PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 5, 2021
Four conservation groups have filed notices of their intent to sue a $600 billion Canadian conglomerate over alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act at four dams it owns on the lower sections of the Kennebec River. The Atlantic Salmon Federation, Conservation Law Foundation, Maine Rivers and Natural Resources Council of Maine have filed notices of their intent to sue to officials and attorneys for the renewable power subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, an Ontario-based global asset manager with 5,300 hydropower dams worldwide, 38 of which are in Maine. The conservation groups allege that Brookfield Renewable has been killing Atlantic salmon at its dams on the Kennebec in violation of the law since Dec. 31, 2019, when its federal authorizations to kill salmon expired.