Opponents of CMP corridor launch second referendum effort

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 17, 2020

Opponents of the planned New England Clean Energy Connect electric transmission line through western Maine are launching another effort to try to defeat the project at the ballot box. Say No to NECEC filed papers Wednesday with the Maine secretary of state to launch a second effort to put a referendum over the transmission line on the ballot, this time in November 2021. Among other steps, the measure would require the Maine Legislature to approve any high-impact power transmission lines through the state by a two-thirds majority vote.

South Portland, pipeline company square off before high court

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 17, 2020

The latest battle in a legal case spanning five years between the city of South Portland and the Portland Pipe Line Corp. may ultimately boil down to the definition of one word: order. That was a key point of discussion during opening arguments between both parties before the seven justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday morning. The city is arguing against the oil pumping operation, staying that it creates an environmental hazard. The core of the state-level argument, discussed Wednesday morning, surrounds a law within the Maine Coastal Conveyance Act that indicates nothing can stop the city from having such an ordinance, as long as the ordinance is not “in direct conflict with … any rule or order” issued at the state level.

Letter: Brunswick recycling decision makes little sense

TIMES RECORD • September 10, 2020

The town of Brunswick is ending glass recycling to save about $7,000. Unfortunately, the town has not considered the fact that we will have to buy more  Brunswick trash bags to put the non-recyclable glass in, adding more plastic to the landfill. If you add up the cost to Brunswick households of the extra trash bags we will have to use, I’ll bet it come out to a lot more than $7,000. ~ David S. Page, Brunswick

Commentary: Climate change and forest management have both fueled today’s epic Western wildfires

TIMES RECORD • September 17, 2020

Management policies have created tinderboxes in Western forests, and climate change has made it much more likely that those tinderboxes will erupt into destructive fires. A third factor is that development has expanded into once-wild areas, putting more people and property in harm’s way. Addressing just part of this problem will produce incomplete solutions. Rather, a multipronged strategy is needed. One element is improving forest management to make these lands less primed to burn. The other is reducing carbon emissions and reining in global temperatures – the only way to moderate climate conditions that make fires larger and more likely. ~ Steven C. Beda, University of Oregon, environmental historian

Report touts economic benefits of Maine tax credit for historic properties

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 17, 2020

Maine’s tax credit for restoring historic buildings has boosted the state’s economy and has more than paid for itself, according to a study of the program released this week. The tax credit program has generated $525 million in construction investment since it was launched in 2008, says the report, commissioned by Maine Preservation, Coastal Enterprises Inc., Greater Portland Landmarks and the Maine Real Estate and Development Association. The loss of tax revenue to the state has been more than offset by the boost in local property tax revenues, as well as income and sales taxes, it concludes.

Opinion: Climate, public policy, and forest fires

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 17, 2020

There is little doubt that the climate of the West is changing, and that recent trends in precipitation have made a dangerous situation worse. However, the causes and effects of fire are much more complex than that one change. Catastrophic fires require large fuel loads, which include brush, woody debris and dead trees. Of these, we have plenty. With the best of intentions, a century of public policy has allowed fuel loads to accumulate to unnatural levels in forest ecosystems that were naturally adapted to regular fires. Forestry, including timber management, fuel management and controlled fire are essential tools that can help mitigate the fire risk in a fire dominated ecosystem. We ignored these tools for decades, and we are witnessing the results. ~ Peter Triandafillou, retired professional forester

Holden woman crosses paths with large mystery cat

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 16, 2020

Laurie Nichols Kelly doesn’t claim that she saw a mountain lion while she was walking back from collecting her newspaper last week. No, the large cat that crossed her path remains a bit of a mystery. But she said she knows it wasn’t a bobcat. Or a Canada lynx. And she’s not ruling out mountain lion, even though her subsequent online research didn’t turn up any clear matches. The worst part of the encounter: Kelly didn’t have a camera or a phone with her.

Max Linn’s complaint against CMP corridor shrugged off by project proponents

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 16, 2020

The U.S. Senate candidate who teased a lawsuit against the Central Maine Power corridor in an odd and bombastic debate performance filed a Tuesday complaint dismissed by a project proponent as “a political document, not a legal document.” The move from independent Max Linn of Bar Harbor, who is running against Republican Sen. Susan Collins, House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, and Solon educator Lisa Savage in the November election, is intended to leverage the unpopularity of the proposed $1 billion project through western Maine that would bring Quebec hydropower to the regional grid.

Towns contend with sewer overflows, flooding and more as Gulf of Maine keeps warming

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 16, 2020

Maine might not face the same sort of immediate threats as wildfires out West or more severe tropical storms along the Southeast coastline, but the changing global climate is already having an impact on the state. Nowhere is this more evident than along Maine’s long, convoluted coastline, which is home to the state’s seafood industry and the focus of its tourism sector, each of which contributes more than a billion dollars to the state’s economy.

Madison Paper to appeal to Maine Supreme Judicial Court latest decision on tax abatement

MORNING SENTINEL • September 16, 2020

Twice the taxes levied by the town of Madison have been challenged and twice the town has won, but at a cost of $200,000 which will increase because of the fight in the high court.

Topsham approves first solar projects

TIMES RECORD • September 16, 2020

Topsham approved its first two solar farm projects Tuesday since the town adopted new rules to regulate them in July. Augusta Road Topsham LLC, a subsidiary of SunRaise Investments, is proposing 6 Megawatt solar facility on a 19.8 acre-site that will consist of solar arrays, inverters and a fence around the arrays. The project will oust the Brunswick Area Modelers club that has flown model planes on the property for nearly 40 years. The planning board Tuesday also approved a 5-megawatt, ground-mounted solar electric generating facility at 357 Middlesex Road at a current disc golf site. Borrego Solar Systems will sell credits for the project to Maine Health’s hospital system across the state.

Editorial: America can’t discount science as the west burns and Maine gulf warms

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 16, 2020

Wildfires have torn across the western coast of the U.S., devastating communities, destroying entire neighborhoods, burning millions of acres and claiming dozens of lives. It is an undisputed crisis, and there can be little doubt that climate change has helped fuel it. Unfortunately, President Donald Trump continues to throw cold water on scientific evidence and expertise. Maine has also seen the number of wildfires here in the state soar in 2020, with the Maine Forest Service saying as of late July that rangers had responded to nearly 800 fires — a 170 percent increase from 2019. It is increasingly clear that climate change is impacting Maine in numerous ways. Understanding these impacts — and ways to both mitigate and adapt to them — will be essential as our climate continues to change.

CMP corridor opponents launch 2nd referendum bid aimed at killing the project

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 16, 2020Opponents of Central Maine Power’s proposed corridor launched a second referendum bid on Wednesday intended to pressure lawmakers to overturn the $1 billion project, but it could face issues similar to an initial bid struck from the 2020 ballot. The corridor through western Maine that would take hydropower from Quebec to the regional grid is federal permits and local approvals away from construction after a prior referendum scheduled for November was deemed unconstitutional by Maine’s high court last month. Their latest initiative would require the Maine Legislature to take a two-thirds vote to approve any transmission lines in the future and require another two-thirds vote to approve the use of public lands for such projects.

Portland and South Portland release ambitious climate action plan

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2020

The cities of Portland and South Portland released a joint climate action report Wednesday that aims to have all new buildings powered by renewable energy within the next 12 years, drastically reducing carbon emissions for existing buildings and eliminating virtually all waste in the next 30 years. The nearly 300-page draft report establishes several other climate goals and strategies for achieving them by 2050.

Column: Here’s how scientists track where Maine birds go in the winter

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 16, 2020

Our birds are deserting us. In fact, an estimated 50,000,000 birds departed from the northeastern United States on Monday night, when winds were particularly favorable. By next spring, we are going to know exactly where a few of them went. Eolocators are about the size and weight of a paper clip. Because they require little power and minimal memory, geolocators can track and store a bird’s location over long periods, sometimes years. ~ Bob Duchesne

Presumpscot River resumes flow after landslide that put Westbrook in state of emergency

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 16, 2020

A section of the Presumpscot River downstream from the Sappi mill in Westbrook was completely blocked by a landslide for several hours on Wednesday, but began to flow without forcing the evacuation of residents and businesses. That area of Westbrook has a lengthy history of landslides because it has large deposits of marine or quick clay.

Saddleback Mountain looks to build solar farm, new mid-mountain lodge

SUN JOURNAL  • September 16, 2020

The new owners of Saddleback Mountain Ski Resort are looking to build a solar farm covering up to 30 acres and a new mid-mountain lodge, projects it calls “critical to the successful revitalization of this very important asset.” Attorney Thomas Federle told the Maine Land Use Planning Commission on Wednesday, “The goal of the Arctaris Impact Fund is to stabilize Saddleback, invest in it now, reopen it and stabilize it so that it is an asset and economic engine in this region for the next 100 years “.

Landslide blocks Presumpscot River in Westbrook

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2020

A large landslide completely blocked the Presumpscot River in Westbrook on Wednesday afternoon, threatening nearby water and gas mains and triggering a flash-flood watch and an emergency order from the city. The landslide was reported Wednesday morning after people saw trees moving on the river’s forested bank. The landslide, located directly behind Les Wilson & Sons excavators at 161 Warren Ave., also took a large area of soil and pile of fill. The landslide was so large it initially blocked the river just downstream from the Sappi Mill.

Smoke from West Coast brings hazy skies to Maine as state warns of local fire danger

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2020

Plumes from record-breaking and deadly fires burning on the West Coast have been picked up by the atmospheric jet stream and carried across the United States. In Maine, that smoke has left the sky hazy and created some unusually colorful sunrises and sunsets. But it is not expected to cause any air quality issues at ground level. The smoke from the West Coast comes as Maine is also at higher risk of wildfires because of dry and breezy conditions. Mainers were being warned Wednesday to take extra precautions to avoid igniting wildfires here.