The editorial“Mass. needs hydro to meet 2020 carbon goal’’ understates the problems faced by Eversource’s Northern Pass project.

The proposed overhead line through New Hampshire’s iconic landscapes has met with massive opposition that shows no sign of abating. For more than five years, environmental groups, legislators, so-called host towns, businesses, and private landowners have fought for a line that is fully buried. Northern Pass wisely agreed to bury 60 miles of the route, but still insists on stringing a further 130 miles overhead using high towers.

Dismiss any thought that Northern Pass will deliver power soon. The battle rages on and will likely continue for years. Originally planned to start construction in 2013, there is no start date in sight.

We are not asking for the moon; burial is practical and feasible. Proposed projects in Vermont and Maine would be fully buried. Vermont’s New England Clean Power Link faced no opposition and has its permits, while Northern Pass remains stuck in a quagmire of its own making.

Reducing carbon is an admirable goal. So is respecting your neighbors’ right to be treated fairly.

Massachusetts can achieve both by insisting that any Canadian power it consumes be moved underground through its neighboring states.

Nancy Martland, Sugar Hill, N.H.