Upstream towns worry they’ll pay the price for a cleaner Androscoggin River

SUN JOURNAL • May 23, 2021

For decades, Rumford served as a poster child for the nightmarish pollution that turned the Androscoggin River into a foaming, dye-filled mess with fumes so awful they peeled the paint off homes. It’s not like that anymore. But Rumford officials, like many along the river, worry that some are in such a hurry to declare the river is in better shape that they might impose regulatory measures that could stifle existing businesses, push up the cost of upgrading sewage treatment plants and prevent new companies from coming to town.