PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 27, 2021
In 48 states, people have no legal right to clean air, clean water or a healthy environment. State and local governments can enact policies and permits without considering the air you breathe or the water you drink. This is how chemical plants in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” were built adjacent to neighborhoods and schools. It is how the New England Clean Energy Connect power line can locate in Maine towns that could experience environmental damage from the project. The Pine Tree Amendment is a proposed constitutional amendment that would add citizen rights to clean air, clean water and a healthy environment to our state constitution. It would protect Mainers by providing a legal basis for citizens, and state and local governments, to take action against harmful policies or developments. Contact your state senator and state representative and ask them to support L.D. 489 for Maine’s clean environment, clean economy and our prosperous future. ~ Sue Inches, North Yarmouth