By A.J. Higgins MPBN news story AUGUSTA, Maine – A proposal to loosen mining regulations in Maine has suffered a setback in Augusta. The Maine House overwhelmingly rejected the measure, which first emerged three years ago, after a Canadian corporation expressed interest in developing mining operations on land it owns at Bald Mountain in Aroostook Read More
Waters
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 has been working on clean water issues since we were founded in 1959 to protect the Allagash.
NRCM continues to advocate for clean and healthy waters across Maine. Read more news & blogs about our work to protect Maine's beautiful rivers, lakes, and streams.
Maine House Crushes Mining Bill
By Jen Lynds, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — House lawmakers Thursday afternoon voted 109 to 36 to oppose a bill aimed at allowing large-scale metal mining in the state. The amended version of LD 750 sponsored by Rep. Ralph Chapman, D-Brooksville, was rejected after more than two hours of floor Read More
Maine House Delivers Major Blow to Rewritten Mining Rules
The long, heated debate over opening land to digging for metals is replayed again before the bill is rejected in a 109-36 vote. By Steve Mistler, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A hotly debated bill that would rewrite Maine’s metal mining regulations was dealt a decisive setback Thursday in the House Read More
Maine House Votes 109-36 to Reject Weak Mining Bill, LD 750
Statement of Natural Resources Council of Maine Scientist Nick Bennett “This vote reflects Maine people’s strong concern about weak mining rules. This is a victory for clean water and all the Mainers who depend on it for their livelihoods. It’s also a victory for Maine taxpayers, who should never again have to spend their hard-earned Read More
Loose Mining Rules Endanger the Proven Job Creators for which Maine is Known
By Jeff McCabe and Jen Brophy, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Metal mining is a boom and bust industry with a long record of polluting the water and leaving taxpayers to pay the cleanup costs in Maine and elsewhere around the country. More than 40 years after the Callahan mine in Brooksville Read More
Crooked River Conservation Side-steps Augusta Battle
by Christopher Crosby, Staff Writer Sun Journal news story HARRISON — When Robert Carlson’s father-in-law was hospitalized in Portland nearly sixty years ago, he gave instructions for the young sawmill operator to watch over nearly 3,000 forested acres. A land owner and two trusts are close to signing a $1.37 million deal to set aside 800 Read More
Saving Canada’s Boreal Forest
by Scott Weidensaul and Jeffrey V. Wells New York Times op-ed STRETCHING from interior Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland, and sandwiched between the prairies and the Arctic, North America’s boreal forest is a mind-boggling 1.5 billion acres in size — bigger even than the vast rain forests of the Brazilian Amazon or the Congo. And Read More
Federal Rule Will Safeguard Drinking Water for 500,000 Mainers
by Jackie Farwell, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Drinking water for nearly 500,000 Maine residents will be protected under federal regulations announced Wednesday by President Barack Obama’s administration. The new rule aims to safeguard streams and wetlands from pollution and development. The rule, finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Read More
Metallic Mineral Mining Would Mean a Motherlode of Trouble for Maine
Our natural resources are too important to be turned over to J.D. Irving and its subsidiary. by Senator Cathy Breen Portland Press Herald op-ed Lawmakers are one step closer to allowing metallic mineral mining – one of the riskiest, most toxic and financially irresponsible industries in the world – to operate right here in Maine. Read More
