About Health and the Environment

• What measures have been taken to protect the environment during construction?

  
  CMP has taken significant steps to avoid or mitigate impacts on Maines environment.
  
  CMP has chosen to use existing transmission corridors wherever possible to minimize the environmental and community impacts associated with the construction of new transmission corridors.
  
  Sensitive environmental resources like wetlands and vernal pools have been identified and mapped by biologists. Additionally, expert consultants have surveyed the corridors for endangered and threatened species of plants and wildlife.
  
  Based on this information, MPRP construction crews and environmental inspectors are working together to implement preventative measures and stringent monitoring to minimize the impact of the project on the vibrant ecosystems that inhabit CMP's corridors.

• What will happen to the osprey nests on the transmission poles?

  
  During the MPRP environmental surveys, dozens of osprey nests were discovered and documented in CMP's transmission corridors. During the construction and removal of transmission lines, our contractors and environmental crews will be removing these nests when necessary. We will remove nests identified as inactive by nesting standards, which means the nest is not housing osprey eggs or chicks at the time of removal. Osprey nesting season typically lasts from April to July and if a nest is active with eggs and/or chicks, the contractor will typically pass that structure and return after nesting season to remove it. Under extreme or uncontrollable circumstances, the contractor may be required to remove an active nest; for such an occurrence, CMP has a Depredation Permit from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to safely remove active nests. Chicks or eggs removed from nests will be transported to a nursery where they will be raised and released into the wild. Many people have expressed the concern that the osprey may leave the area when they find their nest has been removed. The osprey carefully choose nesting locations near rich food sources and are rarely deterred from nesting in these areas by human activity, including traffic and construction. Typically, the osprey will begin rebuilding their nest on trees or structures near their original nesting site.

• What is EMF?

  
  EMF refers to the electric and magnetic fields produced through the generation, transmission, and use of AC (60 HZ alternating current) electric power. We encounter EMF throughout our daily activities at work and at home. Sources of magnetic fields in our homes include fields generated by appliances, the wiring that powers those appliances, the distribution lines that supply electricity to the home, and any currents flowing on water pipes. Nearby transmission lines may also be a source of magnetic fields in the home but their contribution depends largely upon the distance from the home.

• Is EMF harmful to my health?

  
  Some people have expressed concern that exposure to EMF might adversely affect human health. In response to these concerns, numerous national and international health agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) have spent over a decade conducting research to determine the effects of EMF on the human body.
  
  In June 1999, after multiple studies and a major review, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reported to Congress that: The NIEHS believes that the probability that ELF-EMF exposure is truly a health hazard is currently small. The weak epidemiological associations and lack of any laboratory support for these associations provide only marginal, scientific support that exposure to this agent is causing any degree of harm.
  
  In June 2007, after more than ten years of study, the World Health Organization released a research report on EMF and health. Their conclusions were consistent with previous findings by NIEHS and other national and international agencies, and the WHO reported that no consistent adverse health effects, including cancer, had been reported in animals after exposure to high levels of EMF, or that an explanation for any adverse effects had been identified.
  
  Both NIEHS and the WHO reported a weak relationship between certain childhood cancers and exposure to highly-elevated EMF levels, but concluded that this research does not establish a causation or contribution of exposure to magnetic fields to any disease or illness, and that electric fields pose no substantive health issues at normal levels.
  
  No additional studies have since been published on the NIEHS or WHO website.

• Is EMF regulated? Where can I find more information about EMF?

  
  There are no current regulations by the federal government or State of Maine that relate to occupational or residential exposure to electric and magnetic fields at 60 Hz - the frequency of electricity in North America.
  
  For more information on EMF, consult the following organizations:
  
  World Health Organization: Electromagnetic Fields
  
  U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Electric and Magnetic Fields
  
  National Cancer Institute: EMF and Caner Questions and Answers