Help Keep the News Coming

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

Opinion: Make Maine walkable again

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 30, 2026

Being able to walk to day-to-day destinations is important for the vast majority of Americans, but our residential communities aren’t designed for it. Mainers are no different. Local surveys and planning projects in Falmouth, Presque Isle, Rumford, Waterville and others demonstrate walkability is a preference across generations and across the state. Not only is pedestrian access to nearby amenities and services important for individual health and happiness, walkability is a proven economic engine that benefits local businesses and raises tax revenue for communities. Although cars have long been symbols of American freedom, we shouldn’t forget the foundational role of connectedness by rail, trail, coach and trolley in building our economic centers and freeing us to explore the best of what’s out there. ~ Aaron R. Hanlon, Waterville

Letter: A suggestion for keeping dog waste off Maine’s beaches

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 30, 2026

Dogs are beautiful and loving. Most owners take remarkable care of them. They even pick up their droppings. But they cannot pick up urine as it seeds the beach for young children’s bare feet. Even worse, when babies put their hands in their mouths. With so many changes happening in 2026, let us inaugurate a change that benefits the entire community and the diseased ocean: No dogs on any beach in Maine. ~ Aurelie Bald, South Portland

Maine waited years for a Lyme vaccine. RFK hobbled the panel needed for a smooth rollout

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 28, 2026

With rates of Lyme disease on the rise in Maine, physicians are eager for a Lyme vaccine to assist patients. One is on the horizon, but its future availability is up in the air because the Trump administration has effectively eliminated the federal committee that would provide guidance on the new vaccine. What does this mean for the Lyme vaccine? According to vaccine law experts and former members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, there is no way to know whether the Lyme vaccine will receive the needed recommendations for the rollout to be accessible to consumers.

Maine waited years for a Lyme vaccine. RFK hobbled the panel needed for a smooth rollout

MAINE MONITOR • August 28, 2026

With rates of Lyme disease on the rise in Maine, physicians are eager for a Lyme vaccine to assist patients. One is on the horizon, but its future availability is up in the air because the Trump administration has effectively eliminated the federal committee that would provide guidance on the new vaccine. What does this mean for the Lyme vaccine? According to vaccine law experts and former members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, there is no way to know whether the Lyme vaccine will receive the needed recommendations for the rollout to be accessible to consumers.

Letter: Safety, pollution concerns on the Eastern Prom

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 29, 2026

Eastern Prom has become a common setting for cars and motorcycles showboating with speed and sound both the day and night. I have recently seen both a bicyclist and a motorcyclist in minor accidents and a very close call with a small child and a speeding truck. The employment of speed bumps and other devices to slow traffic on the Prom and Cutter Street seems critical. Also, why a metered electrical service for the food trucks has not been installed? The noise and pollution from the seven generators is ridiculous. ~ John Stewart, Portland

Federal arts leader has ‘extraordinary’ visit to Lewiston museum during Maine tour

SUN JOURNAL • August 28, 2026

The head of the National Endowment for the Arts wrapped up her three-day visit to Maine on Friday afternoon with a visit to the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor, which moved this summer into a new $15 million building along the Androscoggin River. “It’s projects like this that can change a town, change a community,” said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the NEA, the country’s largest funder of the arts. According to Carter, 18,000 Mainers work in the arts and culture sector, and the industry contributes $3 billion to the state’s economy.

Collins warns Canadian tariffs will hit $170M in Maine goods, urges return to negotiations

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 28, 2026

Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Friday that roughly $170 million in local goods will be impacted by the proposed Canadian tariffs, with more than half of that coming from the forest product sector. Collins wrote to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and urged them to resume trade negotiations with Canada. 

York’s Cliff Walk repair estimate skyrockets to $5.8 million

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2026

Months after York voters approved funding to begin repairing the historic Cliff Walk, the Select Board learned this week that the full cost of restoring the seaside trail could be nearly six times the initial estimate. What would have been a $1 million project could now cost just over $5.8 million. Now, town leaders are assessing their options, including a potential partial repair.

OSHA: Maine paper mill where 2 men died ignored broken alarm, fire hazard

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2026

The Woodland Pulp paper mill in Baileyville knowingly put employees in dangerous situations this year, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA alleges that the company knew an emergency alarm system wasn’t working and that it didn’t activate during a Jan. 27 hydrogen sulfide leak that killed two employees. OSHA also alleges Woodland Pulp stored wood pulp, which is combustible, near hydrogen peroxide tanks, knowing it was a safety hazard. The pulp and the chemical came into contact on March 7 and started a fire.

Shifting the cleanup cost of packaging waste to companies could encourage greener packaging

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 28, 2026

Standing in your local store, it can be mind-boggling to try to weigh the pros and cons of all the packaging options. Disposing of the empty packaging poses a similar challenge. However, I’ve seen the potential in a policy approach gaining traction for packaging: extended producer responsibility, or EPR. This could radically change what packaging companies choose to use and what happens to that packaging after you throw it out. Extended producer responsibility policies are based on the “polluter pays” principle. By requiring brand owners to fund – and in some cases operate – recycling systems, EPR shifts the burden of waste management off local taxpayers. As producers incorporate these costs, the assumption is that they will redesign their packaging in ways that reduce their overall environmental impact.

Letter: Another choice for bicycling in and around Portland

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2026

The Casco Bay Bicycle Club offers social road bicycling in and around Portland from mid-April to mid-October. Our club is a great choice for cyclists whose desired pace is in the 12- to 15- mph range. All our rides are no-drop, meaning riders won’t be left out alone in the wild. Regular morning rides are Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays and range from 25 to 40 miles — with a slower paced, somewhat shorter “saunter” on Sunday mornings. Regular evening rides are on Wednesdays and Thursdays, ranging from 15 to 20 miles and usually start at 6 p.m. during longer summer days. ~ Uwe Uhmeyer, Gorham

Opinion: July heat wave revealed the challenges facing Maine’s electrical grid

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2026

The prolonged heat wave leading into the Fourth of July holiday reminded us that a reliable electric system must be ready for many different kinds of stress, including extreme heat. What happened in early July demonstrates why continued investment in grid infrastructure remains essential: reliability challenges are growing. Maintaining reliability in the decades ahead will require both innovation and steady investment in the electric system. ~ Linda Ball, president and CEO, Central Maine Power

Council meeting attendees worry Maine will be left 'holding the bag' when AI bubble bursts

More than 100 people attended the first of two virtual hearings held by the Maine Data Center Advisory Council on Thursday. Many are asking the council to recommend a moratorium or outright ban on large-scale data centers in the state. Duncan Whitmire of South Portland said he's worried about what happens to the buildings, land and communities if or when the AI bubble bursts. "So, if that happens, if they just pack up and leave, who is left holding the bag? What's going to happen to those communities?" he asked. "So if we cut down the trees, if we pollute the rivers and the waterways, we're left with big grey slabs of deteriorating concrete, that's not the Maine that I want to pass on to my kids."

How 9,400 tons of sand is being used to combat industrial pollution in a Penobscot River cove

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 28, 2026

The lower Penobscot River is seeing a flurry of activity this week reminiscent of its industrial past as large barges laden with beeping, humming heavy equipment float just offshore of Orrington’s Picnic Park. But this work is different – spraying about 9,400 tons of clean sand to cap about six acres of intertidal flats, covering toxic mercury sediment in a cove long contaminated by discharges from the former Holtrachem plant. If successful at reducing exposure in the estuary, the method could be repeated over 124 more acres in Orrington and North Bucksport in the coming years.

Millinocket salmon farm project paused due to tariffs ‘roller coaster’

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 27, 2026

Great Northern Salmon is pausing its $300 million salmon aquaculture project in Millinocket, citing the economic uncertainty created by the tariffs the Trump administration is imposing on Canadian goods. The plan to build the land-based recirculating aquaculture system at the former Great Northern Paper mill was designed to eventually produce 7,500 metric tons of salmon annually. But CEO Marianne Naess said Thursday that Great Northern Salmon, formerly Katahdin Salmon, can no longer predict the true cost of the project due to the rapidly changing trade policies. The project was expected to create over 100 jobs during construction, and dozens when it was operational. Construction was slated to begin next spring.

Union leaders call for better rail safety in wake of recent train derailments

MAINE PUBLIC • August 27, 2026

Union leaders are calling on rail company CSX to improve safety and restore personnel at Rigby Yard in South Portland. The union's demands for more staffing come in the wake of two CSX train derailments in the last month, including one in Orono.

Jay Select Board declines to send solar moratorium to voters

DAILY BULLDOG • August 27, 2026

The Select Board turned down a request Monday to ask voters to weigh in on a 180‑day moratorium on solar power developments. The board took no vote on the request, and no member offered a motion, leaving opponents of the large solar farm with one option: petitioning to place a moratorium question on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Environmental groups urge opposition to big oil immunity bills

MAINE PUBLIC • August 28, 2026

Environmental groups in Maine are urging the state's congressional delegation to oppose bills that would shield big oil and gas companies from liability for climate damage. During a Portland rally Thursday, organizers led a small group of delegates in chants and a march on representatives' offices to deliver a petition to reject "Stop Climate Shakedowns" acts proposed in the U.S. Congress. Jackson Chadwick with Maine Youth for Climate Justice said the pair of bills would grant fossil fuel companies immunity from lawsuits seeking damages for climate harms such as more intense storms and flooding.

Maine climate protesters oppose legal immunity for fossil fuel industry

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 27, 2026

Climate activists rallied in Portland and Lewiston on Thursday to demand federal lawmakers reject a Republican-backed bill that would shield oil and gas companies from lawsuits like the ones that Maine plans to use to pay for climate-related damages. The federal bill would wipe out Maine’s deceptive practices lawsuit and its pending climate superfund law. If passed, it would force local taxpayers to carry the entire financial burden of storm damage and rising sea levels.