KENNEBEC JOURNAL • July 1, 2020
Reggie Barnes, an employee of demolition contractor H.E. Sargent, uses a giant backhoe to break through the Edwards Dam in Augusta at 9:21 a.m., allowing the Kennebec River to flow freely there for the first time since 1837. The first breaching of a functioning hydroelectric dam comes about because, also for the first time, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission declines in 1997 to renew the dam’s license despite the owner’s wishes. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt says the demise of the Edwards Dam sets a national precedent that will and should be followed.