{"id":352,"date":"2025-06-06T07:38:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T11:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/?p=352"},"modified":"2025-06-06T07:38:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T11:38:50","slug":"androscoggin-river-should-be-recognized-for-cleanup-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/news\/androscoggin-river-should-be-recognized-for-cleanup-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Androscoggin River should be recognized for cleanup efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"
SUN JOURNAL \u2022 May 30, 2025<\/p>\n

Androscoggin River, once a\u00a0\u2018national disgrace\u2019, should be\u00a0recognized for cleanup efforts,\u00a0advocates say
\nJoe Charpentier<\/span><\/div>\n

\nLEWISTON \u2014 Over 50 years after U.S.\u00a0Sen. Edmund Muskie helped usher in the\u00a0federal Clean Water Act, the Androscoggin River, which he once called \u201ca\u00a0national disgrace\u201d for its pollution, may be on the verge of a momentous\u00a0milestone.<\/p>\n

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is considering upgrading\u00a0the classification of key stretches of the river, including through Lewiston-Auburn, from the current lowest-quality designation. Such a move would reflect\u00a0years of improvement to a river that was once emblematic of industrial\u00a0contamination.<\/p>\n

Advocates for the redesignation say such official recognition of the river\u2019s\u00a0recovery would contribute to the region\u2019s economy, bringing visitors and\u00a0business investment to the area.<\/p>\n

YEARS OF ADVOCACY<\/b><\/p>\n

The push to reclassify the river\u2019s water quality from Class C to Class B comes as\u00a0the Department of Environmental Protection seeks public input as part of a\u00a0three-year review process. It will consider that input this summer.<\/p>\n

The state uses a classification system from Class D to Class AA to set water\u00a0quality levels, and to establish designated uses for the river.Class AA waters\u00a0require the highest protection; Class A waters are suitable for drinking after\u00a0treatment, fishing, recreation and industrial use; Class B waters protect habitat\u00a0for fish and other aquatic life, and are suitable for recreation, navigation and\u00a0agricultural\/industrial use; Class C waters are considered suitable for\u00a0navigation, industrial processes and cooling water supply.<\/p>\n

Hope for reclassification of the Androscoggin\u2019s Class C sections rests in part on\u00a0a milestone achieved in 2022. The Maine Legislature, in a unanimous vote,\u00a0reclassified a 14-mile stretch of the river from the Worumbo Dam in Lisbon Falls\u00a0to Merrymeeting Bay, where the Androscoggin and Kennebec rivers meet.<\/p>\n

The decision was based on extensive data showing water quality in the river\u00a0consistently met or exceeded Class B standards, particularly in terms of aquatic\u00a0life support and dissolved oxygen levels.<\/p>\n

The Friends of Merrymeeting Bay was one of the groups that pushed for decades\u00a0for the 2022 classification. The group stressed the improved conditions of the\u00a0river and the need for its classification to reflect these advancements.<\/p>\n

The upgrade also emphasized Maine\u2019s commitment to the anti-degradation\u00a0policy, which ensures that water bodies that meet higher standards are\u00a0recognized and protected.<\/p>\n

Two proposals submitted for DEP review urge lawmakers to extend the Class B\u00a0designation upstream.<\/p>\n

One from Grow L+A, a Lewiston-Auburn nonprofit, targets a 14-mile stretch of\u00a0the Androscoggin River from the base of Gulf Island Pond, located about 4 miles\u00a0north of Great Falls, to the Worumbo Dam in Lisbon Falls. A second proposal\u00a0from the Androscoggin River Watershed Council would extend the B\u00a0classification from the Worumbo Dam all the way to Ellis River near Rumford.<\/p>\n

Both proposals cite long-term water-quality monitoring data showing these\u00a0sections of the river exceed Class B standards and have for several years.<\/p>\n

Peter Rubins, board member for Grow L+A, has been a steward of the river for 50\u00a0years. He said his own view of the Androscoggin has changed dramatically since\u00a0the 1970s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a disgusting mess. It stank. It was covered with foam. The banks were\u00a0slimy,\u201d Rubins said.<\/p>\n

Now, he sees \u201csomething that\u2019s aesthetically pleasing, that\u2019s alive, that\u2019s full of\u00a0birds, fish, paddlers, rowers, people fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an entirely different experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rubins hopes the proposal will be understood as a data-driven acknowledgment\u00a0of progress reflecting \u201cjust the science.\u201d If the science says the river is clean,\u00a0then it should be classified as clean, he said.<\/p><\/div>\n

\nGrow L+A members argue that maintaining the river at Class C despite water-quality improvements over the past several years violates Maine\u2019s anti-degradation law. Under state statute, waters meeting the standards of a higher\u00a0classification must be upgraded. Leaders of the nonprofit also say the upgrade is\u00a0a necessary foundation for economic revitalization.<\/p>\n

Grow L+A\u2019s proposal cites national case studies where waterfront investment\u00a0and rising property values resulted from river cleanups and reclassifications.\u00a0Redesignating the Androscoggin River as cleaner, swimmable and fishable could\u00a0help attract residents, visitors and business investment, the nonprofit\u2019s leaders\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

VISION FOR FUTURE<\/b><\/p>\n

The future of Lewiston-Auburn\u2019s Great Falls is a central part of Grow L+A\u2019s\u00a0vision, which is why the nonprofit and city officials are urging Brookfield\u00a0Renewable, the operator of the hydroelectric dam above the falls, to include 40\u00a0annual timed water releases in its new federal license. The releases would\u00a0ensure a regular flow over the falls independent from natural high-water events\u00a0or spillway use.<\/p>\n

Advocates believe Great Falls, as a destination waterfall, could anchor broader\u00a0riverfront development including walking trails, signs and an expanded\u00a0downtown arts and tourism economy.<\/p>\n

Farther upstream, Fergus Lea of Androscoggin Valley Watershed Council said his\u00a0organization\u2019s proposal was \u201cgenerally submitted to start the conversation in\u00a0the triennial review process with DEP and others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe some will oppose the change in the Class B standard, but given the\u00a0DEP and AVWC proposals, there will probably be a serious discussion on the\u00a0change in the standard and the upgrading of the Androscoggin,\u201d Lea said.<\/p><\/div>\n

\nWithout that change, Lea warned, \u201cmany of our rivers and streams now\u00a0designated as Class B would have to be downgraded because a number of rivers\u00a0and streams fall below the \u2026 current Class B standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reclassifying them as Class C instead of applying pressure for them to meet the\u00a0Class B designation, he said, \u201cwould technically allow degradation by new\u00a0discharges or significant increases in existing wastewater loads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lea said the Androscoggin River\u2019s health is strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is difficult to describe how good the river is,\u201d Lea said. \u201cWe believe it rivals\u00a0that of most major rivers in Maine and New England, and is far better than many\u00a0rivers nationwide.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SUN JOURNAL • May 30, 2025 Androscoggin River, once a ‘national disgrace’, should be recognized for cleanup efforts, advocates say Joe Charpentier LEWISTON — Over 50 years after U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie helped usher…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1798,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1798"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/brunswick-dam-fish-passage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}