The City Council also bans the use of polystyrene packaging. By Dennis Hoey, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story SOUTH PORTLAND — The city of South Portland joined Portland on Monday night as the only municipalities in Maine that have adopted ordinances requiring consumers to pay 5 cents for disposable, plastic shopping bags at Read More
Clean Water
Clean, healthy waterways are vital to our day-to-day lives. They help ensure safe drinking water, suitable habitat for fish and other wildlife, and recreational opportunities that make Maine a special place to live, work, and visit. NRCM is working hard to protect and restore Maine’s lakes, rivers, and streams, now and for generations to come.
Falmouth Takes Step Toward Banning Plastic Bags
The town would be the first in Maine to institute an outright ban on the use of plastic shopping bags by all retailers. By Matt Byrne, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Falmouth moved one step closer Wednesday to becoming the first community in Maine to ban stores from issuing single-use plastic bags, after Read More
State Shouldn’t Relinquish Water Quality Permitting Authority
by the BDN editorial board Bangor Daily News editorial Unfortunately, a water quality dispute involving state and federal regulators and the state’s Indian tribes is moving further away from resolution. The uncertainty over water quality standards has gotten so bad that Gov. Paul LePage is threatening to quit a system that allows the state to Read More
Judge Orders Mallinckrodt Manufacturing to Fund Mercury Cleanup Plan for Penobscot River
The ruling is a step toward requiring the company to pay to clean up pollution from the former HoltraChem site – a cost estimated at $130 million. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story A federal judge ordered Mallinckrodt Manufacturing Co. on Wednesday to pay to develop a detailed plan to clean Read More
LePage Asks Maine Delegation to Intervene in Tribal Waters Dispute with Feds
By A.J. Higgins MPBN news story AUGUSTA, Maine – As the impasse between Maine and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over water quality standards deepens, the LePage administration is threatening to relinquish some or all of the state’s delegated authority to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Patty Aho Read More
Colorado Mining Disaster Shows Maine was Right to Reject Mining Rules — Again
By Nick Bennett, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed 2015 has been a year of seconds with respect to mining. For the second time, the Department of Environmental Protection submitted the same weak mining rules it submitted to the Legislature in 2014. For the second time, the Legislature wisely rejected them. Also for Read More
Volunteers Help Keep Maine Waters Strong for Future Generations
by Roberta Hill, Invasive Species Program Director, Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program The Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP) is the oldest and largest statewide citizen lake monitoring program in the nation. The mission of the VLMP is to help protect Maine lakes through widespread citizen participation in the gathering and dissemination of credible scientific Read More
Report: Clean Power Plan Key to Protecting Drinking Water, Wildlife Habitat
News release of the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Council of Maine MAINE (August 18, 2015) – Maine’s and America’s waterways are already being stressed by climate change and President Obama’s Clean Power Plan is urgently needed to protect them. This is the conclusion of a new report by the National Wildlife Federation, Read More
In Impaired Central Maine Lakes, Alewives Have Outsized Impact
After decades of poor water quality, central Maine lakes such as Vassalboro’s Webber Pond improve after alewives are reintroduced. By Peter McGuire, Staff Writer Kennebec Journal news story VASSALBORO — Frank Richards can remember when regular algae blooms on Webber Pond made having a lakefront home almost unappealing. From July until September, for decades, the Read More