Eversource plans to break ground on a new Seacoast transmission line within two weeks.
But the utility still needs a federal permit to build in the Great Bay area, and environmental advocates want a public hearing before that permit is issued.
Eversource is seeking a Clean Water Act permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
It'll set requirements for how the utility builds its 13-mile Seacoast Reliability Project, a high-voltage transmission line, through sensitive wetlands and tidal areas.
Eversource wants to begin that work later this year, after starting construction on the rest of the project in early May.
On Thursday, the Conservation Law Foundation – a longtime opponent of the project – asked the Army Corps to hold a public hearing for residents to voice concerns about the wetlands permit.
The request comes after efforts to appeal the project's state approval stalled.
Another opponent, the town of Durham, has since agreed to a million-dollar settlement with Eversource to offset the project's impacts.
The power line will run from Madbury to Portsmouth, with a mile buried under Little Bay.
