PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 9, 2023
The Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee has approved an amendment to L.D. 1363. It would allow the developer of a mineral deposit to proceed under quarry rules instead of much-stricter mining rules. There will be no legal restriction on its size and it allows for sediment to enter water sources through strip mining. Additionally, a mining company will be able to evade any excise tax on metallic minerals to fund the mitigation of health and environmental impacts. Mining is a net job loser and mine site remediation expenses from long-abandoned mining sites for Maine taxpayers are in the tens of millions of dollars. Alarmingly, this action comes when the Supreme Court is rolling back federal safeguards for wetlands under the Clean Water Act. ~ Nickie Sekera, Fryeburg.