by Dylan Voorhees, NRCM Clean Energy Director Senator Rector and Representative Prescott, Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony today regarding Maine’s Uniform Building & Energy Code. We support the proposed legislation and believe it is the appropriate kind of approach to making adjustments that improve implementation of Maine’s code. Should the committee identify Read More
At Issue: Are Billboards an Unmet Need, or ‘Visual Litter’?
Pro-business and environmental views collide at a hearing on bills that would loosen the 34-year-old ban in Maine. by Rebekah Metzler Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA – Two daughters of the woman who led the effort to enact Maine’s 34-year-old ban on billboards testified Tuesday against proposals that they said would erode her legacy. Read More
Proposal to Lift Maine’s Billboard Ban Sparks Opposition
by A.J. Higgins Maine Public news story A pair of bills has surfaced in the Legislature’s Transportation Committee that would try to help the cash-strapped state DOT find new ways to build and maintain roads. But a provision for billboards in one bill, and the option for business signs in another, created an uproar during public Read More
A Better Plan for Moosehead Lake is Possible
Bangor Daily News op-ed In a victory for democracy, a Maine Superior Court judge recently sent Plum Creek’s massive development proposal for Maine’s Moosehead Lake region back to the Land Use Regulation Commission and provided the opportunity to work on a better plan. Seattle-based Plum Creek, a Real Estate Investment Trust and the largest private Read More
Opposition to LD 1324, An Act to Create Consistency and Fairness in Maine’s Bottle Bill and LD 1417, An Act To Exempt Wine Bottles from Maine’s Container Redemption System
Senator Saviello, Representative Hamper and members of the Committee. My name is Matt Prindiville, and I’m the Clean Production Project Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). I’m also here representing the Container Recycling Institute, a national nonprofit organization that studies and promotes policies that increase recycling of beverage containers and packaging. NRCM Read More
“Protecting the Nature of Maine” Wins New England Emmy Nomination
News Release Protecting the Nature of Maine: 50 Years of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, was nominated for a New England Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the Outstanding Environmental Program category. The Emmy Awards ceremony will be held on May 14 in Boston. “We are pleased that Read More
NRCM Comments In Support of LD 1, An Act to Ensure Regulatory Fairness and Reform
by Pete Didisheim, NRCM Advocacy Director Senator Courtney, Representative McKane, and members of the Joint Select Committee on Regulatory Fairness and Reform. My name is Pete Didisheim. I am the Advocacy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and I appreciate this opportunity to testify on LD 1. I am testifying in support of the bill Read More
A Better Plum Creek Project
Bangor Daily News editorial A Superior Court ruling sending Plum Creek’s controversial Moosehead Lake development project back to regulators offers a fresh opportunity to improve the plan. The Land Use Regulation Commission must ignore the loud and competing voices and help Plum Creek see the need to present a smaller, more environmentally sensitive proposal. Failing Read More
Judge Puts Plum Creek on Hold
A Superior Court ruling faults LURC commissioners and reorders hearings to reopen. by The Associated Press Portland Press Herald news story PORTLAND — A state judge on Thursday put a stop to Plum Creek Timber Co.’s sprawling resort and residential development in the Moosehead Lake region, citing missteps by the regulatory agency that gave approval Read More