Forgoing moratorium, committee backs plan to study health impacts of artificial turf

MAINE MONITOR • April 30, 2025

Forgoing a moratorium on new artificial turf fields, lawmakers are recommending the state still study the effects they could have on public health and the environment. The members of the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee who were present for a work session Wednesday afternoon unanimously endorsed an amended version of LD 1177. The bill will next go to the Maine House of Representatives and Senate for approval. However, the amended bill backed by the committee nixed the moratorium and narrowed the study to look at how synthetic turf affects ambient air, groundwater and surrounding organisms, as well as disposal options once the fields reach the end of their life. The study would also evaluate any release of microplastics from the fields and the effect of that on the surrounding environment and human health. 

Freight rail service resuming in the midcoast

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025

A Maine railroad operator is resuming freight service between Brunswick and Rockland after it was stopped in June of last year in the wake of a Thomaston cement plant closing its manufacturing. Dragon Cement, which was recently acquired by Heidelberg Materials, will begin using the freight line again. Maine Switching Services has also proposed reopening a rail corridor between Brunswick and Augusta. This comes as state lawmakers votes on LD 29, which would remove the Lower Road to allow for its replacement with bicycle and pedestrian trails.

Amid rapidly evolving energy goals, Maine lawmakers seek more coordinated grid planning

MAINE MONITOR • April 30, 2025

Energy policy has moved quickly in the past few years as Maine has sought to achieve climate and affordability goals with deadlines that are not so far off. Rep. Gerry Runte (D-York) suspects there hasn’t been sufficient time to take a 50,000-foot view to see how all the pieces of energy supply and demand could plan and work together. He’s hoping the bipartisan bill he introduced during a public hearing Tuesday afternoon will formalize and increase collaboration between agencies involved in grid planning. 

The world’s largest clam garden is in Down East Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025

The Sipayik Community Clam Garden — a project that began in 2022 in Half Moon Cove and has since become the largest soft-shell clam garden in the world — is nearing its first harvest, according to steward Erik S. Francis. All of the clams from the harvest will be distributed to tribal members at no cost. “It’s a really good project for future generations,” Francis said. “We are trying to build the clam population back to where it used to be, even though we are dealing with green crab struggles.

Opinion: Reckless NOAA cuts endanger Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 30, 2025

Officials within the Trump administration have advocated the removal of NOAA’s scientific research division, including programs related to climate, education and research grants, because they are “misaligned with the president’s agenda.” This is shortsighted and reckless. NOAA has already been the subject of mass layoffs by the Trump administration, which were reversed by the Supreme Court and reimposed by the administration. Last summer, I conducted research on the impacts extreme winter storm events had on Lincoln County. There was clear consensus that the most important parts of coastal resilience were warning before the storms and collaboration in recovery efforts. The budget cuts are detrimental to every American. The work NOAA does is critical for maintaining up-to-date climate records, which help farmers and fishermen across the country feed our nation. Maine’s fishermen, economy, coastal communities, students and future are all at risk. ~ Kyle Pellerin, Bowdoin College student

Letter: Forget about Freeport farm grant and focus on the planet

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 30, 2025

The canceled $35 million grant to Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and Environmental would have been wasted anyway since we’ve known for decades that the primary cause of climate change and environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, food insecurity and the rise in degenerative, zoonotic and environmental disease is raising animals as products. We have a garden, why eat from the slaughterhouse? Stop this addiction to “research” and make the long overdue urgent changes in the concept of agriculture needed for the survival of this planet. ~ Laura Slitt, Bartlett, N.H.

Column: You should pay more attention to your backyard birds

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025

[Originally published in April 2023] Forest bathing is the practice of sitting quietly in the woods, relaxing in the presence of nature. I think I just invented forest showering this week — walking quietly in the woods, letting the sounds of nature wash down over me. The eastern phoebes went first. A red-bellied woodpecker called from my neighbor’s yard, sitting high in a tree, just above a singing tufted titmouse. Hairy, downy and pileated woodpeckers have been exuberantly vocal. The songs of black-capped chickadees joined the chorus. Dark-eyed juncos gathered. I heard a distant loon. Song sparrows and American robins are everywhere. A merlin called from the edge of the driveway. This forest shower was all about spending quality time with the routinely normal birds around my home. Anybody can do it, starting today. ~ Bob Duchesne

Salmon fishery heating up in parts of Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025

While fishing on Moosehead, Maine’s largest lake, is on the verge of heating up, a fishing guide says the state’s second largest is seeing some great salmon fishing. “The fish are big. The fish are healthy. Fishing is great,” said registered Maine guide Tom Roth, who lives on Sebago Lake and runs Sebago Lake Guide Service. “Catching salmon in the 3-5-pound range was unheard of until last year.”

Susan Collins and unions try to save funding for massive Maine battery project

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 29, 2025

President Donald Trump’s efforts to cut on funding for renewable energy initiatives may hit a rural Maine project that would be the world’s largest multi-day battery system. The potential loss of federal tax credits for the Lincoln battery storage project has brought together an alliance to back it: Democratic-aligned labor unions and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the top appropriator in the chamber. The Lincoln project is set to benefit from tax credits in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden-era bill Trump has sought to dismantle. Collins said she spoke with Trump’s energy secretary, Chris Wright, about the Lincoln project “and pointed out that it aligns with the administration’s energy policies, would help improve the reliability of the New England electric grid, and would be beneficial in using a shuttered paper mill in a rural area of the state.”

Decision looming for Trump administration on 1st PFAS drinking water limits

ASSOCIATED PRESS • April 29, 2025

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency set the first federal drinking water limits for PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, finding they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight. In a decision with consequences for tens of millions of Americans, the Trump administration is expected to soon say whether it intends to stand by those strict standards and defend the limits against a water utility industry challenge in federal court.

Orrington trash plant owes contractor $26K, company says

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 29, 2025

The owner of the Orrington trash incinerator owes a contractor $26,000, according to documents filed last week with Penobscot County. Eagle Point Energy Center owes $26,000 to Copia Specialty Contractors Inc., a Bangor-based company, for work done in December and January, according to a lien filed April 22. EPEC Asset Manager Evan Coleman denied Monday that the facility owes $26,000, and said it has already paid Copia $20,000. The shuttered trash incinerator was scheduled to reopen early this year but will likely be inactive for at least another year after a 10-day fire tore through the facility in October.

Public transportation advocates push measures to expand transit options in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • April 29, 2025

Public transportation advocates are pushing a slate of measures aimed at streamlining and expanding transit options in the state. According to a new report from the Moving Maine network, two in five Mainers are "transportation insecure," meaning they lack reliable ways to get around. Josh Caldwell of the Natural Resources Council of Maine said that's fixable — but it's going to take coordination and buy-in at the state level. "We just need to keep investing in those things to ensure and expand those options, to ensure that Mainers have reliable and safe ways to get around, but are not simply a car," Caldwell said. Transportation is responsible for nearly half of the state's carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

Maine gives lobstermen a chance to inform future of fishery

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 29, 2025

After years of feeling overlooked, Maine lobstermen will get the opportunity to inform government data in a state-run survey addressing their views on the future of the fishery. The Lobster Advisory Council approved the move at a meeting Tuesday based on a proposal from the Department of Marine Resources, which wants to complete the survey as soon as possible. This is the first survey the department has conducted in 17 years. This time, lobstermen will answer questions about what they see out on the water, their opinions on potential regulations, what they want the fishery to look like in 10 years, and what needs to be done to reach that point.

Camden lawmaker proposes increase in state fines for improper pesticide use

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 29, 2025

A Camden lawmaker is proposing an increase in state fines for improper pesticide use in response to a high-profile case in which a wealthy landowner’s pesticide use damaged a neighbor’s trees and caused chemicals to migrate to a nearby town park. The proposal from Rep. Vicki Doudera comes in response to a 2022 case in Camden in which Amelia and Arthur Bond were cited for improperly using the herbicide Tebuthiuron, despite it being labeled “not for residential use,” and for violating town ordinances by clearing too much vegetation and topping trees too close to the shoreline. The Bonds paid over $1.7 million in penalties. LD 1697 would raise civil fines for pesticide violations from a maximum of $1,500 per violation to $25,000. In cases where the violator is found to have “benefitted substantially” from the violation, the maximum penalty would increase from $4,000 to $50,000.

Most Americans haven’t tried seaweed, Maine study shows

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 29, 2025

More than half of Americans have yet to try seaweed, a new study from Maine aquaculture researchers shows. The Maine Aquaculture Association surveyed over 2,000 people across the country to gauge the general temperature of how Americans feel about seaweed — one of Maine’s major aquaculture products. The study, which in part explores American hesitancy with trying new food, finds that leaning on seaweed as an ingredient in different snacks and making ready-to-eat dishes could sway consumers to the Maine way. The state’s aquaculture industry rakes in between $85 million to $110 million annually. In 2025, researchers predict the value of Maine’s aquaculture exports will reach $800 million. Maine is campaigning to become the leader in the country’s seaweed aquaculture industry.

Maine nonprofits try to navigate funding cuts, unclear rules and an uncertain future

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 28, 2025

Nonprofit community organizations and research facilities across the state have seen federal grants canceled and are now facing a bigger challenge: how to come up with a large chunk of money that had previously seemed guaranteed. They’re also navigating an uncertain future and how to apply for new funding in the face of a slew of executive orders. The cancellation of federal grants has come fast and furious for Maine nonprofits, the vast majority of which are small organizations without deep pockets to cover the losses. “It’s happening in an arbitrary, capricious and likely unlawful way,” said Jennifer Hutchins, executive director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits. At the Shaw Institute in Blue Hill, executive director Charles Rolsky is unsure about the money he expects to receive through a $150,000 grant from NOAA to study the impact of PFAS on seals over a 30-year period.

High school students face challenge on environmental knowledge in Auburn

SUN JOURNAL • April 28, 2025

Deep in the woods at Evergreen Outdoor Education center on Andrew Drive in Auburn six teams completed tasks at five stations that quizzed them on environmental topics. The activities were a part of the 2025 Envirothon organized by the Androscoggin Valley Soil & Water Conservation District. Teams from Androscoggin and Oxford counties competed. Winners will advance to the state championships in Augusta next month.

USDA cancels grant for Freeport farm, but a new opportunity may be on the horizon

NEWS CENTER MAINE • April 28, 2025

A farm in Freeport that had been working to support climate-friendly practices at hundreds of farms nationwide is regrouping after losing its federal grant funding. Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment had secured a $35 million grant through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program — an initiative launched under the Biden administration — but that funding has now been canceled. The U.S.D.A. ended the program, saying it was "...largely built to advance the Green New Scam.” The grant was meant to support farms by improving soil health, increasing biodiversity, and reducing environmental impact over five years. Although the grant cancellation was a setback, Wolfe’s Neck Center has been invited them to apply for a new program introduced under the Trump administration: Advancing Markets for Producers. 

Lawmakers consider bill to require legislative approval for Juniper Ridge Landfill contract

MAINE PUBLIC • April 28, 2025

Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require legislative approval for the state to renew a contract to operate the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. Monday's public hearing on the bill comes amid debate over a proposed expansion of the state-owned landfill and a contract extension for its operator, Casella Waste Management. State Sen. Mike Tipping said that bill would give the public more input into management of the site. "Ensuring that before any other decisions are made about this major state-owned facility, that the legislature, and through them, the people of Maine, would have a say," he said. But Anya Trundy, deputy commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, said it is unlikely that another company would want to take on the contract.