SUN JOURNAL • September 24, 2022
Fifty years after the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, the river that inspired U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie of Rumford to write his landmark bill is the cleanest it’s been in more than a century. Once viewed primarily as a means to power mills and wash away waste, the Androscoggin River has become a resource for common people to recreate and enjoy. None of this happened overnight. It was the work of countless activists, agencies and officials who recognized the social and economic values of a cleaner, healthier river. But challenges remain. Jonathan LaBonte said one of the greatest challenges he faced as the former mayor of Auburn and executive director of the Androscoggin River Land Trust is that many locals still don’t have personal connections with the river. “It’s the legacy of pollution, that (people) really didn’t build a culture of using the river.”