Three Corners Solar Project Virtual Public Information Meeting

NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE AND PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MEETING

Please take notice that Three Corners Solar, LLC (the “Applicant”), a subsidiary of Longroad Energy Holdings, LLC, with offices at 30 Danforth Street, Suite 210, Portland ME 04101 (207-210-1175), is intending to file a Site Location of Development Act permit application and a Natural Resources Protection Act permit application with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), pursuant to the provisions of 38 M.R.S.A. §§ 481-490 and 38 M.R.S.A. §§ 480-A et seq., respectively. The Applicant is also seeking a Section 401 Water Quality Certification pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1341. The Applicant intends to file these applications with the DEP on or around January 31, 2022.

This application is to allow for construction and operation of the Three Corners Solar Project in Unity Township, Benton, and Clinton in Kennebec County, Maine. The proposed project will consist of solar arrays capable of generating up to 110 megawatts of alternating current electricity. The project also includes existing and new access roads; 34.5-kilovolt electrical collector lines among the arrays and connecting to a new collector substation in Benton; an approximately 5.2-mile-long 115-kilovolt transmission line connecting the project to an existing substation in Benton; and an operations and maintenance building in Benton.

The Applicant will hold a public informational meeting to inform the public about the project and its anticipated environmental impacts and to educate the public about the opportunities for public comment on the project. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on in-person gatherings, the public meeting will be held by telephone and online on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Interested members of the public can join through Zoom via the link below or by calling 1-646-558-8656, entering the meeting ID (91578976369#), followed by the meeting passcode (1234#). Questions from the public will be taken both online and by phone. Members of the public who are unable to access presentation materials online may request materials be sent by mail by calling (207) 210-1175 or by emailing the project team at threecornerssolar@longroadenergy.com. A recording of the meeting audio and presentation slides will also be available at www.longroadenergy.com/3C-Public-Meeting within a week of the meeting. 

A request for a public hearing or a request that the Board of Environmental Protection assume jurisdiction over these applications must be received by the DEP in writing no later no later than 20 days after the application is found by the DEP to be complete and are accepted for processing.  A public hearing may or may not be held at the discretion of the Commissioner or Board of Environmental Protection. Public comment on the applications will be accepted throughout the processing of the applications. Written public comments on the Site Law application may be mailed to Bob Green at the DEP after filing at: DEP, Bureau of Land Management, Central Maine Regional Office, 17 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0017; or via electronic mail at: robert.l.green@maine.gov.

The Site Location application will include a request, pursuant to 12 M.R.S.A. § 685-B(1-A)(B-1), that the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) certify to the DEP that the development is an allowed use in the subdistricts in which it is proposed and that the development will comply with applicable LUPC land use standards that are not considered in the DEP’s review.

A request for a LUPC public hearing on the request for certification and/or a petition for leave to intervene in any such hearing must be received by the LUPC in writing no later than 20 days after the request for certification is found by the LUPC to be complete and accepted for processing.  The LUPC will consider the degree of public interest when determining whether to hold a public hearing, but the decision whether to hold a hearing is at the LUPC’s discretion.  

If the LUPC holds a public hearing, members of the public also may offer testimony at the hearing without formally intervening in the hearing, and/or may submit written comments until the close of the record. A request or petition that is not timely filed will be denied unless the requestor/petitioner shows good cause for failure to file on time. Filing may be by electronic mail or facsimile if followed by receipt of an original signed document within five working days. The LUPC’s provisions for intervention may be found in Chapter 5, section 5.03 of the LUPC’s rules, which are available at https://www.maine.gov/dacf/lupc/laws_rules/index.shtml.

If no public hearing is held, interested persons may submit written comments on the LUPC certification throughout the processing of the certification.  Written public comments and questions on the request for certification may be mailed to Karen Bolstridge at the LUPC’s Bangor office: Land Use Planning Commission, 106 Hogan Road, Suite 8, Bangor, ME 04401; or via electronic mail at: karen.bolstridge@maine.gov.

The DEP applications, including the request for certification, will be filed for public inspection at the DEP’s office in Augusta and the LUPC’s office in Augusta and Bangor during normal working hours.  Copies of the applications may also be seen at the Kennebec County Commissioner’s office in Augusta and at the municipal offices in Benton and Clinton.