Tons of mercury-contaminated soil remain at Orrington site Bangor Daily News news story BANGOR – Hazardous materials crews recently removed more than 1,400 pounds of mercury from the former HoltraChem site in Orrington and soon will dismantle more than a dozen buildings and storage tanks during the next phase of the cleanup, Maine officials said Read More
Clean Water
Clean, healthy waterways are vital to our day-to-day lives. They help ensure safe drinking water, suitable habitat for fish and other wildlife, and recreational opportunities that make Maine a special place to live, work, and visit. NRCM is working hard to protect and restore Maine’s lakes, rivers, and streams, now and for generations to come.
Supreme Court Ruling Impacts Androscoggin
By David Farmer, Staff Writer Sun Journal news story LEWISTON – A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is rippling along the Androscoggin River and into efforts to improve the quality of its water. The court ruled Monday that hydroelectric dams are subject to the federal Clean Water Act and must meet water quality standards Read More
Allagash Use Focus of New Task Force
Bangor Daily News news story Attempting to avoid being dragged deeper into a decades-old feud, Gov. John Baldacci declined Wednesday to sign a controversial bill regarding the Allagash River and instead created a task force to recommend new ways to manage the waterway. Baldacci’s decision to not endorse the bill was largely symbolic and will Read More
Allagash Bill Rekindles Access Feud
By John Richardson, Staff Writer Maine Sunday Telegram news story AUGUSTA — Paddlers come from all over the country to experience the wildness and peacefulness of the Allagash River. But 40 years after Maine voters designated it as the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the politics surrounding the storied river are anything but peaceful. Maine’s Legislature is Read More
NRCM Responds to March 30th Plum Creek Announcement
Today’s announcement proposes an interesting framework for conservation in the Moosehead Lake region, but Maine people are still in the dark about how Plum Creek will scale back its massive, sprawling development scheme. Although we are encouraged by elements of today’s announcement, it is premature to judge this proposal until we know how much Plum Read More
NRCM Responds to Decision on Lawsuit
Effort to Clean Up the Androscoggin River Will Continue NRCM News Release The Natural Resources Council of Maine today expressed disappointment in yesterday’s court decision to dismiss, on administrative technicalities, NRCM’s lawsuit against International Paper. NRCM said that it would not give up on its efforts to compel International Paper to reduce its pollution of Read More
Vernal Pool Rules Nothing New for Maine
Rep. Ted Koffman and Sen. Scott Cowger Portland Press Herald op-ed The Legislature’s Committee on Natural Resources has worked over the years to build on our predecessors’ work to advance a reasoned and commonsense approach to environmental conservation and public health protection. The Natural Resources Protection Act, enacted in 1987, has provided protections for special Read More
Clean-water Activists Take Aim at Androscoggin
Some blame state for mills’ pollution By Beth Daley, Globe Staff Boston Globe news story The Androscoggin River that served as the putrid inspiration for the federal Clean Water Act three decades ago has long been cursed with a bitter irony: It has never met the minimum standards of that law. Now, government officials in Read More
On the Androscoggin, DEP Should Start Over
Editorial Portland Press Herald When a state agency admits it got something as important as a pollution discharge permit wrong, it should go back and make it right. So it is with the Department of Environmental Protection, which no longer supports a permit it issued for an International Paper mill on the Androscoggin River. The Read More