A paper company representative says there is no reason to protect fish that aren’t there.
AUGUSTA – Saying the Twin Cities won’t accept being treated as “second class” communities, Lewiston legislators blasted proposed water quality standards for Maine rivers that leave out the Androscoggin.
The state must do more to change the fact that the Androscoggin doesn’t even meet existing Class C standards because it is too polluted, the delegation insisted.
“There is a history of treating the Androscoggin River as second-class and this must stop,” said Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston. “To treat our river as second-class is to treat our community as second class, and I will refuse to allow that to happen.”
Her sentiment was echoed by Lewiston representatives Lillian O’Brien, Richard Mailhot, William Walcott and Margaret Craven. Rep.
Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston, serves on the Natural Resource Committee that was hearing the bill.
Also in attendance were Rep. Sonya Sampson, D-Auburn, and Rep. Deborah Simpson, D-Auburn.
During a Tuesday hearing, Department of Environmental Protection officials explained it’s proposing standards to improve water quality in Class C rivers to help salmon and trout.
For the first time, the state is mandating certain water temperatures and levels of dissolved oxygen in Class C rivers, since more oxygen helps fish, and high temperatures hurt fish.
Paper mill discharges impact water temperature and oxygen levels.
DEP is “carving out” the Androscoggin’s Gulf Island Pond in those proposed standards because the pond is too dirty, DEP Commissioner Dawn Gallagher explained.
Although DEP is leaving out the Androscoggin, the state is working with the paper companies, and the paper mills have agreed to reduce phosphorus discharges. Within five years that should lead to better water quality, Gallagher said.
That did not appease Lewiston lawmakers.
Citizens remember when the Androscoggin River was so polluted from the mills that “we suffered with it by having – excuse the expression – a stinking community,” Rep. O’Brien said.
“We used to take pictures that would show actual sludge in our Androscoggin River. We have cleaned it up.”
At issue now is the desire to use the river for recreation like other rivers in Maine, she said. No one opposes the paper mill business, she said. “But what we’re saying is let’s see the same standards applied to other rivers be applied to our river. To us, it’s not just a water way, it’s a life spur in regards to our revitalization. We don’t want Lewiston to go bankrupt because we’ve got a dirty river again.”
During a committee break, Makas complained that the DEP is “compromising” the standard because of pressure from paper companies. “I don’t want to be a part of that compromise,” Makas said. “It’s just plain not fair. The paper companies can make changes. We need to raise the standards for all” rivers.
Paper company representatives objected to the higher standards, especially if the standards apply to the Androscoggin. It doesn’t make sense to protect “fish that aren’t there,” one said.
In the last 15 years, International Paper in Jay has reduced discharges by 70 to 80 percent, said John Cronin, who oversees wastewater treatment. IP discharges less than its license allows, and is working on reducing phosphorus discharge, he said.
“We are not backsliding.” The economic impact of what the Lewiston delegation wants would “cost in the tens of millions, possibly up to $30 million.”
The committee is planning on taking up the proposed standards on Thursday.
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