Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and To Conduct Public Scoping Meetings and Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement; Bangor Hydro-Electric Company

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Bangor Hydro-Electric Company (BHE) has applied to DOE to amend Presidential Permit PP-89, which authorizes BHE to construct a single-circuit 345,000-volt (345-kV) electric transmission line across the U.S. international border in the vicinity of Baileyville, Maine. The proposed transmission line would originate at BHE's existing Orrington Substation, located in Orrington, Maine, and extend eastward approximately 85 miles to the international border between the United States and Canada where it would connect with similar facilities to be owned by New Brunswick Power Corporation (NB Power). DOE has determined that amendment of the Presidential permit would constitute a major Federal action that may have a significant impact upon the environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). For this reason, DOE intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) entitled, "The Northeast Reliability Interconnect" (DOE/EIS-0372), to address potential environmental impacts from the proposed action and the range of reasonable alternatives. The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to inform the public about the proposed action, announce plans to conduct