The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
Thank you for reading Maine Environmental News. Each year, we post thousands of news summaries, notices, and links related to important environmental issues from across the state (and beyond). If you find this service useful, you can help us continue to provide it by making a donation. Just click on the button below and contribute whatever you can afford. Thanks again for your generous support!
Sincerely,
Jym St. Pierre
Editor, Maine Environmental News
MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • September 20, 2024
Teens to Trails together with Parks and Rec designed a course called Outdoor Explorers for kids who want to take charge of their own adventures! Each week we'll dive into the woods, streams, and trails around Brunswick Junior High School, exploring whatever sparks our interest. From mastering maps and compasses to tracking animal footprints, watching the clouds roll by, and letting our imaginations run free. The course is led by students from BHS and Bowdoin College. Join us on Tuesdays from Sept 24 – Oct 29. Grades 6-8.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 20, 2024
Over a 25-mile and 270-foot drop, the Presumpscot River, before being dammed, boasted an astonishing 13 to 18 historic falls. A vibrant churning flow would greatly enhance the river’s, and Casco Bay’s health, and the health and wellness of all those individuals and communities that engage with it. It would also, in a meaningful and substantive way, honor the Wabanaki that called it home. As is occurring with other far larger rivers, it is time we look to the future instead of being shackled to a past that has long abused the river. ~ Michael Shaughnessy, Friends of the Presumpscot River
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 20, 2024
As presently written, the proposed pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer ordinance in Falmouth targets homeowners who either employ professionals or apply synthetic products themselves to maintain their lawns and gardens. The only allowable products would be fully organic, which would be extremely costly, labor intensive and ineffective in controlling most weeds and grubs. Violations to the mandate would result in fines of up to $250 for the first offense and $1,000 for subsequent offenses. Take a few minutes to learn more about the proposed ordinance that will affect us all. ~ Scott and Alice Hamilton, Falmouth
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 20, 2024
Offshore wind farms are displacing fishermen from traditional fishing grounds. Is this about environment or just transfer of government money to private hands in disguise? Who gave the governor and outside interests the right to change how we earn a livelihood, affect our heritage, our Maine – “the way life should be”? ~ Dale Witham, Bremen
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 19, 2024
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is recalling eggs from Rainbow Farm after at least five people got sick after eating them. The eggs were sold at Rainbow Farm’s Orland location, via the online retailer FarmDrop, and at the Bar Harbor, Blue Hill, Northeast Harbor and Stonington farmers markets.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 19, 2024
The Brunswick Fire Department issued a notice of violation Thursday to the agency that manages the Brunswick Executive Airport for failing to comply with requirements regarding its fire suppression systems. Fire suppression systems in airport Hangars 5 and 6 were found deficient in a pair of July 2023 inspections, and airport officials have not submitted documentation indicating the proper repairs have been made, Joshua Shean, deputy chief of the fire department’s fire prevention division, wrote in the notice. The same kind of suppression system was in use in Hangar 4, where 1,450 gallons of aqueous film-forming foam concentrate mixed with 50,000 gallons of water to create an accidental discharge that was released into the surrounding area last month. That foam contained high concentrations of toxic PFAS chemicals.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 19, 2024
State officials are taking the first steps to purchase PFAS contaminated property — a concept that has been discussed for years as the scale of contamination has been discovered. For the first time, the PFAS Fund is considering inquiries to purchase four contaminated properties around the state. An advisory panel will assess the properties, looking at factors like the extent of contamination and magnitude of financial loss. They will also look at potential future uses for the land, ideally returning them to agricultural production, but also considering research purposes, or conservation and recreation. It's just one of the fund's programs to support farmers affected by PFAS contamination. The fund also offers to replace the income of impacted farmers and has awarded more than $2 million since March.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 19, 2024
South Portland residents are voicing concerns about a 30 acre, 1,000-unit housing development at the site of the former shipyard next to Bug Light Park. They packed a meeting Wednesday night, which was organized by a group that's opposed to the zoning changes that would eventually allow for the development. The proposal calls for mixed-use apartment buildings that range in size from five stories, to 12 or 13 stories. Developers PK Realty Management said the entire project, which includes construction of retail space and a hotel, could take 15-to-20 years to build.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 19, 2024
Scarborough officials have narrowly voted to delay withdrawing the town’s support for a controversial toll highway planned west of Portland. Despite a town hall packed with opponents of the Gorham Connector, a resolution against the four-lane roadway failed on a procedural vote Wednesday night. A majority of the seven member council wanted to vote on the resolution immediately after officials from the Maine Turnpike Authority and Maine Department of Transportation presented updates regarding the development. But there wasn’t a super majority on the seven member council needed to suspend meeting rules and add the resolution to the meeting agenda.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 19, 2024
Juniper Ridge Landfill will likely be allowed to apply for an expansion, despite concerns about the health of people living nearby. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection released a draft of its public benefit determination Sept. 13 that says an expansion will help meet the capacity needs of the state, meets the requirements to divert recyclables from the landfill and is not inconsistent with ensuring there is environmental justice. The draft is open to public comments until 5 p.m. Sept. 27. The Maine DEP must decide if the expansion will have a substantial public benefit before it can accept an application to expand a waste facility.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 19, 2024
Maine voters will have a chance to weigh in this November on a $30 million bond to maintain, expand and improve recreational trails around the state. Question 4 is one of five statewide referendums on the ballot this year. If approved, it would provide the Bureau of Parks and Lands within the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry with the funds to distribute through a grant process over a four-year period. Advocates have called the bond – the first of its kind in Maine – a historic opportunity, and it’s backed by a broad coalition of supporters who say it is especially needed to boost the rural economy and repair damage from storms last winter that have taken a toll on Maine trails.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 19, 2024
Twin Rivers Paper Co. has been approved for a $9.5 million state tax credit over 10 years for upgrading machinery and equipment at its Madawaska mill, according to a first-ever state report on the tax credit released Wednesday. The report said the tax incentive’s impact is limited because only Twin Rivers was eligible to claim it. And it recommended that the Legislature take steps to promote transparency in how companies use state incentives. The credit was enacted in 2021 to provide incentives to revitalize paper manufacturing in counties with high unemployment. From 2000 to 2020, average employment in pulp and paper mills dropped by 72% in Maine. Maine’s experience with tax credits for paper mills hasn’t gone well.
CENTRAL MAINE • September 19, 2024
Nearly half a million Americans received a new diagnosis of Lyme disease this summer. Those numbers could shrink if scientists succeed in developing a vaccine for the tick-borne illness. Low consumer demand scuppered a previous vaccine in the 1990s, but the situation is different now. Cases of Lyme have exploded and about 10%-20% of confirmed Lyme cases do not resolve with antibiotics. That should heighten interest in a new vaccine. But even a new vaccine won’t be the final answer to the Lyme problem. Some labs are examining other prevention strategies. And new lines of prevention shouldn’t slow efforts to crack the mystery of persistent Lyme. People don’t develop natural immunity to Lyme disease. We can get infected again and again. We don’t fully understand why cases have risen so much. Our warming climate does play a role, but it’s not the whole story. ~ F.D. Flam
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 19, 2024
L.L. Bean, with its reputation as a corporation that cares for the environment, has an opportunity to speak truth to power by encouraging Citibank, which services the L.L. Bean credit card, to stop financing new fossil fuel infrastructure. L.L. Bean could enhance its voice with Citibank by enlisting other large retailers, such as Costco, in a coalition of concerned corporate citizens. This coalition could then use their combined economic influence to speak truth to Citibank. L.L. Bean could bolster its reputation of being good stewards of the environment. L.L. Bean could be a leader in speaking the truth about “the greatest crisis humanity has ever confronted.” ~ William Rixon, Freeport
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 18, 2024
The U.S. Department of Energy has allocated Maine $72 million to fund energy upgrades on residential buildings, including $36 million to fund a heat pump rebate program. The hope is that the heat pump program will support electrification measures, including installing heat pumps in Maine homes, that are intended to reduce air pollution and cut energy bills for homeowners who are already staring down mounting costs. “Maine is one of the most heating oil dependent states in the country, 56 percent of our homes are heated with oil, and it’s hugely expensive,” Gov. Janet Mills said. “[Heat pumps] are not just efficient in helping us save the planet, they’re saving people money.”
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 18, 2024
Rescuers on Wednesday morning airlifted a hiker from a trail in Acadia National Park. Park rangers responded at about 8 a.m. to a report of a 58-year-old man having a serious medical event on the Beehive Trail. The man was delivered by helicopter to Sand Beach then brought by ambulance to Mount Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 18, 2024
Maine is launching a new home energy rebate program designed to help certain low-income homeowners purchase and install heat pumps. Gov. Janet Mills said the program aims to cut energy bills and help the state meet its climate goals. Mills announced the new program at ReVision Energy in South Portland on Wednesday, alongside the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Mobile home owners who make below 80% of the area median income are eligible for up to $14,500 toward the cost of heat pump installation. Governor Mills said it's part of an overarching goal of reducing the state's dependence on heating oil, which she said was costing homeowners billions of dollars when she first took office.
KENNEBEC JOURNAL • September 18, 2024
In 2022, an Augusta Downtown Alliance project bought 26 fiberglass sturgeon sculptures and had 25 area artists paint and decorate them. The sculptures were then installed throughout the downtown area in a grant-funded public art initiative celebrating one of the area’s more colorful connections to the Kennebec River. Massive sturgeon annually come up the Kennebec River from the sea, leap out of the river and belly flop back into the water with a loud splash, many in the section of river seen from the city’s downtown riverfront. Twenty-five of the sculptures are now up for bid in an online auction. The alliance’s goal is to raise $20,000.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 18, 2024
The moratorium on medium- and large-scale solar energy system development in Trenton has been extended another 180 days. The decision came in a quick 10-minute meeting of Trenton’s select board on Tuesday night. The current solar moratorium expires Oct. 5. It was extended for another 180 days or until the town adopts an amendment dealing with solar developments. Three solar farms are in process already under the town’s existing ordinance. Their combined land use is approximately 60 acres.
