Costly Strain on New England Utility Grid Usually Peaks Around First Week of August News release Portland, ME – An updated analysis of the “value of solar” power in Maine shows that solar installations within the state cut electricity prices for everyone in Maine who pays an electric bill, by reducing peak demand on the Read More
Maine Environmental News
Maine environmental news often comes quickly and with little warning. Stay up to date on Maine environment news.
From issues such as climate change, healthy waters, Maine forests and wildlife, and sustainability—and environmental policy that could impact them—you’ll find NRCM’s up-to-the-minute news releases to see our perspective on the most pressing issues facing Maine’s land, air, waters, and wildlife. This includes findings relating to our role as Maine’s watchdog of activities of state environmental agencies—we stand ready to blow the whistle when regulations are not enforced.
You can also find our news “round up,” News & Noteworthy, which puts the spotlight on media stories that do a particularly good job capturing current news about Maine's environment. We hope you find this part of our website helpful and informative!
Rising Sea Levels Could Wash Away $3.1B in Maine Property
By Darren Fishell Bangor Daily News news story If sea levels rise six feet by the year 2100 as projected, that would put an estimated $3.1 billion in Maine residential real estate under water. The property site Zillow matched up its proprietary data on current home values with federal projections of how sea level rise Read More
The Land East of Baxter is Special and Worthy of a National Monument
by Eric Hendrickson Bangor Daily News op-ed Everywhere I go all that I hear is there’s nothing there at the site of the proposed national monument but clearcuts and barren land. Well, I have to say that there is something special about the land Elliotsville Plantation Inc. wants to donate to the American people. There Read More
Company Offers Guarantee for Maine Towns to Reduce Trash by More than One-third
News Release The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) and WasteZero announced today a joint initiative to help Maine towns dramatically reduce waste through WasteZero Trash Metering®, a Pay-As You-Throw (PAYT) program for household trash. WasteZero, the nation’s largest waste reduction company, will guarantee Maine communities that adopt its program—and that don’t already have a Read More
Controversial Hampden Waste Facility Gets Clearance
The Natural Resources Council says it is ‘dumbfounded’ by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s decision. by Madeline St. Amour, Morning Sentinel Portland Press Herald news story The Department of Environmental Protection has issued the final permits for a first-of-its-kind waste management plant in Hampden that would convert trash from more than 100 central Maine Read More
NRCM Dumbfounded at DEP Approval of MRC/Fiberight Waste Processing Facility
NRCM statement about Fiberight Application “We are extremely disappointed in Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s handling of the Fiberight application” said Sarah Lakeman, Sustainable Maine Project Director for NRCM. “There are powerful grounds for an appeal of these licenses.” NRCM, the Environment and Natural Resource Committee of the Legislature, engineers, attorneys, Maine citizens and others Read More
Maine Woods National Monument Would Benefit State, Katahdin Region
By Steve Wight Sun Journal op-ed Traveling around Maine, I work with people who are concerned about how to bring jobs and economic prosperity to the rural villages of western Maine and the Katahdin region to the north. For 38 years, I owned and operated, with my wife, Peggy, the Sunday River Inn and Cross Read More
Legislators Question Viability of Fiberight Waste Proposal
Eight members of a legislative committee are calling on the Department of Environmental Protection to withhold a permit for the controversial waste-to-energy project until concerns over state law and funding are addressed. By Madeline St. Amour, Staff Writer Central Maine newspapers news story A controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in Hampden that would handle Read More
Midcoast Towns Struggle with Trash Tug-of-War
by Andy O’Brien Free Press news story In the coming weeks, Camden, Rockport, Hope and Lincolnville will hold special town meetings to decide where to send their 6,000 tons of annual household trash after March 31, 2018. That date marks the expiration of a lucrative electricity contract between the utility Emera Maine and the Penobscot Read More
