PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 2, 2025
A coalition of conservation groups is challenging a Maine Department of Environmental Protection water quality certification for the Rumford Falls Hydroelectric project. Trout Unlimited and Friends of Richardson Lake were joined by American Whitewater, Maine Rivers, American Rivers and the Conservation Law Foundation to argue that the Rumford Falls Hydroelectric Project deprives a key section of the Androscoggin River of essential water flow, degrading aquatic habitat and diminishing ecological and recreational values. The group claims the Maine Department of Environmental Protection should not have certified Rumford Falls Hydroelectric’s compliance with water standards in August 2024, which enables the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to award Rumford Falls Hydroelectric its license to operate.