PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 13, 2023
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing Thursday on seven bills related to Maine’s strict mining restrictionsthat were mostly prompted by a proposal to extract rocks containing lithium from a massive deposit in Newry. The bills range from easing the state’s mining restrictions to putting temporary holds on mining while the state weighs the potential impacts and creates permanent guardrails. Advocates on both sides claim to have the environmental high ground.