Majority of Rollbacks Rejected in Response to Overwhelming Opposition NRCM news release As the Legislature adjourned this week, it left behind a pile of defeated environmental rollback bills that were deemed too extreme and too strongly opposed by Maine people to be enacted into law. “More bills were introduced this session to weaken or repeal Read More
Maine Sporting Groups Want Congressional Support for EPA Mercury Reduction Rule
Diverse groups agree it is time to end pollution from coal-burning power plants National Wildlife Federation A coalition of environmental, hunting, fishing, and shooting enthusiast groups from across the state today called upon the state’s Congressional delegation to support a new national rule to drastically reduce mercury pollution from coal-burning power plants. Ten local and Read More
Legislature Rolls Back Maine’s Statewide Building Code Despite Strong Opposition from Building Trades, Businesses, and Others
News Release The House voted today (76-71) to give final passage to a bill, LD 1416, that would exempt more than 400 cities and towns, with 40% of Maine’s population, from the Maine Uniform Building & Energy Code. The code provides consumer protection, increases energy efficiency and reduces heating oil costs for Maine people by Read More
Senate Holds the Line on Protecting Vernal Pools
A LePage-backed bid to reduce buffer zones for development is overwhelmingly rejected. by Tom Bell, MaineToday Media State House Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA – By a wide margin, the Maine Senate on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Gov. Paul LePage to roll back regulations aimed at protecting the state’s largest vernal pools. Read More
House Endorses Flawed Study Process for LURC
Pete Didisheim, NRCM Advocacy Director “Maine people were poorly served today when the House of Representatives voted 75-65 to establish a flawed study commission on the future of the Land Use Regulation Commission. Lawmakers had two options before them – a Majority Report that we believe is rigged to reach a predetermined outcome of abolishing Read More
Seeking to Cut Vernal Pool Buffer, LePage Spurns Warning of Federal Scrutiny, Lawmaker Compromise
By Steve Mistler, Staff Writer Sun Journal news story AUGUSTA — The LePage administration is continuing its push to reduce the state’s buffer zone for vernal pools, despite warnings that the temporary wetlands could suffer irreparable harm. The Maine House of Representatives on Friday unanimously killed a bill that would slice the current 250-foot buffer Read More
Maine Businesses Speak Out on Urgent Need for Energy Efficiency
NRCM News Release Today, at a State House news conference, a diverse group of Maine business leaders touted the role energy efficiency plays in reducing their costs and improving the health and competitiveness of their businesses. These leaders released a letter signed by nearly 250 Maine businesses, urging Maine lawmakers to “make energy efficiency a priority Read More
Maine Businesses for Energy Efficiency News Conference
Statement by Dylan Voorhees, NRCM Clean Energy Project Director Maine spends roughly $7 billion on energy every year – mostly for oil, gas and electricity. It is hard to be a lot more precise because, as we know from the last few years, energy prices can double in a matter of months, making energy expenses Read More
Creature Feature: Alewife
The adult alewife is a sea-run fish about 12 inches long. Each spring, alewives leave the ocean, enter Maine’s coastal rivers, and make their way upstream to spawning habitat in lakes and ponds. Alewives are river herring, a term that also includes their close relatives the blueback herring and American shad.
