the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. At the Office of Management and Budget, I restored positions and funding to the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service and the Forest Service in the late 1970’s, following the Nixon Administration’s efforts to decimate them. And I have helped develop large-scale environmentally responsible job-creating projects such as airports and highways.

When it comes to environmental protection and regulation in Maine, tough laws and regulations are needed to protect Maine’s valuable natural resources, our most important competitive asset. But we don’t need to drive responsible investment away from Maine by administering and enforcing those rules in ways that are unnecessarily cumbersome, opaque, and time-consuming. My administration will create a more coherent, predictable regulatory structure in which responsible investment can flourish in Maine.

THE OBJECTIVES

• Reduce Maine’s Electricity Costs. Lowering the cost of electricity in our State must be Maine’s number-one energy and economic development priority.
• Diversify Maine’s Energy Portfolio. To control energy costs and – just as importantly – to reduce Maine’s dependence on foreign fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions, Maine must carefully evaluate and tap into every clean, cost-effective, renewable energy resource available to us, including land-based wind, existing domestic resources such as hydro and biomass and emerging technologies such as solar, tidal, geothermal, off-shore wind and biofuels.
• Improve Maine’s Air and Water Quality. To improve Maine’s air quality and water quality, we must enforce existing laws and anticipate and address emerging threats to our environment.
• Modernize Maine’s Regulatory System. We must minimize the regulatory costs, delays and uncertainties that deter investment in clean, cost-effective energy projects.

THE MEANS TO THESE ENDS

1. Reduce Maine’s Electricity Costs. Lowering the cost of electricity in our State must be Maine’s number-one energy and economic development priority. To achieve that objective, a Cutler Administration will:

Create the Maine Energy Finance Authority. A new public power and energy finance authority – to bring low-cost capital to public-private partnerships, to reduce the price of electricity and to expand the availability of natural gas for industrial and commercial users and communities in Maine. This new finance authority – MEFA – will not be a big new state bureaucracy, but a specialized finance authority. It will rely on low-interest, tax-exempt financing, Build America Bonds and public-private partnerships to help construct necessary energy infrastructure, encourage investment in renewable energy resources, invest in energy efficiency and sell lower-priced electricity directly to Maine businesses and communities.

Where high energy prices might otherwise discourage a company from re-locating to or increasing its existing capacity in Maine, MEFA could provide tax-exempt financing or long-term contracting to facilitate development of cost-effective distributed generation or cogeneration facilities co-located at large industrial or commercial facilities. This could mean the development of a wind farm located near a potato processing facility in Aroostook County or lumber mill in Washington County or a combined cooling, heating and power facility located at a high-tech manufacturing facility in Cumberland County. Where access to lower-cost domestic energy sources – like natural gas – can have a major impact on the economic development of a community, MEFA will be able to use tax-exempt bonds to co-finance energy infrastructure, such as the extension of natural gas lines.

MEFA projects would be specifically targeted to encourage job growth, especially new green jobs. MEFA’s financing authority could also be put to work in public-private partnerships to bring energy-sector manufacturing or services companies to Maine, building wind or tidal turbines or solar panels, for example.

Access Less Expensive Canadian Electricity. Through arrangements, including MEFA purchases and resales, that will make cheaper electricity available to Maine commercial, industrial and residential consumers.

Pursue Energy Efficiency Initiatives. For example, PACE funding for weatherization and other efficiency upgrades and transportation initiatives (including programs to encourage carpooling and the development of municipal bus systems) to save people money. The cheapest kilowatt of power is the one that is not used. Statistics indicate that for every $1 spent on efficiency measures, there is a savings of at least $3. I support the proper funding of thoroughly vetted energy efficiency programs administered by the Efficiency Maine Trust. I will also support the expansion of PACE programs, through which homeowners and businesses can invest in efficiency upgrades.

Minimize Regulatory Costs, Delays and Uncertainties. These barriers deter investment in clean, cost-effective energy projects – while maintaining robust public participation and rigorous and evidence-based enforcement of our environmental laws – by updating Maine’s regulatory system as described in more detail below.

2. Diversify Maine’s Energy Portfolio. To control energy costs and emissions, and to reduce our dependence on foreign fossil fuels, we will need to tap into all of Maine’s clean, renewable energy resources, including land-based wind, in ways that are cost-effective and consistent with the protection of Maine’s vital assets. On-shore wind is not the only resource we need to achieve these goals: we’ll need to continue using existing domestic resources (such as hydro and biomass) and pursue emerging technologies (including solar, tidal, geothermal, off-shore wind and biofuels). To develop these resources in concert with the conservation of Maine’s quality of place, a Cutler Administration will:

Maximize the Benefits of Local and Renewable Resources. By encouraging the development of distributed generation, deploying smart grid technologies that can dramatically improve the ability of the grid to accommodate renewable generation resources and investing where necessary in additional transmission infrastructure.

Undertake a Comprehensive Review of Maine’s Existing Incentives. Ensure that Maine’s benefit from renewable energy development is commensurate with the costs. For example, it makes no sense to encourage wind development without taking into account associated costs such as delivering the power to the grid.

Study the Potential for New Policies. For example, a carefully tailored feed-in-tariff or improvements to the renewable portfolio standard to increase the percentage of Maine’s energy obtained from renewable resources without unsupportable price increases for Maine families and businesses.

3. Improve Maine’s Air and Water Quality. The most pressing environmental issues in Maine continue to be air quality and water quality. A Cutler Administration will enforce existing laws and anticipate and address emerging threats to our environment and health. To do this, we will:

Improve Air Quality. By encouraging energy efficiency, holding emitters accountable, including those located outside Maine, and supporting the development of clean technologies and energy sources. Maine’s active participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a key instrument for the reduction of particulates in our air. We also should pursue aggressive enforcement actions to reduce emissions associated with carcinogenic mercury particulates that are emitted by coal fired electric generation facilities in the Midwest and western United States and that end up via airborne deposits in the fish caught in Maine waters.

Improve Water Quality. By enforcing point source permit requirements, ensuring non-complying entities come into compliance, and seeking increased federal assistance for municipal sewer and treatment projects.

The State legislature is responsible for setting fishable and swimmable goals for waters of the State. If a waterway is not in attainment, then I will evaluate current pollution sources and ensure that every point source is in compliance with permits. We will assist non-complying entities to come into compliance and undertake comprehensive assessment of existing programs to address non-point source pollution of our lakes, streams and water supplies.

Like many states, Maine struggles to fund our efforts to improve air and water quality. In particular, many of Maine’s towns and cities face a monumental financial challenge in rebuilding or replacing aging sewer systems, separating sanitary and storm sewers, building new treatment works and dealing with urban and rural runoff. These are the biggest remaining water quality challenges, and we will need the federal government’s assistance to overcome them. Maine’s rivers and estuaries and the Gulf of Maine are threatened by our failure to do so, and these are national resources. I will press for federal help to get the job done.

4. Modernize Maine’s Regulatory System. Investment in clean, cost-effective energy projects simply will not happen as long as the regulatory structure in this State is locked in the past. To ensure that Maine’s regulatory system is equipped to provide efficient oversight without deterring investment in Maine, a Cutler Administration will:

Undertake a thorough review of State Agencies. Ensure that Maine’s policy objectives are pursued consistently and efficiently throughout the State’s Government by looking at all state agencies, including DEP and LURC.

Make appointments based on appointees’ qualifications, not political affiliation. One advantage of serving as an independent governor is the liberty to select the most qualified candidates for key positions of responsibility regardless of their political affiliations.

Establish an Office of Regulatory Review and Repeal. Undertake a comprehensive review of our regulatory programs. We need to make sure that our regulations protect our environment but are not unnecessarily burdensome. This will make Maine more competitive in the worldwide competition for investment in capital by making it less expensive to do business here.

BEP. Despite the laudable efforts of the volunteer members of the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP), the BEP is not working now for applicants or project opponents. 40 years ago the conditions of the Maine regulatory system made a BEP necessary: major environmental regulations like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act that I had the privilege of working on with Senator Muskie were brand new, the major industries wielded massive political power and were unaccustomed at best, and downright hostile at worst, to environmental regulation, and the regulatory agency was brand-new and inexperienced. In that context, the BEP provided a critical check on an untested and politically vulnerable regulatory system. Today, in contrast, Maine has a strong Department of Environmental Protection staffed by hardworking, competent professionals, while the Board lacks independent staff and other resources to make decisions, including reviewing decisions reached by DEP staff, based on good data.

Maine people must be able to make meaningful contributions to the permit review process and have the opportunity to appeal the Department’s decisions, but the BEP does not serve either function well.

Public participation in the permit review process today is robust without the BEP. In fact, in major proceedings before the Department of Environmental Protection or LURC, it is not uncommon today to have more than 100 citizens and stakeholders participating in the process. And because BEP appeals are not limited to reviews of the record, but essentially can open up an entire new permitting process, they do not work effectively as a direct appeal. The current Board structure makes permit application outcomes look like a roulette wheel, and this reputation has been a deterrent to investment in our State. It may be politically difficult to talk about making changes to the BEP, but that conversation needs to happen. I have started the conversation, and will review BEP’s funding (close to $320,000 per year) and statutory function to ensure the regulatory process is efficient and fair. In my view, the BEP should be replaced with an appeal body of some kind to preserve both the predictability of the regulatory process and the ability to appeal those results. As Governor, I look forward to working with the environmental community, Maine businesses and the legislature to bring our environmental permitting process into the 21st century.

LURC. LURC has both planning and regulatory oversight of the State’s townships, plantations and unorganized areas. Because permitting and licensing absorb so much of its time, budget and attention, LURC does too little planning – which should be its principal mission. LURC’s regulatory and licensing functions should be transferred to DEP, which has greater permitting capacity. Any decisions made by the DEP can be appealed.

OTHER ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ISSUES IN MAINE

1. Climate Change

Maine has long maintained the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions – and our dependence on imported fossil fuels – by expanding development of Maine’s own energy resources. To reduce emissions and dependence on foreign fossil fuels, we need to develop all of our clean, renewable generation resources. We’ll need to continue using the plentiful resources Maine is blessed with (wind, hydro and biomass) and pursue emerging technologies (including geothermal, solar, tidal, bio-fuels and off-shore wind). In every instance, we must utilize these resources in concert with the conservation of Maine’s quality of place.

I believe that existing laws provide adequate protections for now, but I also believe that we need to continue to review existing laws and regulations to ensure that they are adequately protecting our natural resources, promoting public health and safety and putting up unnecessary barriers to economic growth. As our experience with wind power development grows, for example, we need to continue to ensure that noise regulations are adequate, that Maine people are benefiting from these new energy sources, and that we are properly protecting our scenic vistas and recreational areas.

2. Maintenance of our Forests and Public Access to Important Outdoor Resources

Sustainable natural resources – including Maine’s forests – are critical to Maine’s future growth and prosperity. They represent a key competitive advantage over other states and a strong foundation for creating jobs and reviving the economy. We must invest in them and find ways to add value to them. I believe we can strike a balance between protecting our most critical and special wilderness areas, and encouraging multiple uses of our forest and lands, such as sustainable wood harvesting and recreation. I do not support the establishment of a Maine Woods National Park or any substantial additional acquisitions of Maine land by the federal government.

The Land for Maine’s Future Program is one of many public and private funding programs that exist to facilitate trail easements, public access conservation easements, and other recreational agreements that support the long-standing tradition of public access to Maine’s forestland for hiking, hunting and other recreational purposes.

Land for Maine’s Future has also supported the conservation of working farms and worked with communities across the state to establish snowmobile trails and guaranteed public access to our shorefront for canoeing, fishing and boating, serving all Maine citizens – those who fish, clam, hike, camp, raft, bike, boat, hunt, snowmobile, camp and picnic.

3. Recycling

I support the Producer Responsibility Bill, which created an important framework with which products or categories of products could be recommended for management (reuse, recycling, or disposal) via Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – a product stewardship or management process that helps to reduce the amount of waste going into our landfills and to ease the burden on municipalities tasked with paying for solid waste disposal. I also will encourage more single stream recycling, which makes it much easier for consumers to recycle.

4. Transportation

As with other energy costs, transportation costs in Maine must be lowered to enhance our economic competitiveness and reduce our emissions. I support an expansion of cost-effective transportation choices such as dedicated lanes for commuter or high-occupancy vehicles, buses and bikes. I would also work to support initiatives like the Maine Turnpike’s Zoom project and the Bridgton initiative to use school buses to enhance public transportation. New bus services, bike routes, and sidewalks along existing roads can typically all be obtained for less than one tenth of the cost of a typical road widening. The goal should be moving more people at less cost – not simply building more highways. To get there, we’ll need to be more strategic and flexible in how we plan and fund our transportation investments, and pursue a new transportation policy that’s both environmentally and fiscally responsible.

5. Sprawl and Urban Development

Many of my proposals are consistent with the objectives of anti-sprawl initiatives and less diffused development. I am open to input from the leaders of groups such as Cool Communities and GrowSmart and to considering many of the recommendations of the Charting Maine’s Future report. I have made specific proposals to promote economic vitality in our downtown areas, including the creation of the Maine Energy Finance Authority to reduce energy costs and the designation of local art districts.

To reduce the conversion of rural fields and woodlots to residential use and revitalize our regional hubs, we should make use of the infrastructure we already have in our downtowns and village centers, instead of spending billions of dollars on new schools, sewers, roads, and public services. Programs like the new historic preservation tax credit (which is helping to revitalize historic mill buildings in Lewiston, Biddeford, and Waterville) and the new Communities for Maine’s Future investment program are important success stories.