Read highlights from December 2022 news stories and opinion pieces related to Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife, in this News & Noteworthy from the Natural Resources Council of Maine. December 2022 Rulemaking for Maine’s first-in-the-nation Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging law began this month. Read about the first meeting, and hear from NRCM Read More
Senator Ed Muskie
Celebrating Maine’s Clean Water Champions
Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act Remarks by Pete Didisheim, NRCM Interim CEO, at a Clean Water Act event on September 29th in Lewiston, Maine, along the banks of the Androscoggin River Greetings and welcome to this celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. We are now at the Read More
It’s Time to Celebrate (and Protect) Maine’s Most Precious Resource: Clean Water
We are lucky to live in a state so beautifully crisscrossed by pristine, fresh waterways. From the Allagash up north, to the Penobscot in the middle, to the Saco in the south—fresh, clean water is a luxury to which we Mainers have become accustomed. I am personally grateful for the federal and state laws, along Read More
River Classification Upgrades Will Protect Maine’s Clean Water
NRCM news release April 4, 2022 (Augusta, ME) – More than 800 miles of rivers and streams in Maine will receive stronger protections from pollution under new standards signed into law on Thursday, March 31st. The water quality upgrades contained in LD 1964 are the result of a review conducted every three years by the Read More
Support of LD 1964, An Act To Update Certain Water Quality Standards and To Reclassify Certain Waters of the State
Senator Brenner, Representative Tucker, and Members of the ENR Committee: My name is Nick Bennett, and I am the staff scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), which is Maine’s largest environmental advocacy group with more than 25,000 members and supporters. I am testifying in support of LD 1964. Both Maine and federal Read More
50 Years of the Clean Water Act
Progress Made but Challenges Remain Clean water is central to Maine’s identity and vital for the future of our economy and way of life. We love our rivers, lakes, streams, and coastal waters. That’s why we’re excited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the nation’s Clean Water Act, which has played a critical role in Read More
We All Need Clean Air and a Healthy Climate
As I sat down to write this post, I had other topics in mind, public lands, trail networks, or adventuring locally this summer, all things that I have more of a background in. Yet looking out at a sunset dimmed by the haze of the wildfires raging on the West Coast, it’s hard to not Read More
Climate Action Needs Bipartisan Spirit of Original Clean Air Act
Maine Senator Edmund Muskie helped redefine public health and the modern environmental movement through the passage of the Clean Air Act. This legislation passed unanimously in the U.S. Senate (73-0) on September 22, 1970, and nearly unanimously (374-1) in the U.S. House. Senator Mitchell guided the committee process on the Clean Air Act Amendments, which Read More
Bill Adams, One of Maine’s Environmental Pioneers, Dies at 89
By Steve Collins, Staff Writer Sun Journal news story AUBURN — Sometimes one person in the right place makes all the difference. Back in 1973, a New York-based firm called the Pittston Co. sought to construct an oil refinery astride Passamaquoddy Bay in Eastport. The refinery would take in 250,000 barrels daily from tankers that Read More
