TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

This "tax" is the last thing we need in Massachusetts. Emissions, hell, let's start by cleaning up the effluent in the state.
I can think of most of the career politicians - out, the RMV - shovel it out, the state police - OMG, lenient judges, etc., etc.

Strong reductions of carbon emissions and a hardening of our infrastructure is imperative. A sustainable future is at risk without decisive actions now, not differed.

low-carbon transportation policy proposal that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of transportation fuels through a cap-and-invest program or other pricing mechanism… [and]… to complete the policy development process within one year, after which each jurisdiction will decide whether to adopt and implement the policy.”

Well Maine is one of the least State that pollutes, most of our electric power comes fron hydro, wind, and solar and some bio products, People don't realize most of the pollution to the air comes from other States, the jet stream go to the North east which we live in our population is small what like about 1 million. which about 15 million acres of forest. Some of the problem is we stop using trains for mass transit, second of all in the turn of the 20 century they had trollies which ran on electric power, which was used for mass transit, until people said they were out dated. Individual electric cars is not the answer, nor will fossel fuel come to an end, to me if we did more freight with trains and reintroduce the trollies back there will be a cut back on carbon from trucks and automobiles .

Communities of color breathe air that is 66% more polluted from tailpipe emissions than white communities in the Northeast & Mid-Atlantic region.

See uploaded attachment for the comments of General Motors on the Transportation and Climate Initiative's Draft Memorandum of Understanding.

I am a former wind energy engineer. I am very concerned that we reduce carbon emissions as soon and as fast as possible.
1. Do a carbon tax or fee or cap and invest. Do NOT propose a cap and trade program!
2. Collected fees must be returned to citizens - to ensure strong public support
3. Make sure the dividends are structured to make sure low income communities are not unduly burdened by the transition to a green economy
4. Make sure that the tax or cap is adjusted each year to reduce emissions to zero by 2050
5. Provide rigorous independent studies to document the expected efficacy and possible down sides of the proposed plan

We have no time to lose! Any proposal must meet these requirements as it needs to be publicly acceptable and effectively reduce emissions!

In recent weeks, Gov. Mills made the bold proclamation “Maine will be carbon-neutral by 2045.” “And we mean it,” she said.

We wish to congratulate the governor for her leadership on an issue with so much impact on the lives of every Mainer, and for inviting stakeholders to recommend innovative strategies to reach this ambitious goal.

When Governor Mills made that statement at the inaugural meeting of the Maine Climate Council last week, the Maine Rail Transit Coalition -- a longtime group of business and political leaders in Portland, Lewiston, Auburn -- launched into action. The MRTC lends its support to the Climate Council, and we are offering our considered advice toward making Maine carbon-neutral by 2045.

MRTC believes Maine can get fully halfway to its goal of 2045 carbon neutrality utilizing a “silver bullet” solution that also provides economic development, workforce housing, tax relief and quality of life benefits beyond the carbon dividend.

That solution is passenger rail, and Maine has a shovel-ready project to link Portland to Lewiston in three to five years. Brunswick, Freeport, Portland have all received the benefits of passenger rail. The communities of Western Maine, along with Rockland, Westbrook, Auburn and Lewiston have all been planning for rail over the last decade. Lewiston/Auburn is next.

The concept for a modern, hybrid-electric commuter passenger train service connecting Maine’s two largest urban centers is based on a plan developed by the Maine Department of Transportation 12 to 15 years ago. It is driven by the demographics and relationships between Lewiston and Portland. This is a plan to move a lot of people on an existing, state-owned, but unused rail line.

There may be a perceived conflict between using the rail for freight. However, at this moment in time we need to move passengers on rail and off the roads to address the issues of congestion, parking, housing and climate. Passenger rail is far more effective, and this can be done. The Grand Trunk railroad route is the solution we are pursuing. This state-owned rail, developed in conjunction with private capital, is the best way to work for everybody.

The critical framework for this is complete. We simply want the state to adhere to plan they devised 15 years ago and updated this year that offers benefits to an economic corridor that encompasses the largest population in the state.

This project has the full backing of the L/A Metro Chamber, the cities of Lewiston and Auburn, a group of 13 towns through Oxford and Androscoggin counites and a large segment of the population of Portland. Maine does not have to wait another 15 years to do a plan that is already good. The work to move forward is done, this can be implemented very quickly to the benefit of a large area of the state.

Linking the downtown centers of Maine’s two largest cities to create a multimodal transit link -- reaching from Casco Bay and downtown Portland to Lewiston-Auburn, setting the stage for a Boston-to-Montreal regional super route -- makes sense.

The route will launch high-frequency, regularly scheduled hybrid-electric passenger trains from Portland Ocean Gateway in the Old Port, along the Eastern Promenade and crossing the B’n’M Bean swing bridge, with stops in Falmouth, Yarmouth, Cumberland, New Gloucester/Pineland Farms, Auburn and Downtown Lewiston.

This infrastructure -- an engineering marvel -- is still in place, publicly owned, and waiting for an investment to provide mobility, economic development, and housing and employment access, and away from carbon-heavy transportation modes that require more and more upkeep.

Everyone agrees roads have always dominated the transportation discussion -- and spending -- in Maine, and that we have thus far committed ourselves to an almost exclusively pavement-based transportation system here. Pavement-based is emissions-heavy, resource extractive, costly to build and rebuild, inefficient for moving people, pollutes waterways, diverts resources from renewables, drives demand for fossil fuels and thus is an untenable path under the bold new Mills carbon initiative. Rail has been a largely unconsidered option in Maine’s new climate reality.

If given the chance, passenger rail advocates will tell a very compelling story about the benefits of rail for Maine, at a very standard cost in terms of bold public infrastructure investment. We will talk about a truly public-private partnership that leverages developers and investors, not public funds. We will talk about making the project long-term sustainable with a bold state bonding program. And we will talk about the vast social costs -- including climate change -- that Maine will avoid by pursuing rail-centered economic development.

Carbon reduction is but one improvement. Workforce housing, clustered business development, traffic reduction and tourism innovation are all within our grasp if we can escape the car culture that’s harming the climate.

Instead of more and more hot top maintenance paving, suburban strip malls and dying Big Box retail shells along with highway budgets that soak up 90% of the federal infrastructure allocation to Maine, we can have a different future.

But only if rail has a seat at the climate table.
Because we will never pave our way out of the climate crisis. And only if you all have a seat with us. Join us. It is Train Time.
Thank you

Anthony J. Donovan
Maine Rail Transit Coalition
Mailto: MELIKESRAIL@GMail.com
www.mainetrain.org