FRANKLIN — Residents and visitors to Georges Pond in Franklin may have clearer waters to swim and boat in in coming years. At least that’s the hope of the Georges Pond Association, which oversaw the first alum treatment applied to the pond last week. “Applying this application essentially resets the natural chemical balance in the …
STONINGTON — The Board of Selectmen is thinking about installing an electric vehicle charging station downtown. The board at its April 20 meeting listened to a pitch from electric vehicle (EV) enthusiast Gordon Beck, who is an advisory board member of A Climate to Thrive. The organization describes itself as an “initiative of and for” …
ELLSWORTH — In March, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection denied a request by Black Bear Hydro Partners for a water quality certification (WQC) under the Clean Waters Act. The certification is critical to the company’s pending application for new licenses to maintain and operate the two Union River dams — one at the lower …
ELLSWORTH — Members of the Ellsworth Green Action Team attended a Zoom videoconferencing presentation by a member of Portland-based nonprofit recycling organization ecomaine on Friday. The goal was to learn more about ways the city might expand its recycling program. Recent regulations put in place by China and other countries limiting the amount of recyclables …
ELLSWORTH — City councilors approved changes to the city’s development ordinance on Monday evening that will allow solar development to move forward, just in time for the Planning Board to review a proposal for an 11-acre, 10,900-panel development on the Mariaville Road at its meeting on May 6. The two-and-a-half-hour meeting was held via the …
WINTER HARBOR — Robins, bluebirds, sparrows and other returning birds these spring days have the spruce-fir forests and granite headlands mostly to themselves with Acadia National Park’s Schoodic District and the Schoodic Institute campus closed. Most of the latter’s staff is scattered and working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking by phone from …
BAR HARBOR — For a few years now, members of the town’s Marine Resources Committee have felt “like border collies running out of sheep” to protect, says Scott Swann, who chairs the committee. Their job is to protect the town’s clam flats for recreational clammers and the handful of folks who make part of their …
ELLSWORTH — As communities around the country struggle to keep up with the increased costs of recycling, some legislators are looking into another option: transferring that cost to the companies that made the packaging in the first place. State Rep. Nicole Grohoski (D-Ellsworth) on Jan. 9 will discuss a bill being drafted that is designed …
ELLSWORTH — A state task force is recommending that all public water system managers be required to test for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, collectively known as PFAS and nicknamed “forever chemicals” for their persistence in the environment and human bodies. In a draft report released before Thanksgiving, the group outlined seven recommendations for dealing with …
FRANKLIN — In the decades that John Eliasberg has been visiting his home on Georges Pond in Franklin, one of his great pleasures has been taking a dip in the pond’s cool, clear waters. Except in recent years. “In 2017 was the first time in my 60 years I said I’m not going swimming,” Eliasberg …
ELLSWORTH — You’ve likely seen the photos: pristine lake waters transformed into murky, toxic green sludge, the result of a blue-green algae bloom. You’ve probably also read the articles, about how several dog deaths have been attributed to blooms in North Carolina and Georgia, and about how the blooms are increasing in frequency as waters …
ELLSWORTH — When Governor Janet Mills spoke at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York at the end of September, she made a surprise announcement: she had issued an executive order pledging that Maine would be carbon-neutral by 2045. Going carbon-neutral means the state would make no net contribution of carbon dioxide to …
