Read the latest news stories and opinion pieces related to the environment, including Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife. September 2020 The Portland Press Herald celebrates the signing of the Great American Outdoors Act earlier this year, but says the work doesn’t end there. Poland Spring Bottling Company and the University of Maine have teamed up Read More
Maine Environmental News
Maine environmental news often comes quickly and with little warning. Stay up to date on Maine environment news.
From issues such as climate change, healthy waters, Maine forests and wildlife, and sustainability—and environmental policy that could impact them—you’ll find NRCM’s up-to-the-minute news releases to see our perspective on the most pressing issues facing Maine’s land, air, waters, and wildlife. This includes findings relating to our role as Maine’s watchdog of activities of state environmental agencies—we stand ready to blow the whistle when regulations are not enforced.
You can also find our news “round up,” News & Noteworthy, which puts the spotlight on media stories that do a particularly good job capturing current news about Maine's environment. We hope you find this part of our website helpful and informative!
Mainers Call for Greater Protections at State-owned Landfills
News release (September 16, 2020) — A group of Maine residents and the Penobscot Nation will call on the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) at their September 17th meeting to support a citizen’s petition that will ban out-of-state waste from being disposed in State-owned landfills and enact greater environmental justice protections for those communities directly Read More
Wolfden Trying to Bypass LUPC Rules for Katahdin-area Mine Proposal
NRCM news release Augusta, ME (September 15, 2020) — The virtually unknown company seeking to operate a mine in the shadow of Katahdin has asked the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) to carry out only a narrow review of its rezoning proposal, a move the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) called an egregious attempt Read More
US Army Corps & Dept. of Energy Identify Major Issues with CMP Corridor
Agencies call out lack of evidence on climate claims even as they coach CMP how to write its own Environmental Assessment August 13, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – A new document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have Read More
Serious Questions Plague Dangerous Mining Proposal in Shadow of Katahdin
NRCM Says Wolfden’s Rezoning Application Offers No Assurances for Adequate Environmental Protection NRCM news release August 12, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – The application for a proposed metal mine on 528 acres near Mount Chase, not far from Baxter State Park and the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, contains serious flaws and offers no assurances Read More
Maine Environmental Organizations Stand in Solidarity with Striking Bath Iron Works Workers
NRCM news release July 30, 2020 (Portland, ME) – The following is a statement from the BlueGreen Alliance, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Health Strategy Center, Maine Conservation Voters, Maine People’s Alliance, Natural Resources Council of Maine, and Sierra Club Maine, who are standing in solidarity with the workers on strike at Bath Iron Works: “Our Read More
Hydro-Quebec Dramatically Escalates Campaign to Influence Maine Elections
NRCM Urges Lawmakers to Close Loophole in Election Laws Exploited by HQ NRCM news release July 30, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – Over the past six months, the foreign government-owned corporation Hydro-Quebec has dramatically escalated its political campaign to interfere with the citizen-initiated referendum to block Central Maine Power’s (CMP) controversial corridor proposal. A new analysis Read More
U.S. House Passes Great American Outdoors Act to Reinvest in Maine’s Outdoor Economy
House Bill Sponsored by Congressman Golden and championed by Congresswoman Pingree NRCM news release July 22, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – The United States House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed the Great American Outdoors Act to expand access to the outdoors and support Maine’s recreation economy. The bill, which was sponsored by Congressman Jared Golden and Read More
CMP & Hydro-Quebec Spent Record-breaking $16.78M on CMP Corridor Campaign
Spending hits $61,915 per day over the past 271 days NRCM news release July 7, 2020 (Augusta, ME) — Central Maine Power (CMP) has now spent $10.53 million and Hydro-Quebec $6.24 million on an unprecedented campaign to salvage their controversial 145-mile transmission line proposal that would deliver electricity from Quebec to Massachusetts by cutting through Read More
