MORNING SENTINEL • September 2, 2021
Every place in Maine we’ve removed a dam — on the Kennebec, the Sebasticook, the Penobscot, and the Presumpscot — sea-run fish have immediately moved upstream and re-established themselves. We’ve done that without harming Maine mills and infrastructure on our rivers. Past dam removals led to a new water intake for the Statler mill in Augusta, a new water intake for the ND Paper mill in Old Town, a new combined sewer overflow outlet for the city of Augusta, and a new sewer discharge outfall for Old Town. Designing and constructing those upgrades was part of the restoration projects, required by local, state, and federal regulators, and paid for as part of the projects. If the Shawmut Dam — and other dams on the lower Kennebec River that stand between sea-run fish and upstream habitat — are removed, that will happen again. It’s distressing to see so many town officials and legislators and potentially affected businesses replaying the “pickerel vs. payroll” debate I’ve heard all my life. ~ Willie Grenier, Waterville