by Scott Thistle, State Politics Editor Sun Journal news story A bill that seeks to expand the use of photovoltaic solar panels in Maine and is funded with a fee to electric ratepayers passed the State House on Wednesday with what appears to be broad bipartisan support. Key to the support was an amendment to Read More
State House Watch
Working for legislation to protect Maine’s environment is an essential part of NRCM’s mission for the people of Maine. During the legislative session, we are at the Maine State House, just a block from our office, to work for new safeguards and also to defend existing legislation that protects Maine’s land, air, water, and wildlife.
Environmentalists, Energy Firms Spar Over LePage’s Bill to Increase Timber Harvest
By Mario Moretto, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Environmentalists and energy companies are lining up on opposite sides of a bill by Gov. Paul LePage to increase the state’s timber harvest and use the new revenue to pay for residential energy efficiency programs. The plan would slowly increase the public Read More
After Missed Deadlines, Maine Dam Relicensing Bill Gains Support
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection would be required to notify lawmakers when hydropower licenses are up for renewal. By Kevin Miller, Washington Bureau Chief Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — Lawmakers moved Monday to increase their oversight of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection after the agency failed to exercise the state’s right to Read More
LePage: Cut Down More Public Trees to Pay for Heating Efficiency Programs.
The governor said that heat pumps, not solar rebates, are key to the state’s energy future. By Matt Byrne, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Gov. Paul LePage and officials at the state energy office announced plans Tuesday to increase logging on public lands and use the new revenue to help Mainers convert inefficient Read More
Legislative Committee Endorses Bill Designed to Protect Water Quality in Maine Lakes
by Scott Thistle Sun Journal news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Most of Maine’s lakes are still covered with ice, but on Thursday, the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill that aims to further protect water quality for 3,000 of the state’s largest lakes. Among other things, the bill, LD 1744, authored by Read More
Maine Lawmakers Should Pass Solar Power Rebate Bill
More people would invest in this technology if there were a timely incentive from the state. Portland Press Herald editorial Maine lags behind two-thirds of the states when it comes to installed solar power per capita, and it’s not for the reason you probably think. It’s not because we are so far north or have Read More
State Plan Changes after Delay in Reporting Mercury in Lobster
Portland Press Herald news story by Scott Dolan, staff writer State Toxicologist Andrew Smith received an urgent message in 2011: A team of independent scientists had discovered dangerously high levels of mercury in black ducks in a marsh near the mouth of the Penobscot River. But what Smith didn’t know was that the same scientists Read More
Contamination of Maine Lobster Shows Value of Regulations
Kennebec Journal editorial The lobster fishery has been the one bright spot in Maine’s seafood industry for years — at least until last week. On Feb. 18, the state Department of Marine Resources ordered a two-year shutdown of lobster and crab harvesting in a 7-square-mile region at the mouth of the Penobscot River. Mercury contamination Read More
Statement in Response to Governor LePage’s News Conference Today about Maine’s Environment
NRCM news release, statement by Lisa Pohlmann Maine needs healthy people and a healthy environment. To pit one against the other is disingenuous and misleading. Governor LePage has had the weakest environmental record of any governor in recent history, so this sudden concern about the effect of MaineCare spending on natural resource agency budgets seems Read More
