The Androscoggin River will just have to wait.

On Monday, the Natural Resources Committee voted unanimously to reject a bill that would have required all Class C rivers – including the Androscoggin River – to meet certain dissolved oxygen standards under certain temperature guidelines as a determining measure of water quality. In simpler terms, it rejected a plan to erase Maine’s two-tier pollution classification that now winks at pollution levels on the Androscoggin.

The committee favored, instead, a compromise outlined by the Department of Environmental Protection.

And it was a compromise.

Rep. Elaine Makas, C-Lewiston, dozens of environmental groups and dozens more private citizens have repeatedly and fiercely argued for a five-year pollution-reduction plan to bring the river in compliance with the Clean Water Act. Industry argued it needs 15 years minimum to meet proposed pollution guidelines. The DEP compromise calls for a 10-year solution, forcing industry to get moving and asking environmentalists for patience.

While not perfect, the compromise is reasonable.

The mills cannot survive without the river, and the river cannot survive if overrun with pollutants.

The mills offer jobs, as does the river and its surrounding and supporting communities. The balance between the economy and the environment is a delicate existence and one that has not always been well-managed.

Environmentalists, who are disappointed with the committee’s action, came on strong in support of the five-year plan because the mills have not always followed deadlines in meeting water quality standards and the DEP has not actively enforced minimum requirements.

There’s no doubt the mills have done much at great expense to reduce harmful discharge, and improvements have been made over time. A quick look at (and sniff of) the river is evidence of that work.

However, when the mills allow discharge licenses to lapse and reluctantly agree to pollution controls only when pressed by others, it paints a picture of mill management unwilling to police its own industry.

Neither side won this debate Monday, and the compromise recommendation will probably sail through the Legislature. Once that happens, the 10-year clock starts ticking.

Stakeholders along the Androscoggin River – including those employed in its mills – must stand watch to ensure the mills meet their obligation to Maine in the agreed time.