Maine environmental board recommends stricter standards for lower section of Androscoggin River

MAINE PUBLIC • December 27, 2021

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection is recommending that a portion of the Androscoggin River, from Lisbon Falls to Merrymeeting Bay, be upgraded to Class B status. It's a stricter water quality standard, and it comes after decades of cleanup and improvements. The recommendation to improve the Androscoggin's status from Class C to Class B would extend only to a small part of the river, below the Worumbo Dam in Lisbon Falls. Several local groups pushed for an even larger section of the river — beginning near Turner — to be upgraded. But they faced opposition from some paper companies and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.