Why proposed limits on riprap along Maine’s shore are controversial

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 14, 2025

The major storms that hit Maine in the winter of 2024 damaged large sections of the coast, eroding bluffs, banks and beaches while also harming docks, piers and other waterfront infrastructure. The resulting effort to rebuild has inundated the state’s environmental regulators, fueling a roughly 50 percent increase in the number of applications they’ve had to process. The bulk of that uptick has been from landowners wanting to stabilize their sections of coastal shoreline. Now, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection has proposed rules that are meant to streamline the handling of those applications, by allowing more of them to be approved through an expedited process known as permit by rule.

Republican legislators pushing for possible nuclear energy comeback in Maine

MAINE MORNING STAR • February 14, 2025

Though Maine decommissioned its only nuclear power plant at the turn of the century, Republicans seem to be laying the groundwork for the energy source to make a comeback. In arguments against solar tax credits and other forms of renewable energy, Republican leaders have said the state should be more open to considering nuclear energy as a low-emission power source. Proponents of nuclear energy would like to see it play a larger role in discussions around the transition to clean energy since it doesn’t emit pollution nor is it subject to the same intermittency of solar and wind. However, critics say those benefits come with other health and environmental hazards. And despite advances in technology, nuclear projects can be expensive.

Column: Here’s how the bird flu is affecting nesting colonies in Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 14, 2025

The current outbreak of avian influenza has been making a lot of headlines. Gulls are being hit hard locally. We observed this in 2022 when hundreds of dead gulls were found on nesting islands. The Greater Portland Christmas Bird Count in mid-December saw the lowest total of both American herring gulls and great black-backed gulls in the history of the count: 1,055 American herring gulls and 78 great black-backed gulls, way down from record highs of 12,773 and 893. The “backyard birds,” like chickadees and woodpeckers, are very unlikely to contract avian influenza, so there is no need to stop feeding those birds. Think about the things you can do to help birds around your yard, be it during an avian influenza outbreak or not. Keep your cats indoors, treat your windows to break up reflections and reduce strikes, support the next generation of birds with native plants. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox

Maine beer prices likely to rise from Trump’s aluminum tariffs, brewers warn

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 14, 2025

Mainers should expect to pay more for local craft beer if aluminum tariffs take effect next month, brewers and industry officials warn. President Donald Trump signed executive orders Monday that impose 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Most of the aluminum used in Maine comes from Canada, including the metal used for beer cans.

Column: You won’t want to miss these birding festivals in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 14, 2025

Bring out your calendar. It’s time to plan which birding festivals you’ll be attending this year. There are four major ones. Feel free to attend more than one. Over the weekend of May 16-18, Deer Isle and Stonington host their annual Wings, Waves & Woods Festival. The Downeast Spring Birding Festival is scheduled over Memorial Day weekend; this year it will be held May 23-26. The Acadia Birding Festival is the biggest and longest-running Maine festival. It’s scheduled for May 29 - June 1. Save June 5-8 for the Rangeley Birding Festival. ~ Bob Duchesne

Developers give up permits for controversial Deer Isle glampground

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 13, 2025

The saga of a high-end campground proposal that stirred opposition and prompted zoning discussions on Deer Isle may have reached an end. In a letter to the town’s Select Board dated Feb. 12, developers behind the Fox Hollow campground project voluntarily revoked their own permits and gave up any future development rights on the 48-acre property overlooking Crockett Cove on the island’s southwestern stretch. First proposed in 2022, the project was met with organized resistance from residents and eventually a lawsuit. It also led the town to consider strengthening its zoning laws to prepare for future proposals as development pressure on the island grows.  

Maine Calling: Solar Update

MAINE PUBLIC • February 13, 2025

The expansion of solar power has been a big part of the state’s renewable energy goals but has been met with resistance on several fronts. Learn about the status of solar power generation in Maine—from small rooftop arrays to community solar farms, and large-scale industrial solar projects. Is Maine on track to meet its goals? What solar incentives are currently available—and do they work? And, what’s the fate of the “Solar for All” program that was supposed to start this year? Panelists: Phil Bartlett, member, Maine Public Utilities Commission; Peter McGuire, climate reporter, Maine Public; Phil Coupe, co-founder, ReVision Energy. VIP Callers: Dan Burgess, director, Governor's Energy Office; Nate Owen, founder & CEO, Ampion; Kate Pastore, resident, Town of Greene.

Pingree calls for lifting National Park Service hiring freeze

MAINE PUBLIC • February 13, 2025

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is calling on the U.S. Department of the Interior to lift the hiring freeze on the National Park Service. National Parks around the country, including Acadia National Park, are unable to conduct normal seasonal staff hiring because of the freeze, which could affect park operations this summer. "It's hard to get seasonal workers in Maine, and the longer you have to wait, the less likely you are to get them," Pingree said. Acadia National Park annually collects $12 million of revenue from entrance fees. But because of the hiring freeze, dozens of seasonal placements for fee collectors have been rescinded. "You don't want to stop the people who actually collect the fees and help to pay for the park."

Maine considers tightening rules for recycling solar panels

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 13, 2025

Maine legislators are trying to draft new rules for the disposal of end-of-life solar panels and other components, meeting resistance from some in the solar industry and clean energy advocates in the process. Opponents to Lemelin’s legislation say the solar industry is being singled out for recycling rules that do not apply to fossil fuel industry components such as pipelines, wires and poles, and that claims of toxic solar panels are unfounded and are slowing efforts to build solar farms. Critics also said the 90-day rule is arbitrary and inflexible. Solar power capacity in Maine has climbed 20-fold in five years, to 4,505 projects with a capacity of 1,562 megawatts last year, from 1,058 projects with a capacity of 73 MW in 2019.

Topsham unveils its updated Climate Action Plan

TIMES RECORD • February 13, 2025

Topsham invites residents to chime in on the town’s proposed 2025 Climate Action Plan, which includes strategies to mitigate the risks of climate change. The third and final community workshop for the Climate Action Plan was held at the Topsham Municipal Building on Feb. 6. Members of the Topsham Energy Committee discussed the plan and took feedback from the residents packed into the room. Some key climate concerns outlined in the plan include extreme storms, increased flooding, power outages, erosion and sea-level rise. The plan says seniors, low-income households and mobile home residents are most at risk.

Opinion: Watershed Moments

MACHIAS VALLEY NEWS OBSERVER • February 13, 2025

I traveled to Augusta in early February to testify on several environmental bills. The three-hour drive triggered memories of similar past journeys. Thirty years ago, I took a leave of absence from UMM to work for newly elected Independent Governor Angus King. I had advised King to oppose car testing, which was part of how Maine was complying with the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. I’d leave the Dennys River watershed every Monday morning and drive west down the Airline through the East Machias, Machias, Narraguagus, and Union River watersheds to the Hancock County Highlands. The environmental left had just started their Atlantic salmon endangered species listing effort on those watersheds. I advised my new boss to oppose that listing, and he took that advice. The country remains closely divided. The shock and awe policy strategy and purpose that Trump is following is charging up an optimistic “irrational exuberance” amongst his supporters (I voted for him three times). ~ Jonathan Reisman

Cuts to EPA's environmental justice work put Maine communities at risk

PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE • February 13, 2025

The Trump administration has begun dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency's office dealing with reducing environmental harms to minority and low-income communities. More than 160 staffers in the Office of Environmental Justice and Civil Rights have been placed on administrative leave. Adrienne Hollis, vice president of environmental justice, health and community resilience and revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation, said the office is critical to coordinating environmental protection efforts in Maine and elsewhere. All environmental litigations in the Justice Department have also been put on hold.

Opinion: Accurate testing the key to Maine’s PFAS response

CENTRAL MAINE • February 13, 2025

Over the past several years, Maine has taken numerous steps in addressing the growing concern of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. With the implementation of new regulations, including an interim drinking water standard of 20 parts per trillion for six PFAS compounds, the state has positioned itself at the forefront of PFAS management. However, the success of these efforts’ hinges on a crucial factor: accurate and reliable testing as the cornerstone of Maine’s PFAS strategy. By prioritizing accurate data and timely results, Maine can build a sustainable path forward in combating PFAS contamination. ~ Katie Richards, Maine Laboratories, Norridgewock

Penobscot Nation to alter 3 midcoast dams to make them fish-friendly

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 13, 2025

The Penobscots have identified Mill Brook Dam in Searsport, Pitcher Pond Dam in Lincolnville and Chickawaukie Pond Outlet in Rockland as barriers to the migration of Atlantic salmon, alewives, American eels and brook trout to their native spawning grounds, according to Carter Cates, fisheries program outreach coordinator for the Penobscot Nation. They are the latest in a long line of dams, including recently on the Kennebec River, that have either been removed or modified to allow migratory species of fish access to their native grounds.

A Maine town hopes dredging will give fishermen 24/7 access

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 13, 2025

A coastal Hancock County town with 50-plus miles of coastline has no public access point that commercial fishermen can use at low tide. To change that, the town of Brooksville has been working for more than five years on a plan to dredge out the area around its town landing at Betsy’s Cove. The urgency of that project became more clear to Brooksville officials in recent years, after the yearlong closure of a private all-tide marina in 2023 demonstrated that public deep-water access was vital for the future of commercial fishing in the town.

Trump Nominates Oil and Gas Advocate to Run Bureau of Land Management

NEW YORK TIMES • February 12, 2025

President Trump has nominated Kathleen Sgamma, a professional advocate for the oil and gas industry, to run the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the Interior Department that oversees grazing, logging, drilling and wildlife conservation on 245 million acres of public land. Sgamma is president of the Denver-based Western Energy Alliance, where she has worked for nearly 20 years on behalf of independent oil and gas companies that have sought to strip away government protections and rules on extracting fossil fuels on public lands in Western states.

Biosolids plant raises concerns in post-PFAS spill Brunswick

MAINE PUBLIC • February 12, 2025

Plans to expand a biosolids processing plant for sewage biosolids in Brunswick have alarmed residents who are still coping with the aftermath of a toxic forever chemical spill on a former naval air base just six months ago. Critics of the proposed expansion question why Delaware-based Viridi Energy would import PFAS-laden waste into Maine at a time when the state is struggling to process its own sewage sludge. The group Brunswick United for a Safe Environment will fight the new project while pushing to remove PFAS foam from the old air base.

Column: With all due respect, where is the George Smith award?

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 12, 2025

No outdoors figure in the history of Maine was more influential than George Smith. Under his leadership, Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine became a veritable political powerhouse. He helped create the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Land for Maine’s Future program. If not for George’s leadership, Maine would not have its heralded State Heritage Fish law. In 2017, George received an award from Maine Conservation Voters, something you don’t expect to see for someone from the hook-and-bullet arena. George was a prolific writer. He had outdoors columns in several Maine publications, two blogs, and three outdoors books. He also co-hosted the “Wildfire” television show. I was there when George took the stand at a meeting with the National Park Service in support of Katahdin Woods and Waters, a complete reversal from his earlier position. George publicly supported Native Fish Coalition, a group I helped found. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife sponsors the Wiggie Robinson Legendary Guide Award and the Fly Rod Crosby Outdoor Lifetime Achievement Award. Where is the George Smith Award? ~ Bob Mallard

Maine train derailment that spilled 500 gallons of fuel caused by beaver dam, officials say

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 12, 2025

A 2023 train derailment in rural Somerset County that spilled 500 gallons of diesel fuel was caused by excessive water that flowed through a beaver dam and washed out part of the track, state officials said Wednesday. Three locomotives and six train cars from Canadian Pacific Kansas City derailed in Sandwich Academy Grant Township on April 15, 2023, into nearby wetlands and the Moose River, a tributary to Little Brassua Lake. After the crash, 500 gallons of diesel from the train flowed into the lake during the railway’s cleanup because the company failed to empty saddle tanks on the locomotive before removing the engine.

Scarborough council wants to increase residents’ access to town beaches, potentially free of charge

SCARBOROUGH LEADER • February 12, 2025

The council gave preliminary approval to changes to beach fees and policies at its meeting on Feb. 5 but indicated they'd like to do more to increase residents' ability to access town-operated beaches – potentially for free. The changes would apply to the town-operated beaches of Ferry Beach, Higgins Beach and Pine Point Beach.