Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) Analysis of DEP Documents Related to the 2012 Report, “Implementing Product Stewardship in Maine” Yields Industry Paper Trail News release Today, the Natural Resources Council of Maine released an analysis of documents that reveal how a recent Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) report was substantially influenced by representatives of out-of-state Read More
Department of Environmental Protection
DEP Efforts to Review Product Takeback Program Under Scrutiny
by Susan Sharon Maine Public news story When the Maine Department of Environmental Protection recently suggested review and possible phasing out of Maine’s first-in-the-nation product takeback programs it had meetings with industry but not with other stakeholders or key staff who manage the programs. That is one of the findings from a Freedom of Access Read More
Statement on Proposed Restructuring of Maine DEP
by Pete Didisheim, NRCM Advocacy Director We are deeply concerned about the Administration’s announcement to pursue a massive restructuring of Maine’s DEP, and we urge the Legislature to put the brakes on this bad idea. We are aware of no evidence that this proposal will be good for Maine — not for taxpayers, Maine businesses, Read More
Bureaucratic Malpractice: Maine DEP Waives Water Quality Certification for Flagstaff Lake
Maine Loses Ability to Have Any Say in Water Management for Next 25 Years NRCM * AMC * CLF * Maine Rivers * Trout Unlimited PORTLAND, ME – Conservation groups are charging that the deep cuts in, and ongoing reorganization of, personnel at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection have resulted in a clear case of Read More
On the Androscoggin, DEP Should Start Over
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
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
DEP Found in Violation of State Law
AG: Documents withheld in Androscoggin cleanup Bangor Daily News news story An investigation by Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe’s office has found that Department of Environmental Protection staffers violated the state’s public records law by not making available documents from private meetings with paper company officials. In response, Gov. John Baldacci announced Friday that workers Read More
NRCM Cites Political Interference with Hazardous Waste Program
Enforcement Action Against International Paper Inexplicably Dropped NRCM news release The Natural Resources Council of Maine today announced the results of an investigation of a proposed reorganization of the Bureau of Remediation and Hazardous Waste at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The investigation found evidence that two Maine State legislators may have exerted Read More
