AUGUSTA, Maine – Today, at a news conference and public hearing, public health and conservation advocates strongly criticized a proposal by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that would roll back pollution standards that protect Maine’s air from harmful smog and other air pollution. In his final months in office, the LePage Administration is Read More
Governor Paul LePage
Maine Shouldn’t Go Backward on Ozone Regulations
Bangor Daily News editorial Ozone is harmful, sometimes deadly, pollutant. Maine has worked with 11 other states to our west and south to successfully reduce ozone levels. But the pollutant remains problematic, especially in the summer when the Maine Department of Environmental Protection issues warnings about high ozone levels encouraging people at risk for respiratory Read More
Judge Tosses Challenge of Order Halting Wind Turbines
by Marina Villeneuve, The Associated Press Bangor Daily News news story PORTLAND, Maine — A judge has tossed a legal challenge of Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s executive order halting wind turbine permits in parts of Maine, while leaving the door open to revisit the topic. Superior Court Justice Andrew Horton said in his decision Friday Read More
Gov. LePage Set Up Wind-Farm Review Panel to Meet in Private. Now, the Names of its Members are Secret.
The governor’s energy director says the 14 members of the advisory panel will be identified once the body is prepared to meet. by Tux Turkel, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Gov. Paul LePage’s administration is refusing to identify the members of a public commission charged with reviewing the impact of wind farms on Read More
Maine Regulators Carry Out LePage’s Shortsighted Energy Agenda
The state needs a governor with the vision and patience to build an ocean wind industry. The Editorial Board Portland Press Herald editorial It’s too soon to know the identity of Maine’s next governor, but the one we’ve got now just gave us all a good reminder of why we need a change. The three Read More
Regulator Deals Blow to UMaine Offshore Wind Project
by Bill Trotter, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story In a move seen as a major setback for a pilot offshore wind project under development by the University of Maine, state regulators voted Tuesday to reconsider the contract terms by which Central Maine Power agreed to purchase electricity from the project. The Public Utilities Read More
LePage Administration Reneges on Offshore Wind
Says ‘no’ to thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of investment in Maine’s clean energy future. NRCM news release “The LePage Administration’s anti-wind rampage continued today with his Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) decision to renege on its offshore wind agreement. “In 2013, the global energy giant Statoil withdrew its proposal to begin building floating Read More
Development Changes to Maine’s Unorganized Territory Deserve Close Scrutiny
By Michelle Dunphy, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed It’s hardly a startling headline that rural Maine is in crisis. In fact, the face of rural Maine has been a sporting a series of fresh bruises as a regular occurrence since the 1890s. The utter collapse of the farm economy, the demise of Read More
Poll: Mainers Want Next Governor to be Environment Friendly
Eight in 10 voters in a new survey support Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, opposed by Gov. Paul LePage. Public News Service news story AUGUSTA, Maine — A new poll shows Mainers are not in sync with Gov. Paul LePage when it comes to the environment. Most voters want to replace him with a Read More