By Greg D’Augustine,Special to the Sun Journal

While almost everyone agrees that the Androscoggin River is the key to economic and community development for much of western Maine, prescriptions on how the river should be treated vary.

Special status leaves Androscoggin behind

On this mild February day, the view from my home in Greene includes a spectacular winter picture of Gulf Island Pond. If you haven’t experienced it, you should take a few minutes to find the bridge between Turner and Greene so that you can enjoy the view. You won’t regret it, I’m sure.

Though it lies serene, calm and uncaring beneath its winter cloak of snow and ice, I can remember a day not so long ago when the river was little better than a running sewer. Riverside towns were best avoided if you wanted a breath of fresh air, and the thought of starting a business on the banks of the river was laughable.

Today, we begin to see the profits, both monetary and spiritual, of the hard fights of the 1980s and 1990s, when the Legislature finally loosened the paper industry’s grip on our river. Where once only the backs of great brick buildings stared blankly at the riverfront, we now see vibrant businesses and blossoming community activities. Riverside investment follows the rise in property values. Tax revenue follows the speculation. The county chamber of commerce estimates that $400 million has been invested in Lewiston-Auburn alone during the past few years. This process is mirrored in other locations up and down river. The idea of visiting these towns now includes a local attraction that hasn’t been present for 70 years or more: a waterway that attracts rather than repels us, a river that verges on the beautiful, a credit to our magnificent state rather than a source of embarrassment.

And yet, there is no denying that the debate about who owns this river lies before us again. Gone are the days when the de facto ownership of our waters lay in the hands of whoever was willing to accept the worst pollution. Nonetheless, Maine’s 2003-04 Legislature missed a step in its efforts to improve the quality of life in our state. They said that it’s OK for the Androscoggin to be placed in a special category of degradation. With that action, lawmakers said that our own Sen. Muskie’s vision of a nation of cleaner water should somehow not be extended to the river in our back yards. But how could this have happened when our Legislature is replete with caring, honorable citizens?

Is it because they were beguiled by the stale, paranoid predictions of our pulp and paper industrialists? Listen to some of the comments and guess the dates they were presented:

“The elected officials of the state must decide if, long-term, there is to be a forest products industry in Maine …”

Stephen C. Larson, Boise Cascade Corp., Maine Sunday Telegram, Feb. 18, 1990

“The mills need to be able to dump some pollution in the river to make paper and retain jobs. … The bottom line is, the paper industry is in deep trouble in Maine.”

Rep. Tom Saviello, environmental officer, IP, Jay, Bangor Daily News, July 5, 2004

“It would be cheaper for some companies to buy their product on the open market than to make engineering changes needed in order to comply.”

Paper Industry Information Office President Floyd Rutherford, Journal Tribune, Jan. 25, 1990

“To further cut pollution would cost millions that the mills don’t have. We got the low-hanging fruit. The next 5 percent becomes very hard and very expensive to do.”

Rep. Tom Saviello, environmental manager, IP, Jay, Bangor Daily News, July 5, 2004

The pattern is pretty obvious.

The fact of the matter is that once pushed by the Legislature to drastically reduce color, odor and foam, the mills renovated their process and reaped profits from their improved efficiency. And just as importantly, no Maine mill has ever gone out of business because of environmental regulation.

Instead, manufacturing jobs are being lost in this country and in this state because industry sees a chance for higher profits by investing in facilities off shore. Such facilities often have lower energy consumption and less waste production than do older mills right here in Maine. Indeed, International Paper has very recently invested hundreds of millions of dollars in modern mill operations abroad and in other states.

It’s not that they don’t have the money to do it here in Maine; it’s that they choose not to do it here. International Paper mills elsewhere in the U.S. employ technology, which we’re told will cost jobs if we require it here in Maine. So now we begin to see what is wrong with this canvas, and how we can repaint it

Rep. Elaine Makas has introduced a bill to rescind the misguided legislative actions taken last year. That bill comes to public hearing soon. If those who live downstream from industry raise their voices, our legislators will hear. And don’t forget: We all live downstream.

Greg D’Augustine is the chairman of the Androscoggin River Alliance.

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