The Maine Land Use Planning Commission must reject Wolfden Resources’ application to rezone its land near Pickett Mountain in the Katahdin region for zinc mining.

This region and the waters near the proposed mine are precious to me. I am a native of Aroostook County, and I have been fishing Pleasant Lake and Mud Lake, both State Heritage Fish Waters near the proposed mine site, for decades. These are spectacular brook trout and land-locked salmon fisheries. LUPC should make sure they stay that way by rejecting Wolfden’s attempt to rezone its land here.

I have been following this issue closely for nearly four years, and I have watched the commission’s public hearing process for Wolfden’s application carefully since January 2023. I have learned a lot about Wolfden, and none of it is good.

By way of example, the company has a grand total of $1.3 million in cash. This is less than the average American thinks is necessary for retirement savings, at least according to USA Today. But Wolfden’s CEO thinks this is enough money to build a mine that is cleaner than any comparable mine on the planet. Here’s what he said: “Nobody has built a mine to this standard anywhere in the world, but we will.” No one should believe that coming from the head of a company that has never built or operated a mine and is running on fumes.

What I’ve learned about other people in charge of Wolfden also unsettles me. Jeremy Oulette, Wolfden’s vice president for project development, cites his experience with the Trevali Corporation in Canada as a selling point. In testimony to the commission, he stated that: “My experience with Trevali included all phases of permitting, mine design, planning, and the construction/execution of mining projects.”

This isn’t very comforting because the Trevali corporation went bankrupt, and the Province of New Brunswick taxpayers are footing the cleanup bills for the mines Mr. Ouelette worked on. Trevalis’ record in other places is even worse. Trevali closed its zinc mine in Burkina Faso after eight workers died there in a flooding incident.

Although Wolfden’s record and unsupportable claims are disheartening, I was very pleased to see Maine people and tribal members turn out in force at three public sessions to testify against the proposed mine. At sessions in both Millinocket and Bangor (both of which I attended), opponents of the mine significantly outnumbered supporters.

I was particularly moved by Dan Kusnierz’s expert testimony on behalf of the Penobscot Indian Nation. He focused on the high quality of the streams and lakes in the vicinity of the mine. He spoke about how vulnerable these waters would be to acid mine drainage, the most damaging type of pollution from the kind of mine Wolfden is proposing.

He also spoke to the high value that the West Branch of the Mattawamkeag, into which wastewater from the mine would drain, has as a tribal fishery. It is specially protected as a sustenance fishery to allow for the greater consumption of fish typical of tribal members.

All of this is consistent with my experience fishing the waters near the proposed mine. The streams are pure, brook trout are plentiful and good to eat, and I want this to continue in perpetuity for future generations of people living in or visiting Maine.

I have spent most of my professional life as a city manager. I was a city manager in Calais for six years and Augusta for 24 years. I know how important it is to bring jobs to Maine towns.

I also know that when we turn our backs on our most valuable natural resources, our economy suffers. I understand the importance of zoning in determining where and where not to locate development.

The commission has a critical role in deciding whether Pickett Mountain is the right place for a mine. No other state agency can do this.

I urge the commission to recognize that Pickett Mountain is exactly the wrong place to put a mine and reject Wolfden Resources’ application.

Bill Bridgeo of Augusta represents House District 60 in the Maine Legislature.

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