BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 14, 2025
Mainers have a special connection to the outdoors. We can’t take this for granted. Maine’s environment is under attack in Washington, D.C., as part of an agenda focused on eliminating the government’s role in protecting our clean air, water and natural resources. The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has approved a FY26 budget, targeting the Environmental Protection Agency for the most extreme rollback of funding in decades. We risk leaving a legacy of environmental harm that would negatively impact Maine’s environment and communities for generations. Maine relies on grants to towns for wastewater treatment upgrades, replacing lead pipes, and cleaning up toxic waste sites. Our health depends on pollution controls for power plants that release mercury, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and other toxins. This pollution, carried to Maine by prevailing winds, harms the most vulnerable among us, while accumulating in our rivers and fish. In contrast, the Senate Appropriations Committee, under U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, released a draft budget that largely retains the EPA’s role of protecting health and the environment. We encourage Collins to continue protecting the essential role that the EPA plays. ~ Anya Fetcher, federal policy advocate, Natural Resources Council of Maine