Former owner of trash incinerator in Orrington files suit against Eagle Point Energy Center

MAINE PUBLIC • October 7, 2024

The former owner of the trash incinerator in Orrington is filing suit against the company that bought it at a foreclosure auction. Penobscot Energy Recovery Company, or PERC, argues that Eagle Point Energy Center bought only the physical assets of the incinerator, not the contracts with cities and towns that pay to have their waste processed. PERC also said Eagle Point has taken possession of $2 million worth of spare parts and other gear were not part of the sale. In a statement, Eagle Point said the allegations are "baseless" and that the company is committed to remediating the fire that started at the Orrington plant last week, and eventually, resuming operations there.

Letter: Republicans need a reckoning on climate change

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • October 6, 2024

There are no longer any credible climate change deniers in the scientific community, but the Republican Party stubbornly refuses to acknowledge reality. Trump ridicules global warming as a “hoax.” Regardless of our politics, we need Republicans to accept that climate change is real and to engage in a sustained bipartisan effort to meet the difficult challenge of halting additional global warming. The only way I can see this happening is if Republicans are soundly defeated in November, from the local level to the national. We need to force a reckoning upon them that is harsh enough to provoke an abandonment of this reckless disregard of science and reality. ~ Nigel Calder, Newcastle

How rockweed harvesting got tied up in a lawsuit over public beach access

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 4, 2024

A sprawling lawsuit to expand public access to intertidal land in Maine was filed in Cumberland County Superior Court in 2021 against more than a dozen private property owners, some of whom had called Maine Marine Patrol on alleged trespassers picking rockweed from their shores. The plaintiffs are asking the justices to declare that all intertidal land in Maine should be considered public, undoing a 1989 decision in which the court held the land could be privately owned. The lawsuit has garnered most publicity for the questions it raises on recreational access to sandy beaches. But the effort also seeks to undo a Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruling from 2019, in which the court unanimously ruled that the public does not have a right to harvest rockweed on privately owned, intertidal land.

Maine's new land bank authority is officially up and running

MAINE PUBLIC • October 4, 2024

A statewide land bank that's intended to help communities revitalize blighted properties is officially up and running. The Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority launched Friday with its first project in East Millinocket. The land bank, which the Legislature created two years ago, is intended to help communities repurpose old mills and former commercial and residential properties into productive use. Tuck O'Brien, the land bank's first executive director, said Maine Redevelopment will work with all-volunteer group that has been trying to revitalize the former Great Northern Paper Mill as its first project. The town had purchased the property back in 2020, and a number of projects have been proposed for the 215-acre site.

It's Time for a National Monument to Labor Hero Frances Perkins | Opinion

NEWSWEEK • October 4, 2024

During her 12 years as secretary of labor, Frances Perkins transformed work in the United States. She advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt on creating a public works program that put unemployed Americans back to work building critical infrastructure across the country. She was the powerhouse behind many of Roosevelt's New Deal programs, establishing a federal minimum wage and overtime pay and banning child labor exploitation. And she was the chair of the committee, which created the blueprint for Social Security. As the first woman to lead the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest federation of labor unions, I am deeply inspired by the example that Secretary Perkins set. President Joe Biden has an opportunity to recognize her remarkable legacy by designating the Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, as a national monument. ~ Liz Shuler, president, AFL-CIO

Letter: Quarry expansion in Gorham must not go unchecked

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 4, 2024

The town of Gorham has two rock quarries and one asphalt plant close to the center of town. Quarries affect air quality, increase health risks, create noise pollution and water contamination, cause habitat destruction, decrease property values and challenge structural integrity of surrounding residences. Yes, we need quarries. However, quarries can be regulated in such a way to decrease the impact on the neighbors and surrounding environment. The Gorham quarry regulations are inadequate, and no asphalt plant regulations exist. Gorham should place a moratorium on all quarry expansions, limit the size of blasting and the amount of aggregate and traffic leaving the quarries each month while monitoring air emissions 24/7. ~ Charles Hamblen, Gorham

New state community affairs office in the works to help towns better plan for big challenges

MAINE PUBLIC • October 3, 2024

A handful of state planning and community resilience programs will be reorganized under a new, standalone office in the Maine executive branch to better serve municipalities. The Legislature approved the idea for the Office of Community Affairs earlier this year. Gov. Janet Mills announced Thursday that Samantha Horn, a former science director for The Nature Conservancy of Maine and a former official with the Land Use Planning Commission, will serve as the office's new leader. The new office will help towns with limited resources apply for climate resilience grants and address local housing shortages.

Governor selects leader of new state office designed to strengthen community planning

MAINE MORNING STAR • October 3, 2024

Mainers are contending with the impacts of climate change, housing shortages and population growth. Gov. Janet Mills announced on Thursday a new official who will be tasked with unlocking future opportunities to support local communities in addressing these complex challenges. Mills selected Samantha Horn, an expert in land use and natural resource policy and planning, to serve as director of a new office called the Maine Office of Community Affairs, funding for which was included in the supplemental budget passed this spring. Horn currently runs her own consulting business and has worked in natural resource policy and planning for three decades, including as director of science for The Nature Conservancy in Maine and as a division manager for the Maine Land Use Planning Commission.

Ongoing trash fire in Orrington prompts air quality alert for Midcoast, eastern interior Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • October 3, 2024

The Department of Environmental Protection has issued an air quality alert for today and Friday for the Midcoast and interior areas of eastern Maine. Winds are dispersing smoke from a large trash fire in Orrington that began on Tuesday night. The fire started on Tuesday inside a trash incinerator plant formerly operated by the Penobscot Energy Recover Company. The PERC plant ceased operations in May 2023 but an estimated 8,000 tons of trash were left behind.

Maine awarded $425M for clean energy project in Aroostook County

MAINE MORNING STAR • October 3, 2024

The federal department is awarding up to $425 million to Avangrid, the parent company of Central Maine Power, in a capacity contract for the Aroostook Renewable Project, a proposed energy transmission line that would connect a substation in Haynesville to the Independent System Operator-New England in Pittsfield with a 111-mile transmission line with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts.

Letter: Hurricanes show catastrophic effect of changing climate

MORNING SENTINEL • October 3, 2024

The news about Hurricane Helene with its record rainfalls and winds underscores once again the increasing effects of warming oceans on storm strength and destructiveness. The oceans would not be warming were it not for human impacts on the atmosphere. Yet, according to Project 2025, the conservative playbook for a next administration, our big problem is the “climate change alarm industry.” So far, 29 municipal governments have passed endorsements encouraging Congress and the president to enact a federal carbon pricing policy that will motivate a shift in the economy away from fossil fuels and their pollution. If enough towns do this, perhaps we can actually motivate Sens. King and Collins and Reps. Golden and Pingree to take action to save our future prosperity. ~ Cynthia Stancioff, Camden

EPA: Navy has ‘ultimate responsibility’ to address Brunswick chemical spill

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2024

The U.S. Navy must “take any and all actions necessary” to protect human health and the environment in the wake of the Aug. 19 toxic chemical spill at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In a Sept. 26 letter, the EPA informed the Navy it “retains ultimate responsibility” to address the forever chemicals, or PFAS, left behind by the former military operation and those in the toxic firefighting foam, or AFFF, discharged by a faulty airport alarm because the Navy still owns the land.

New Jersey motorcyclist dies after hitting moose in Piscataquis County

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2024

Anand Sreedharan, 50, of Princeton, New Jersey, was driving south near T2 R9, a township near Baxter State Park, around 7 p.m. Monday when a moose walked into his lane. He was unable to avoid the moose and was ejected from his motorcycle by the collision. Sreedharan died from his injuries. The moose also died.

Officials confirm 1st case of Maine lobster gear causing the death of endangered right whale

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2024

Federal officials confirmed Wednesday that an endangered North Atlantic right whale found dead near Martha’s Vineyard in January died from “chronic entanglement” in fishing gear that belonged to a Maine lobsterman. It’s the first time a member of Maine’s iconic industry has been directly connected to a whale death, and it could have major implications for how lobstermen fish in the future.

Scarborough Town Council rescinds support for Gorham Connector

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2024

The Scarborough Town Council voted 6-1 Wednesday night to formally withdraw its support for the contentious Gorham Connector project. The vote follows increasing opposition among town residents to the controversial $331 million, 5-mile highway, which would affect 35 property owners in town. The resolution rescinds the council’s support for the connector, citing the failure of the Maine Turnpike Authority to fulfill the terms of its agreement with Scarborough and three other communities, as well as town residents’ widespread opposition to the project.

Maine DEP says expansion of state’s largest landfill would benefit public

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2024

Despite objections from neighbors and environmental groups, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection concluded Wednesday that expanding the state’s largest landfill, Juniper Ridge, would substantially benefit the public. The department’s decision allows the state to apply to add 61 acres to the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill, which takes in 52% of the state’s waste. The state claims this expansion would extend the facility’s operating life by 11 years.

Vaughan Woods & Historic Homestead gets new trailhead parking area

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • October 2, 2024

The Vaughan Woods & Historic Homestead’s Corniche Trailhead is closed temporarily as a 16-space gravel parking lot is under construction near intersection of Middle Street and Litchfield Road. The primary goals of the project are to improve safety to both pedestrians and motorists, reduce the impact of overflow parking on trailhead neighbors, and address stormwater management and parking capacity issues, according to a news release from Kate Tremblay, executive director of Vaughan Woods & Historic Homestead. The Vaughan Woods trail system features stone bridges and waterfalls. 40,000-plus visits to Vaughan Woods are made each year, often overflowing the primary trailhead’s small parking lot into the surrounding residential neighborhood.

Mainers weigh in on the state's new plan for tackling climate change

MAINE PUBLIC • October 2, 2024

In September, the Maine Climate Council took its 2024 draft plan on the road to Presque Isle, Bangor, Ellsworth, Portland, Biddeford and Lewiston. People came to hear, and give input on, the state's new draft climate plan. So far, about 3,000 people, including more than 350 Mainers who attended the meetings in person, have weighed in. Some feedback the council received was universal: people wanted to reduce vehicle miles traveled, and more focus on resiliency efforts, especially in the wake of last winter's devastating storms. One of the main differences between the 2020 and 2024 plans is better planning for future climate emergencies. The new proposal will be available for public comment from October 9 through the 21.

Maine signs on to national effort to spur apprenticeships in ‘climate-ready’ industries

MAINE MORNING STAR • October 2, 2024

Gov. Janet Mills is teaming up with other heads of state across the country to carve out career pathways in the climate and clean energy fields. Mills is part of a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors that make up the U.S. Climate Alliance. Late last month, the group launched the Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative with the goal to train one million new apprentices by 2035 across the two dozen states and territories.