By Marguerite Pennoyer, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Maine’s air has been dangerously unhealthy this summer. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued more than two dozen notices for high ozone and unhealthy conditions since April. These air quality warnings expose the danger lurking behind last month’s proposal by the LePage Read More
ozone
Governor LePage Releases a Department of Environmental Protection Proposal
By Brianna Bires WABI-TV news story Watch full news story. AUGUSTA, Maine. (WABI)- “This proposal will increase air emissions and result in worse air quality in the state of Maine.” Governor LePage has released a proposal that may affect Maine’s air. A public hearing was held in Augusta to discuss that proposal which would remove ninety-eight Read More
Environmental, Tourism Groups Oppose Efforts to Change Pollution Limit Standards
By Mal Leary Maine Public news story Listen to full news story. For years, Maine has been part of a regional effort to reduce ozone pollution in the air that exacerbates asthma and has been linked to other health problems. Now, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection wants to adopt less stringent standards and move Read More
LePage Administration Wants Most of Maine Withdrawn from Regional Air Pollution Program
Forest industry supporters of the proposal say Maine has little impact on air quality problems in the Northeast, but critics say it makes no sense to roll back a program that has reduced pollution here. by Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A LePage administration proposal to withdraw most of Read More
Health, Environment, Acadia Experts Blast DEP Proposal to Remove 98% of Maine from Smog Protection Region
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
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
Study Links Air Pollution to Drop in National Park Visitors
Acadia, included in the study, does occasionally exceed air quality standards but the worst offenders are in California. by Matthew Brown, Associated Press Portland Press Herald news story DENVER – Visitors appear to be steering clear of some U.S. national parks or cutting visits short because of pollution levels that are comparable to what’s found Read More
No Day at the Beach: How Trump EPA Budget Cuts Would Harm Maine’s Coast, Public Health, and Economy
NRCM news release Scarborough, Maine – Today, at a news conference at Scarborough Beach State Park, speakers including a physician, a young asthmatic, a state legislator, and an environmental expert described the effects President Trump’s proposed budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would have on coastal tourism, the health of Maine residents, sea-level Read More
Divided Supreme Court Weighs Clean-Air Regulations
By Mark Sherman, the Associated Press staff writer Portland Press Herald news story WASHINGTON — A seemingly divided Supreme Court weighed the Obama administration’s first-ever regulations aimed at reducing power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants that contribute to respiratory illnesses, birth defects and developmental problems in children. The justices heard arguments Read More
