A Proposed New Building at 14 Marginal Way, Portland, by CMP.

The Valentine Day Flag Flies on the Eastern Promenade Today.

The city of Portland has received  an application for a Level 11 – Site Plan Application for a project at 14 Marginal Way by Central Maine Power.  According to a letter dated December 20, 2019 from Burns McDonnell, (Portland), CMP is proposing to update, redesign and expand the existing substation located at the corner of Forest Avenue and Marginal Way.

The cover letter says that “once the substation is built and in-service it is not anticipated to have any impact on local traffic patterns because the facility will be unmanned.”  The  proposed redesigned substation will include a new single story 32 foot x 92 foot climate-controlled control house according to the letter from James P. Morin, Senior Environmental Scientist.   CMP is currently the center of numerous controversies including their billing system scandal and new corridor construction in western Maine.

The 29 page proposal says that the substation’s crushed stone yard facility will be enclosed by a gated, double entrance, eight-foot-tall chain-link security fence painted black.  Access to the substation will be from the existing 20-foot-wide by 75-foot-long asphalt pavement driveway directly off Marginal Way.

The proposal also states:  “The Project will tie into the city water, storm and sewer lines (the new control house will have a small bathroom outfitted with a toilet and wash basin) and interconnect with the transmission and distribution lines that are already underground at this location.  As part of site development, CMP will preserve the natural landscape and existing vegetation to the extent practical.  The row of pine trees along the eastern boundary will remain.  However, if any of the pine trees are impacted by grading, they will be replaced…..”  City Arborist Jeff Tarling, has been consulted on the Project.

This news comes on the heels of the announcement by CMP that it is going ahead with work on the planned corridor despite the fact that it has yet to appear on a referendum that will decide its future.   Not all permits have been received by CMP, although it has already applied for some of them.

This is the only public announcement of the project that will be held because the matter will be handled administratively by the planning department at Portland city hall.

For more information, please contact James P. Morin of Burns & McDonnell at 207 – 808 – 4924 or email jmorin@burnsmed.com