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
Sprawling Development, Longer Commutes, and Lack of Transportation Options are “Driving Global Warming”
Residents of So. Portland, Portland and Bangor Generated Least Global Warming Pollution Per Commuter Natural Resources Council of Maine * Environment Maine PORTLAND, ME- The fastest growing communities in Maine, largely on the outer fringes of Portland, are contributing disproportionately to the global warming pollution caused by commuting according to Driving Global Warming, a report Read More
Court Rejects (on Procedural Grounds) Carmakers’ Challenge to Maine’s Car Pollution Rule Process
Natural Resources Council of Maine * Conservation Law Foundation The Kennebec County Superior court has denied a request by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers to stay Maine’s new clean car standards. The court also refused to send the matter back to the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) for reconsideration. “This is a good step Read More
Record Numbers Tell LURC They Oppose Plum Creek’s Proposed Developments
NRCM Releases Video of Moosehead Lake Residents Concerned About the Massive Development Plans NRCM news release In the largest outpouring ever experienced by Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission, more than 5,000 people have now formally registered their opposition to Washington-based Plum Creek’s massive development plan for Maine. The citizen comments were delivered to Maine’s Land Read More
Leading the Way in e-Waste Recycling
In 2003, NRCM took on the task of resolving the developing crisis of discarded and highly toxic electronic waste, or “e-waste.” Maine was not the first state to discover it had an e-waste problem but took the lead in finding a workable solution. “Our investigation showed that e-waste was being stockpiled in people’s homes and Read More
Recycling Electronics Gets Easier Under New State Law
by Tom Bell, Portland Press Herald Writer Portland Press Herald news story A new law goes into effect today that makes Maine the first state in nation to require manufacturers to pick up the cost of recycling old TVs and computer monitors. Environmentalists say the law will encourage manufacturers to design products that are less Read More
Maine’s First-In-The-Nation Law Requiring Manufacturers to Pay to Recycle Electronic Waste Goes Into Effect
AUGUSTA, MAINE – Today Maine launched the first manufacturer-funded program in the nation designed to capture hazardous electronic waste for safe disposal and recycling. Under the law enacted in 2004, beginning January 18, municipalities will send waste computer and television monitors to consolidation centers that are fully-funded by manufacturers. The manufacturers also pay to safely Read More
Ex-DEP Chief, Legislator Discussed “Trade”
By John Richardson, Portland Press Herald Writer Portland Press Herald news story Maine’s former environmental commissioner put a hold on a violation notice against a Jay paper mill to try to win support from a legislator who also works as the mill’s environmental manager, according to internal state records. Documents released this week, including memos Read More
Recycling Mercury Thermostats Urged
by the Associated Press Portland Press Herald Mainers are being urged to recycle old thermostats that contain mercury now that a new law outlawing sales of the thermostats has gone into effect. The Natural Resources Council of Maine held a press conference Tuesday at a hardware store to demonstrate the use of digital, nonmercury thermostats Read More