The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
ASSOCIATED PRESS • September 10, 2024
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. will pay $1.5 million to settle charges that it made inaccurate statements about the recyclability of its K-Cup single use beverage pods, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SUN JOURNAL • September 10, 2024
Water commissioners explained in greater detail Tuesday evening their process of dealing with an arsenic-rich sludge that made its way into the Lisbon Water Department’s filtration plant last week. When a customer complained of dirty water around 5 a.m. Sept. 4, the department’s lone water operator isolated the issue, discovered elevated levels of arsenic and flushed the water system until 2 a.m. the next morning. During do-not-drink order, the town and its emergency response team set up a water distribution system for residents without access. Shellie Reynolds, water district interim general manager, admitted the methods — alerts via social media, notification of local media and use of the town’s emergency response system — were not enough to alert everyone.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 10, 2024
Outdoor groups on Tuesday launched the “Yes on 4” campaign in support of the $30 million trail bond question on the November ballot. If passed, the bond would administer the money for trail repairs and construction over four years, through grants to towns, organizations and clubs. Supporters said the bond will support Maine’s growing outdoor recreation economy, by repairing existing trails and building new ones.
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK • September 10, 2024
On September 9 just after 1:00 p.m., park rangers responded to an accident involving a 70 year-old male who fell off his road bicycle on the Park Loop Road near the Cadillac North Ridge Trail crossing. The man, an experienced road bicyclist, lost control of his bike after his foot dislodged from a clip-in pedal. The individual wore a helmet, but suffered significant injuries after he fell head-first off his bike. Park rangers arrived on scene minutes later and performed life saving measures. The Bar Harbor Fire Department transported the patient to downtown Bar Harbor where he was transferred by the LifeFlight of Maine helicopter to the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The patient remains in critical condition.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 10, 2024
Maine shoppers, restaurants and institutions spent $432 million on food and alcohol from New England in 2022 — but it still only made up 3.4 percent of all the food and alcohol they bought, a new report estimates. To meet the state’s goals, that number needs to increase to 30 percent by the end of the decade. The report was released this week by the New England Food System Planners Partnership.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 10, 2024
In Maine, there have been years of public debate about the ownership of Central Maine Power, which once upon a time was a local company, rated one of the best-run utilities in the country. But alas, CMP now consistently ranks as one of the worst-performing utilities in the nation. The global energy giant Iberdrola has petitioned for a free pass from the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in its bid to become the sole owner of Central Maine Power’s parent company, Avangrid. This should not be granted. ~ Sen. Rick Bennett
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 10, 2024
The 48th Common Ground Country Fair at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association’s headquarters in Unity will be held Sept. 20-22, and organizers are expecting another busy year with attendance close to 60,000. More than 1,000 exhibits and events are planned, including 550 educational events, two organic farmers markets and 40 family-friendly activities, fair director April Boucher said. This year will feature more events on Sunday and new vendors in the prepared food and farmers market areas. Keynote speakers will address the challenges of farming in climate change conditions and keeping dairy farms in operation, reflecting the concerns of today’s Maine farmers.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 9, 2024
Casco Bay Estuary Partnership has awarded $112,726 in grants to projects in seven Maine nonprofits and communities. The funding, provided through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was granted to projects supporting community resilience, ecosystem resilience and environmental data collection in the Casco Bay watershed. Casco Bay Estuary Partnership promotes the health of Casco Bay by collecting environmental data, educating and involving citizens in protecting the bay, restoring marshes and supporting projects with public and private partners.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 9, 2024
One of Maine’s largest recyclers, Ecomaine, a community-owned corporation, plans to spend up to $25.2 million on state-of-the-art sorting equipment at a new recycling plant near its Portland headquarters. CEO Kevin Roche said the new automated sorting machines use imaging technology to separate mixed recycling such as paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and aluminum. The equipment will replace the company's current machines, installed around 2006. Back then, newsprint made up most of the recycling Ecomaine handled. With a boom in online shopping and home delivery, however, cardboard has become the top material it handles. The market for recyclables has rebounded from a slump after China stopped accepting most U.S. solid waste about seven years ago.
TIMES RECORD • September 9, 2024
Each September, thousands of volunteers gather on the shores of Merrymeeting Bay, the Kennebec River and lakes, streams and ponds across the state. Local environmental groups lead them to clean the shores and document the litter collected. The effort is part of a larger International Coastal Cleanup. In 2022, 2,530 pounds of marine debris were disposed of, and in 2023, the amount increased to 5,578 pounds. This year, Sarah Madronal, outreach manager at the Nature Conservancy, hopes to raise the bar. She will steer a cleanup at Basin Preserve in Phippsburg on Sept. 11.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 9, 2024
Maine is expanding a ban on lead fishing lures to protect loons from fatal poisoning and conservationists are willing to buy up shops’ leftover inventory. A new law makes it illegal to sell little painted hooks called jigs. Lead fishing gear was the leading cause of death for loons in Maine until lawmakers banned bare sinkers and jigs ten years ago, said Laura Williams a biologist with Maine Audubon. Since then fewer loons have died from eating fishing gear, but lead poisoning is still a major cause of mortality. "So we have seen improvements and that’s why we continue to limit the use of small size lead tackle," Williams said. The conservation group is offering to pay local tackle shops cash for any lead jigs still in stock. Anglers will be prohibited from using the gear staring in 2026.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 9, 2024
Former President Donald Trump’s preference for heavy tariffs on foreign-made goods may play well in Maine, where bipartisan opposition to free-trade deals has been a decades-long theme. The Republican is looking to greatly expand on the tariffs that he put into place during his first term and that President Joe Biden’s administration has mostly kept them in place. But the Trump-era tariffs prompted a trade war that at least initially hurt lobstermen, wild blueberry farmers and others in legacy industries that enjoy solid support from politicians here.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 9, 2024
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection says it will send representatives out to go door-to-door this week to speak with Brunswick homeowners that may have been affected by the spill of firefighting foam three weeks ago at the Brunswick Executive Airport. The DEP has identified about 45 residential properties that staffers will visit this week to speak with homeowners about tests of their drinking water. The state says the public drinking water supply for Brunswick Landing from the Brunswick-Topsham Water District was not affected by the spill and has been confirmed safe to consume.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 9, 2024
Manufacturers in Maine are pushing back against electricity costs that rose sharply this summer as a result of state policy meant to encourage the use of solar and wind power. The Public Utilities Commission is again looking into how much of a power bill should be used to incentivize renewable energy projects. Milo Chip, a paper products manufacturer, told the PUC its monthly bill is up by $6,000. The business may be forced to close. In July, regulators said an analysis showed that low electricity users in some classes are paying much more than if billed only on the volume of electricity used and large users in some classes paying much less. Falling costs for solar panels also undermine the case for sizable ratepayer subsidies for the solar industry. “It’s time we pulled the fire alarm,” said one company representative..
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 9, 2024
Environmental groups are demanding more out of the first draft of Maine’s next climate action plan. Some want to build on the successes of the state’s first plan, Maine Won’t Wait, by setting more ambitious targets for climate goals and expanding them to underserved communities. But other advocates say Maine needs to get much tougher, especially on transportation emissions. The Maine Climate Council will likely hear from people like Cannon this month as it takes the earliest iteration of the next climate action plan on the road to six communities to find out how everyday people think Maine should be preparing for a warmer, wetter future. The Council has already held forums – one online that drew 100 people and one in Presque Isle. It heads to the Lewiston on Tuesday and Portland on Thursday, then moves on to Bangor, Ellsworth and Biddeford the following week.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 9, 2024
Health professionals are raising the alarm about contaminants discovered in menstrual products used monthly by a majority of American women for about 40 years of their lives. Studies found forever chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in some tampons, pads and other products used to manage menstrual bleeding, along with other contaminants such as heavy metals and pesticides. Maine and other states are stepping up consumer protections with laws to limit sales of products with added forever chemicals, known as PFAS, and to require ingredients to be fully listed on labels. But many of those measures don’t take effect for a few years, leaving consumers to make a best guess at the safest products.
TIMES RECORD • September 8, 2024
The Merrymeeting Bay Chapter of Trout Unlimited is hosting a presentation titled “Restoring Sea-Run Trout in Maine Rivers” at its monthly meeting. Members and nonmembers can attend Tuesday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m., at Joshua’s Restaurant, 123 Maine St., Brunswick.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 8, 2024
Following more than a dozen reports of mosquito-borne illnesses in animals in Maine, state officials are considering declaring a public health emergency. State health and agriculture officials on Friday confirmed a case of eastern equine encephalitis in a horse from Somerset County, making it the third animal to be diagnosed with the disease.
TIMES RECORD • September 8, 2024
Throughout my time working with Merrymeeting Gleaners, I have learned and gained so much. I’ve learned about farming, relationship building, networking, teamwork, how to deadlift, recipes, how to identify so many strange vegetables, and alternative ways to decrease food waste. I’ve improved my knife skills in the kitchen, realized the importance of having a purpose, and discovered how food can bring so many people together. Until recently, I didn’t truly contemplate how having access to quality food, the ability/ space to be active, and a social network heavily impact our mental and physical health. ~ Nasra Abdirahman, Bowdoin College fellow with Merrymeeting Gleaners
MAINE MONITOR • September 8, 2024
Farmington and Sanford lead the state in solar development. Farmington has the most solar installed in the state with 94.2 megawatts, followed by Sanford, with 62.6. Farmington’s dominance is largely due to a 76.5 megawatt array on a farm along the Sandy River. The project was a joint venture supported by Bowdoin College in Brunswick and partners in Massachusetts. The panels were erected on roughly 300 acres after a dairy farmer lost a contract with Horizon Organic in 2018 and was forced to downsize his herd. In Sanford, the prevalence of solar is partly the result of more than a decade of advocacy by the City Manager as well as the city’s sweet-spot location. Sanford is near multiple 145-kilovolt transmission lines. But it’s distant from congested urban areas so large blocks of land are still available for development.
