BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 28, 2022
A top legislative Democrat hit the administration of Gov. Janet Mills for “behind-the-scenes games” on Kennebec River dams on Monday, lining up with paper and labor interests against environmentalists who want the dams removed. Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, unveiled a bill to require any river management plan to consider existing hydropowers uses and make those plans subject to legislative approval as a way to protect jobs at Sappi North America’s Somerset Mill, which employs 700 people in Fairfield and relies on water levels at nearby the Shawmut Dam. That dam has been at the center of a long fight between its owner and environmentalists who want it and other dams removed to allow the endangered Atlantic salmon easier access to spawning grounds.