KENNEBEC JOURNAL • July 20, 2022
In his piece, “Save both Atlantic salmon and the Shawmut Dam” (June 27), Sen. Mark R. Lawrence appears to rely on talking points from the dam’s owner, Brookfield Renewable Power. Sen. Lawrence may not be as familiar with Central Maine’s Kennebec River resource as those of us who live and work along its banks and have witnessed the positive changes in the river below the Lockwood Dam in Waterville since the 1999 removal of the Edwards Dam in Augusta. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which licenses and sets operating conditions at all four of the lower Kennebec dams between, has committed to assessing the combined environmental impact of all four dams on the river as a system in its licensing decisions about each of those dams. Sen. Lawrence would do well to learn more about our Kennebec River before offering up an uninformed opinion. ~ Dave Hedrick, Trout Unlimited