Letter: Federal contract is great news for Maine’s grid resiliency

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 12, 2024

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Avangrid for a  $425 million capacity contract for its Aroostook Renewable Project, a proposed clean energy transmission line to connect a substation in Haynesville to the Independent System Operator-New England (ISO-NE) power grid in Pittsfield with a 111-mile transmission line with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts. As a former member of the Maine House of Representatives’ Environment and Natural Resources Committee, I appreciate this investment and its support of the transition to clean energy. This award is great news for Maine’s grid reliability and resiliency, and the development of this transmission line will address ongoing energy constraints in northern Maine. ~ Scott Strom, Waterville

New bill would pay farmers to put rentals on their land

MAINE MONITOR • October 12, 2024

Some of Maine’s bucolic landscape might soon be ceded to help meet the state’s desperate demand for housing. A new bi-partisan bill introduced in September by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) would pour an additional $200 million into an existing federal program to incentivize rural property owners to build rental housing on their land. A study commissioned by Gov. Mills and MaineHousing found that Maine will need upwards of an additional 84,000 new housing units by 2030. Maine’s already sparse farmland is under significant threat. According to American Farmland Trust, from 2001 to 2016, 17,000 acres of Maine’s agricultural land were developed or compromised, converted to residential or commercial use. The converted land could have generated $10 million in annual revenues had it stayed as farmland.

Letter: Bangor is a good place to live, but a bad place to walk

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 12, 2024

Bangor is a good place to live, having beautiful nature and the greatest people in the country. However, it is no longer a good place to live without a car. As a high schooler in Bangor without a car or driver’s license and who walks to school, I inevitably noticed the severe inconvenience due to the non-pedestrian friendly environment of our town. Bangor is not a town where pedestrians can feel safe to walk around. ~ Dylan Cho, Bangor

How much money has been spent subsidizing heat pumps in Maine?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 12, 2024

Oil is still the dominant source of home heating in Maine, but it’s being chased by electric heat pumps in a race prodded by Gov. Janet Mills and financed by federal taxpayers, state ratepayers and other funding sources. The governor has made electric heat pump installation a centerpiece of her administration’s energy and climate policy, bringing national attention to Maine. It’s come at a price: More than $135 million has been spent over the last decade to subsidize installation of electric heat pumps in Maine, and at least $125 million more is on the way.

1,600 tons of trash has been removed from Orrington plant

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 11, 2024

After nearly 10 days, Orrington firefighters have cleared the scene of a once-burning trash incinerator. Crews were gone as of Friday afternoon, after the fire was fully extinguished that morning. The plant, formerly known as Penobscot Energy Recovery Co., is now back in the hands of employees who are working to remove the trash. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has approved a corrective action plan for remediation efforts. The facility stopped processing trash in May 2023. It will restart operations in 2025.

Resigning airport official: I am ‘distracting’ from toxic foam clean-up efforts

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 11, 2024

The embattled director of the regional airport where a faulty, poorly maintained sprinkler system caused one of the nation’s biggest toxic foam spills says she is resigning because she had become a distraction from the oversight board’s cleanup efforts. “After much reflection, I’ve come to the difficult decision that my first duty is to ensure this good work goes on, unimpeded by outside politics and the political agendas of others,” Kristine Logan, executive director of Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, said Friday night. “For that reason, I’ve decided to remove myself as a focal point.”

Jay partnering with Auburn agency to submit grant to develop master recreational plan

SUN JOURNAL • October 11, 2024

Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls are partnering with and support of AVCOG on a grant application to the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency’s Recreation Economy for Rural Communities planning assistance program, that would “focus on recreational planning as an economic driver for our communities.” AVCOG, or the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, is considered a regional planning agency and is providing the technical expertise for the grant application and will oversee it, if approved.

Director of Brunswick airport authority resigns in wake of toxic foam spill

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 11, 2024

About a month after state and municipal officials began calling for her resignation, the embattled director of the Brunswick Executive Airport — the site of one of the nation’s biggest toxic firefighting foam spills — is stepping down as the airport authority struggles to pay for a costly cleanup and regain the public trust. The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority did not announce the resignation of Kristine Logan, its executive director since January 2022, until late Thursday, a few hours after the authority board held its annual meeting. But the announcement letter was written before the meeting had even begun.

Maine delegation concludes offshore wind mission in Denmark, Norway

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 11, 2024

Gov. Janet Mills and a handful of state officials are headed back to Maine after a trip to Scandinavia to discuss the growth of offshore wind with government and industry officials. Following two days in Norway, Mills and a team of state officials traveled to Denmark on Wednesday, meeting with the Danish Parliament’s Climate, Energy and Utilities Committee to discuss technical details relating to offshore wind production and Denmark’s energy goals. The U.S. Department of the Interior plans to auction off wind leases for eight sites in the Gulf of Maine on October 29.

Brunswick lawmakers say resignation of airport leader ‘not a time to celebrate’

MAINE MONITOR • October 11, 2024

The resignation of the leader of the agency that oversees Brunswick Executive Airport, which saw one of the nation’s biggest spills of forever chemical-laden firefighting foam in August, does not cancel out the need for major structural reform, said Brunswick state legislators Rep. Dan Ankeles and Sen. Mattie Daughtry.  The resignation comes after local lawmakers called for a change in leadership after the fire suppression system at the airport accidentally discharged more than 1,000 gallons of the toxic foam on Aug. 19. “This is not a time to celebrate,” Ankeles said. Both Ankeles and Daughtry have already begun the initial steps to introduce legislative reforms. Ankeles’ bills will specifically target removing and better regulating the firefighting foam, while Daughtry’s proposals will focus on the governance of Brunswick Landing.

Conservation group offers to buy Kennebec River dams, Maine lawmaker says

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 11, 2024

An environmental group has reportedly offered to buy four Kennebec River dams long targeted for removal, marking a major step in resolving a long political and economic dispute between conservationists and the owner of the dams. The Nature Conservancy made an offer for four Kennebec River dams owned by an offshoot of the multinational Brookfield Corp., state Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Norridgewock, said. Before the deal is final, he said the sides need to tackle the water needs of the Sappi North America paper mill in Skowhegan, which relies on the Shawmut Dam between Fairfield and Benton.

Midcoast kelp forests in flux

TIMES RECORD • October 10, 2024

Kelp forests provide key habitat for ocean life and help clean water to create a thriving marine ecosystem. But these underwater forests are in flux due to changes in modern fisheries and, a new study published in the journal “Ecology” revealed, rapid ocean warming. Douglas Rasher, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, steered his team in documenting the first comprehensive census of Maine’s kelp forests in nearly two decades. Their work highlights the significant impact of climate change on ecological relationships in Gulf of Maine waters, showing the widespread collapse of kelp forests along the southern coast compared to their resilience in cooler, northern reaches.

Maine seeks new operator to revive Rockland Branch rail line

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 10, 2024

The Maine Department of Transportation is seeking a new operator to restore freight service to the Rockland Branch rail line – and possibly fulfill a yearslong effort to extend Amtrak Downeaster passenger service from Brunswick to Rockland. The freight line has been without an operator since Midcoast Railservice announced in June that it would terminate its lease on the 57-mile, state-owned railroad after its primary customer, Dragon Cement in Thomaston, ceased production.

Maine’s high court hears oral arguments in beach access case

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 10, 2024

It’s divided neighbors and sparked heated debates throughout the state. But does the conflict behind a legal effort to expand public access to Maine beaches deserve a new ruling from the state’s law court? The Maine Supreme Judicial Court considered that question Thursday during a traveling session at Lewiston High School as the justices heard more than an hour of oral arguments about whether the intertidal zone, the area between the high and low tide lines, should be public.

Jared Golden wants to designate Leonard’s Mills as national logging history museum

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 10, 2024

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden wants to designate Leonard’s Mills as a national museum dedicated to forestry and logging history. The 2nd District Democrat introduced a bill Thursday that would designate the Maine Forest and Logging Museum as the National Museum of Forestry and Logging History. The museum, located in Bradley northeast of Bangor, was incorporated in 1960 to celebrate Maine’s forest heritage. It now encompasses more than 450 acres around Blackman Stream. Its centerpiece is Leonard’s Mills, a living history site that re-creates a 1790s logging and milling community.

Maine Coast Heritage Trust hires new senior director of stewardship

TIMES RECORD • October 10, 2024

One of the state’s largest land conservation organizations has announced a new senior director of stewardship to succeed Jane Arbuckle, who held the position for 28 years. Maine Coast Heritage Trust has selected Freeport resident Amanda Devine. Devine has been with the organization for 14 years as stewardship manager for Maine’s southern region. She will lead a team of 24 full-time land stewards who care for over 320 conservation easements and 150 preserves from Kittery to Lubec. Devine assumes the role during a time of significant environmental impacts brought on by rapid climate change, increased pressure on housing and community development, and the influx of invasive plant and animal species threatening Maine’s natural resources.

Dixfield high school students learn canoeing, hiking skills

RUMFORD FALLS TIMES • October 10, 2024

Dirigo High School teacher Kaitlyn O’Connor and students Phoenix Lee and Savannah Tuell spoke about their experiences with the school’s Summer Outdoor Learning Program during the Regional School Unit 56 board meeting at the school Tuesday. Six girls and one boy participated in the three-week hiking and canoeing program that included daytime activities and two overnight trips. Students learned how to control their emotions and be more confident in their choices.

Republican House candidate from Augusta claims government created recent hurricanes

MORNING SENTINEL • October 10, 2024

A Republican candidate for the Maine House of Representatives says the government is creating hurricanes to seize land and punish voters in conservative states. Wendy Lee MacDowell of Augusta amplified conspiracy theories and made a number of false claims about recent hurricanes in a series of posts this week to both her personal and campaign social media pages. Her posts alleged that the government is manufacturing “weaponized weather” to target conservative states with intense storms and seize their land for lithium mining, mirroring false claims from national politicians and social media ideologues about Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Both hurricanes were made more intense by human-caused climate change, scientists say, not secret government technology.

Portland exploring ways to reduce carbon emissions of cruise ships docked in port

MAINE PUBLIC • October 10, 2024

The City of Portland is exploring ways to reduce the carbon emissions of large cruise liners while docked in port.The city asked Central Maine Power to study the feasibility of creating a transmission system that would allow 3 cruise ships to get power off the grid and shut down their engines. CMP'S Meg Sullivan told members of Portland's Sustainability and Transportation Committee meeting Wednesday that its existing transmission system could not accommodate the required 25 megawatts of power. But she said the company is finalizing a grid upgrade that could handle shore power and increasing demand in the area.

Developers granted preliminary permits for tidal power project in Cobscook Bay

MAINE PUBLIC • October 10, 2024

The federal government has granted a preliminary permit to developers for the construction of a controversial tidal power dam in Cobscook Bay. Pembroke Tidal Power Project LLC, a subsidiary of a company known as Nestar Energy, said the dam could eventually generate 87,000 megawatt hours of electricity a year. But the project faces opposition from more than 60 Pembroke residents and the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, who filed formal complaints and motions to intervene. They detailed concerns about the potential impacts on fishing, marine life, recreation, tribal resources and the Cobscook Bay environment. The National Marine Fisheries Service and Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife also filed intervention notices.