Opinion: Accurate testing the key to Maine’s PFAS response

CENTRAL MAINE • February 13, 2025

Over the past several years, Maine has taken numerous steps in addressing the growing concern of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. With the implementation of new regulations, including an interim drinking water standard of 20 parts per trillion for six PFAS compounds, the state has positioned itself at the forefront of PFAS management. However, the success of these efforts’ hinges on a crucial factor: accurate and reliable testing as the cornerstone of Maine’s PFAS strategy. By prioritizing accurate data and timely results, Maine can build a sustainable path forward in combating PFAS contamination. ~ Katie Richards, Maine Laboratories, Norridgewock

Penobscot Nation to alter 3 midcoast dams to make them fish-friendly

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 13, 2025

The Penobscots have identified Mill Brook Dam in Searsport, Pitcher Pond Dam in Lincolnville and Chickawaukie Pond Outlet in Rockland as barriers to the migration of Atlantic salmon, alewives, American eels and brook trout to their native spawning grounds, according to Carter Cates, fisheries program outreach coordinator for the Penobscot Nation. They are the latest in a long line of dams, including recently on the Kennebec River, that have either been removed or modified to allow migratory species of fish access to their native grounds.

A Maine town hopes dredging will give fishermen 24/7 access

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 13, 2025

A coastal Hancock County town with 50-plus miles of coastline has no public access point that commercial fishermen can use at low tide. To change that, the town of Brooksville has been working for more than five years on a plan to dredge out the area around its town landing at Betsy’s Cove. The urgency of that project became more clear to Brooksville officials in recent years, after the yearlong closure of a private all-tide marina in 2023 demonstrated that public deep-water access was vital for the future of commercial fishing in the town.

Trump Nominates Oil and Gas Advocate to Run Bureau of Land Management

NEW YORK TIMES • February 12, 2025

President Trump has nominated Kathleen Sgamma, a professional advocate for the oil and gas industry, to run the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the Interior Department that oversees grazing, logging, drilling and wildlife conservation on 245 million acres of public land. Sgamma is president of the Denver-based Western Energy Alliance, where she has worked for nearly 20 years on behalf of independent oil and gas companies that have sought to strip away government protections and rules on extracting fossil fuels on public lands in Western states.

Biosolids plant raises concerns in post-PFAS spill Brunswick

MAINE PUBLIC • February 12, 2025

Plans to expand a biosolids processing plant for sewage biosolids in Brunswick have alarmed residents who are still coping with the aftermath of a toxic forever chemical spill on a former naval air base just six months ago. Critics of the proposed expansion question why Delaware-based Viridi Energy would import PFAS-laden waste into Maine at a time when the state is struggling to process its own sewage sludge. The group Brunswick United for a Safe Environment will fight the new project while pushing to remove PFAS foam from the old air base.

Column: With all due respect, where is the George Smith award?

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 12, 2025

No outdoors figure in the history of Maine was more influential than George Smith. Under his leadership, Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine became a veritable political powerhouse. He helped create the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Land for Maine’s Future program. If not for George’s leadership, Maine would not have its heralded State Heritage Fish law. In 2017, George received an award from Maine Conservation Voters, something you don’t expect to see for someone from the hook-and-bullet arena. George was a prolific writer. He had outdoors columns in several Maine publications, two blogs, and three outdoors books. He also co-hosted the “Wildfire” television show. I was there when George took the stand at a meeting with the National Park Service in support of Katahdin Woods and Waters, a complete reversal from his earlier position. George publicly supported Native Fish Coalition, a group I helped found. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife sponsors the Wiggie Robinson Legendary Guide Award and the Fly Rod Crosby Outdoor Lifetime Achievement Award. Where is the George Smith Award? ~ Bob Mallard

Maine train derailment that spilled 500 gallons of fuel caused by beaver dam, officials say

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 12, 2025

A 2023 train derailment in rural Somerset County that spilled 500 gallons of diesel fuel was caused by excessive water that flowed through a beaver dam and washed out part of the track, state officials said Wednesday. Three locomotives and six train cars from Canadian Pacific Kansas City derailed in Sandwich Academy Grant Township on April 15, 2023, into nearby wetlands and the Moose River, a tributary to Little Brassua Lake. After the crash, 500 gallons of diesel from the train flowed into the lake during the railway’s cleanup because the company failed to empty saddle tanks on the locomotive before removing the engine.

Scarborough council wants to increase residents’ access to town beaches, potentially free of charge

SCARBOROUGH LEADER • February 12, 2025

The council gave preliminary approval to changes to beach fees and policies at its meeting on Feb. 5 but indicated they'd like to do more to increase residents' ability to access town-operated beaches – potentially for free. The changes would apply to the town-operated beaches of Ferry Beach, Higgins Beach and Pine Point Beach.

Blue states hope their clean energy plans withstand collision with Trump

MAINE MORNING STAR • February 12, 2025

For states that are pursuing plans to build more wind and solar projects, the federal government has suddenly shifted from a powerful ally to a formidable opponent. State leaders are still scrambling to make sense of President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders, funding freezes, agency directives and verbal threats about clean energy. Trump has slammed the brakes on offshore wind development, halted permitting for renewable energy projects, frozen grants and loans supporting rooftop solar panels and household weatherization assistance, and he’s created uncertainty around the tax credits that are a driver of clean energy development.

Opinion: Let’s keep the door closed to nuclear energy in Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 12, 2025

Several bills pending in Augusta are aimed at reviving nuclear power in the state. One bill (L.D. 342, sponsored by Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport) would shove nuclear energy into Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. Nuclear energy is not renewable. Another bill sponsored by Rep. Paul (L.D. 343) would order the Public Utilities Commission to investigate small modular reactors, which basically are the same as older mega reactors, including generating radioactive waste. Yet another pro-nuclear bill would prohibit a community’s right to veto construction of a nuclear facility in its backyard. There still are no permanent disposal facilities for the nation’s more than 90,000 metric tons of nuke-generated radioactive waste. It is held in Wiscasset and about 100 other sites around the nation. Maine has developed a robust climate action plan for true renewable energy. Let’s not let a raft of “foot-in-the-door” bills detour Maine from that path. ~ Cathy Wolff, Kittery

Opinion: Make Maine Canadian again

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 11, 2025

President Donald Trump wants to make Canada the 51st state. Instead, I’m offering a deal you can’t refuse. Cooperate with Canada, we’ll let your ships keep using the St. Lawrence River. All we want is northern Maine. Help us draw a straight border from the southeast corner of Quebec to the Maine coast above Bar Harbor. Indigenous peoples of Maine and New Brunswick have shared their lives from the beginning. Acadians of northern Maine will reunite with their cousins in the land that created poutine. Mainers already interact daily with the Irving interests of New Brunswick, who provide most of their gas stations and are Maine’s biggest landowners. The northern Mainers officially joining us can look forward to a safer country, better health care, and longer life expectancy. Yield northern Maine, you’ll feel no pain, Chicago ships will sail again. And for us, it’ll be Mainifest Destiny. ~ Joseph Gough of Ottawa was born in Lubec

Land trust trail project weighs conservation and accessibility in Bowdoinham

TIMES RECORD • February 11, 2025

A section of the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust’s Center Point Preserve in Bowdoinham will soon be reshaped so handicapped outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy the trail. The existing path is riddled with roots and loose terrain. The updated Center Point All Persons Trail, as its name hints, is intended for everyone. KELT acquired the 22-acre preserve in February 2023 and obtained an additional 11 acres in December of the same year. Thanks to a multi-year collaboration and a recent $460,000 award from the Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program (MNRCP) to upgrade three existing culverts on the property, over $630,000 in grant funding has been devoted to improving the property’s wetland habitat and building a new trail that meets USDA Forest Service accessibility standards. 

Regulators to investigate Passamaquoddy solar dispute

MAINE PUBLIC • February 11, 2025

The Maine Public Utilities Commission said it will settle a dispute over a major rooftop solar development planned by the Passamaquoddy Tribe. Late last year, the Indian Township government asked the commission to confirm that it was not violating state rules by installing solar panels on more than 200 homes and buildings in the Washington County community. The project, which included individual battery backup systems, was funded with a $7.4 million federal grant. However, Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative, the utility that serves the area, said it was concerned that the individual rooftop systems combined were a single discrete electric generator. And the entire system together would produce about 20 times more power than allowed under the state's rules for solar arrays qualified to receive benefits through the net energy billing program. On Tuesday commissioners instead voted to start a formal investigation into the matter.

Bird flu has been detected in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 11, 2025

The highly contagious bird flu has been detected in Maine. The virus infected four Canada geese, two red-tailed hawks and a great horned owl found in Kennebunk, Kittery, Ogunquit, South Berwick, South Portland and York, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. It also has been found in poultry flocks in four New England states, the wildlife department said Tuesday morning. The highly contagious virus has killed millions of chickens nationwide, which has been the primary driver in a 65 percent increase in retail egg prices recently.

Letter: Maine needs to expand its economy

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 11, 2025

We’ve lost most of our ship building, dairy farming, chicken farming, and fishing, and we’re increasingly dependent on “vacationland” for our income. If the economy goes down, “people from away” are going to stay away, and our former dairy farms, chicken farms, hay farms and mills. In short, nearly every stone in our economic foundation has been abandoned in dependence on money brought in from away. Isn’t it time to start expanding the base of our economic structure? ~ Dr. William Burgess Leavenworth, Searsmont

Stricter Lobster Fishing Rules Scrapped After Complaints from Fishermen

FOOD MANUFACTURING • February 10, 2025

Fishing industry regulators have decided to scrap stricter new lobster fishing standards off New England in the wake of months of protest from lobster fishermen that the rules were unnecessary and would bankrupt harvesters. The regulators were planning to institute new rules this summer that increased the minimum legal harvest size for lobsters in some of the most important fishing grounds in the world. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council, which manages the fishery, said the changes were important to preserve the future of a lobster population that has shown recent signs of decline. Many commercial fishermen adamantly opposed the changes.

Harpswell has 44 of Maine’s 600 remaining overboard discharge systems

HARPSWELL ANCHOR • February 10, 2025

With no municipal sewer system, almost all of Harpswell’s homes and businesses rely on septic systems to handle their wastewater. But a few dozen properties that are too small or too rocky for conventional septic systems still use what are called overboard discharge systems, even as the state and town governments work to replace them. Overboard discharges, or OBDs, release treated wastewater, which could introduce bacteria and other pathogens, to surface water such as a river or the ocean. About 600 OBDs remain. Harpswell has 44 of those, the fifth most among Maine towns. Only Boothbay, Bristol, Georgetown and Southport have more. Maine has a grant program to help property owners pay for overboard discharge replacement, but there is a long waitlist for the limited funds available.

Letter: US moving backwards on climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 10, 2025

Doug Burgum, the new secretary of the Interior Department, is another blatant example of the fact corporations have captured our democracy. This time the stakes are so much higher. The petroleum industry has never had the kind of influence they have now and they seem hellbent to burn every drop of their product. Wake up folks, our grandchildren are being sacrificed on the altar of greed. Demand and work for a transition to wind and solar now! ~ Tom Mikulka, Cape Elizabeth

New administration sparks uncertainty for Brunswick PFAS spill cleanup

TIMES RECORD • February 10, 2025

A slew of impactful executive orders coming from the new presidential administration is sparking uncertainty amid efforts to clean up a toxic chemical spill at Brunswick’s airport. Under the new administration’s Environmental Protection Agency, and with many federal funding programs facing uncertainty, local authorities are waiting for things to settle. They face the expensive task of cleaning up PFAS-laden aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) at Brunswick Executive Airport a malfunctioning fire suppression system dumped tens of thousands of gallons into the nearby environment in August. The cleanup costs and ongoing monitoring of private drinking wells near the airport, formerly Naval Air Station Brunswick, have amounted to over $781,000 as of the end of December.

This historic park off the Maine coast is a joy to visit, even in the dead of winter

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 10, 2025

Roosevelt Campobello International Park is on Campobello Island. The 2,800-acre park is jointly administered and funded by Canada and the United States. When signing the park agreement in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson said of U.S.-Canada relations: “I hope that Campobello Park will live eternally as a symbol of our friendship that cannot be shaken or diverted. President Roosevelt would want it this way.” While the park was an absolutely stunning place to visit in the winter, I’d like to return in the summer to see the planted gardens. Admission to the park and Roosevelt house is free.