Power giant sues Maine over plan that could force removal of 4 Kennebec dams

[TexasTowelie]

AUGUSTA, Maine — The owner of four dams on the Kennebec River sued the state of Maine on Tuesday seeking to halt a plan backed by Gov. Janet Mills that could lead to the dams’ removal.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources is in the process of imposing stricter requirements for fish passage on four dams located in the lower part of the Kennebec River between Waterville and Skowhegan with the aim of restoring populations of sea-run fish, including the endangered Atlantic salmon. It recommends that a federal regulator decommission and remove two dams and that another two be studied for removal.

A U.S. subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable Partners, the massive Toronto-based company that owns the dams, has decried the process, arguing that Maine undersold the significance of the rulemaking and accusing Gov. Janet Mills of retaliating after her administration’s efforts to broker the sale of the dams failed. A public comment period for rulemaking closed on Friday.

Brookfield made a narrower case as it sued the Maine Department of Marine Resources in Kennebec County Superior Court on Tuesday, arguing state law requires the amendment process to go through Maine’s agricultural and energy offices as well.

Read more: https://bangordailynews.com/2021/03/30/politics/power-giant-sues-maine-over-plan-that-could-force-removal-of-4-kennebec-dams/

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. I feel for the fish, I really do ... but we shouldn't be decommissioning zero carbon energy sources

There's an entire world full of species that are going to suffer and go extinct if we don't get off fossil fuels.

Dam removal just doesn't make sense to me.

[2naSalit]

2. It's a trophic cascade...

The ocean run fish are keystone species, the forests and everything in them need them to return to spawning locations in order to stay healthy. The bodies of the fish feed the forest, without them the entire forest dies. We have this issue in the northern Rockies, it is one of the reasons the forests are teetering due to lack of ocean derived nutrients. The whole thing worked just fine until humans clogged up the rivers with dams.

The rivers in Maine were trashed by the paper industry and others, it was nasty, couldn't walk across the bridge over the river for the fumes, it was a shame. So to me, the fact that the rivers have recovered to where there are salmon runs is impressive and even more so that it happened in my lifetime.