BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2024
After multiple rounds of destructive flooding and storms dating back to December ravaged a vast chunk of Maine, environmentalists took the state to court and argued that Gov. Janet Mills is not acting with enough urgency to meet her own climate goals. The Conservation Law Foundation, Maine Youth Action and Sierra Club filed their lawsuit in April against the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Board of Environmental Protection. The DEP released an update in June that showed emissions were 30% lower than 1990 levels as of 2021 and that Maine was 91% of the way to meeting the 2045 carbon neutrality goal, thanks largely to carbon storage in trees and wood products. But the environmental groups suing Maine argued the state has missed statutory deadlines. Attorney General Aaron Frey’s office has asked the court to dismiss the case.