Conservation Groups Call For Full Environmental Analysis As Kennebec River Dam Comes Up For Relicensing

MAINE PUBLIC • August 16, 2021

Regional businesses are squaring off against conservation groups over the federal relicensing of a 100-year-old dam on the Kennebec River in Benton. The Shawmut hydroelectric dam is seen as an economic lifeline by some, and by others as a barrier to recovery of endangered Atlantic salmon. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is soliciting comments on potential environmental consequences of re-licensing the dam for the next 30 years, and conservation groups say FERC's assessment is cursory at best.