Senate Bill Championed by Senators Collins and King NRCM news release June 17, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – The United States Senate today overwhelmingly passed the Great American Outdoors Act to expand access to the outdoors and support Maine’s recreation economy. The bill, which was championed by Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, will fully and 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.
Happy First Anniversary Maine Brewshed Alliance!
Now, more than ever during these troubling times, we should look for opportunities to remind ourselves of our valuable community and of what we can accomplish together. Today, we want to take a moment to recognize the one-year anniversary of an exciting collaboration we launched last year with Maine’s craft brewers. On March 27, 2019, Read More
Support of LD 1832, An Act To Ensure Adequate Funding for the Maine Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and Waste Discharge Licensing Program
Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee. My name is Nick Bennett, and I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM is Maine’s largest environmental advocacy group with more than 25,000 members and supporters. I am testifying in support of LD 1832, Read More
In Support of LD 1779, An Act To Establish Standards for Operation and Maintenance and Asset Management for Publicly Owned Treatment Works and Municipal Satellite Collection Systems
Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee. My name is Nick Bennett, and I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM is Maine’s largest environmental advocacy group with more than 25,000 members and supporters. I am testifying in support of LD 1779, Read More
U.S. EPA Finalizes “Radical Repeal” of Common-sense Clean Water Protections
NRCM news release September 12, 2019 (Augusta, ME) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it has finalized its aggressive rollback of some of the nation’s most effective clean water protections. For more than 46 years, the Clean Water Act has proved effective at making rivers, lakes, and streams safer for swimming, fishing, and drinking. The Read More
20 Years Ago, Edwards Dam Removal Sparked a Movement for Free-flowing Rivers
NRCM Announces Plans for an Educational Display at the Dam Site NRCM news release July 1, 2019 (Augusta, ME) – Alewives, Bald Eagles, and other wildlife continue their inspirational return to the Kennebec River and its tributaries, 20 years after the Edwards Dam was removed here along the banks of Maine’s capital city. The dam’s Read More
New Laws Deliver Landmark Protections for Sustenance Fishing and Clean Rivers
NRCM news release (Augusta, ME) — Maine’s tribes will receive long-sought water quality protections for sustenance fishing under a bill signed into law by Governor Janet Mills today. Along with an upgrade of legal protections for more than 400 miles of rivers and streams that was signed into law on Tuesday, it will represent the Read More
Landmark Bill Would Protect Sustenance Fishing Rights in Maine’s Tribal Waters
May 29, 2019 (Augusta, ME) – Under a bill proposed by Governor Janet Mills that earned broad-based support during a public hearing today, Maine’s tribes will receive long-sought water quality protections for legal sustenance fishing rights provided to the tribes in the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980. The bill (LD 1775) addresses an Read More
Bill Would Upgrade Clean Water Protections for Maine Rivers
News Release May 23, 2019 (Augusta, ME) — More than 400 miles of Maine’s rivers and streams will receive increased legal protection under a bill (LD 1743) that will receive a public hearing today. Of particular significance, the bill includes critical portions of Maine’s largest river, the Penobscot, and 200 miles of trout streams flowing Read More