BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 19, 2022
The Clean Water Act was introduced in 1971 by Maine’s U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie. It was vetoed by President Richard Nixon. But Congress overrode the veto, making it the law of the land. By 1977, two years before its treatment plant became operational, Portland was still sending 14 million gallons of raw sewage straight into Back Cove and Portland Harbor everyday as it had for hundreds of years. As the harbor waters cleared, private investments — including floating restaurants, controversial condominium projects and even recent hotels — began to flow into the waterfront. William Needleman, Portland’s waterfront director, said where once he used to see nothing but contaminated mud and human refuse, he now sees eagles, osprey and migratory shore birds. “And every time, I say thank you to Ed Muskie,” he said.