STEWARTSTOWN — Selectmen are calling on their neighbor, the government of Quebec, to stop buying up town property to build the Northern Pass project.

Calling the purchases “reprehensible and contrary to our town's wishes as approved by voters” at March town meeting, the May 14 letter addressed to the premier of Quebec Jean Charest has gone unanswered.

Selectman Allen Coats said the point of the letter was to put Charest on notice that the project proposed by Hydro-Quebec, a crown corporation, is “unwanted and not needed” and that it threatens the goodwill the town has had for Quebec as a neighbor.

Hydro-Quebec, in partnership with Northeast Utilities, the parent company of Public Service Company of NH, has proposed a 180-mile power line through the state. About 140 miles of the proposed line is on PSNH's existing right of way from Groveton to Deerfield. But the project must still find 40 miles of right of way.

The letter did not stop a May 31 transaction in which two parcels totaling 308 acres were sold on Stewartstown's Sugar Hill to the proposed transmission project for over $2.1 million.

“It has come to our attention that Northern Pass Transmission affiliates have been purchasing rural and residential properties in several parts of Stewartstown in an ill-conceived effort to construct an above-ground high-voltage transmission line corridor from Quebec through Stewartstown and much of New Hampshire, which will ultimately be paid for by Hydro-Quebec and used exclusively by Hydro-Quebec,” the selectmen wrote.

A copy of the letter also went to Michael Turcotte, chair of the board of Hydro-Quebec, and Thiery Vandal, president and CEO.

The letter cites the overwhelming March 13 town meeting vote imposing a ban on construction of transmission towers and indicating that any future power lines should be buried.

“Premier Charest, in the past we have been proud of our good relations with Quebec as a neighbor and as a trade partner,” the letter states. “We have felt a deep kinship not just because so many of our citizens have a common heritage, but also because of the mutual benefits we have gained through local commerce and tourism across the border. The continuance of the Northern Pass project, however, is causing serious damage to our relationship, with and our feelings towards Quebec ... we are asking you to intervene and correct this situation.”

Martin Murray, spokesman for the Northern Pass project, said he was aware of the letter and had a copy of it.

“We understand that some people oppose the project as originally proposed. That is largely why we amended our application, removing a number of alternative routes, and starting over in the North Country. Ultimately, we'll propose a new route along property that is owned by the project or upon which an easement is held. Our sense is that the majority of the public recognizes the overall benefit of this project — a cleaner and more economic energy source for New Hampshire and all of New England.”

ptracy@unionleader.com