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Falmouth board votes to intervene in Eversource Easport substation review
Summary
After hearings before the Energy Facilities Siting Board and local briefings, the Falmouth Select Board authorized town counsel to file to intervene in Eversource’s proposed substation proceeding to press for changes or conditions affecting neighbors and town interests. Filing deadline is May 29.
The Select Board on May 18 authorized town counsel to file a petition to intervene in proceedings before the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) concerning Eversource’s proposed Easport substation project.
Town staff summarized the project and the set of local zoning waivers the developer is seeking. The EFSB review process allows municipalities and abutters to file either full intervention petitions (party status with rights to discovery and to present evidence) or more limited participant status. Town counsel advised the board that as the municipality hosting the project, the petition to intervene is likely to be accepted and will permit the town to participate fully in discovery and hearings.
Why the board intervened: board members and some members of the public said Eversource had not adopted several mitigation ideas raised during earlier community sessions and that intervenor status would give the town formal footing to press for alternatives, additional screening, setbacks, and other measures. The board’s authorization asks town counsel to file ahead of the May 29 petition deadline and to pursue limited litigation and negotiation to protect abutters’ interests.
What intervention does (and does not) do: intervention makes the town a formal party with rights to request documents and to file briefs, which can give the town leverage to press for design changes, mitigation or an exploration of alternative sites. Counsel cautioned it is not a guarantee of denial of waivers; the EFSB’s statutory role includes the authority to grant certain local-waiver requests to facilitate regional energy projects.
Next steps: the town will file its petition to intervene and then engage in discovery and negotiated exchanges with Eversource and other parties. The board asked town staff to explore potential alternative locations and to document community concerns for the record.
