NRCM news release AUGUSTA—Maine’s hospitals today pledged to play a leadership role in improving the health of communities across the state by volunteering to eliminate the use of most mercury-containing supplies and medical equipment, and taking other steps that will result in a cleaner, safer environment. The Maine Hospital Association joined the state Department of Read More
Chapter 145 Nox Control Program at Wyman Station
Statement by Brownie Carson to the Board of Environmental Protection Good afternoon. The Natural Resources Council has been grappling with the question of how to bring clean air to Maine for a long time. During my 17 years at the Council, we have participated as an intervener in many licensing proceedings, and we have commented Read More
Comment to the Board of Environmental Protection on Chapter 145 NOx Control Program
Comments by Sue Jones, Energy Project Director The Natural Resources Council of Maine appreciates DEP’s significant efforts in reviewing the comments submitted in the Chapter 145 rulemaking and in developing a proposal for your consideration today. With all due respect, however, the NRCM believes that DEP has not presented the best plan for the people Read More
Mainers Support BEP Move to Require Clean-up at Wyman Power Plant
PORTLAND AND BANGOR – Against a 25-foot-high inflatable power plant backdrop, Maine citizens held news conferences in Portland and Bangor to announce that they have collected and submitted 1,043 signatures, from residents of 230 Maine towns, to the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) in support of the board’s preliminary vote to require Florida Power and Read More
Return of the Kennebec
More than a decade ago local, state, and federal officials, including then–U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, joined staff, board, and members of the Natural Resources Council of Maine and hundreds of other Mainers on the banks of the Kennebec River to witness a landmark occasion: removal of the Edwards Dam in Augusta. Read More
Kennebec River Flows Free as Edwards Dam is Removed
Dam Removal Marks Turning Point for River Restoration Nationwide Statement by Brownie Carson, NRCM Executive Director Good morning and welcome to this historic celebration for the people, wildlife and communities of the Kennebec River. My name is Brownie Carson. I am the executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine and am pleased to be Read More
Caribou-Speckled Wilderness
In late September, 1990, the United States Congress enacted legislation designating more than 11,000 acres of Maine’s White Mountain National Forest as a permanent Wilderness Area. The Maine Wilderness Act of 1990, which created the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness Area, was the result of more than seven years of hard work on the part of NRCM Read More
Land for Maine’s Future
The Land for Maine’s Future program was established in 1987 when voters, in response to concerns over the loss of critical natural areas, approved funding to purchase and protect lands important to the history and traditions of the state of Maine. Since then, the program has completed projects in all 16 Maine counties, protecting more Read More
Stopping the “Big A” Dam on the Penobscot’s West Branch
In what was one of Maine’s most contested environmental battles, the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), along with other Penobscot Coalition members, successfully defeated the Big A Dam project. In March of 1984, Great Northern Paper (GNP) submitted a proposal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct a $100-million concrete dam 15 Read More
