Canadian Dam Owner Sues Maine Over Effort To Remove 4 Kennebec Dams

"Brookfield Renewable argues state agencies are violating a binding river management agreement in their fight over the future of Atlantic salmon."

"The Canadian conglomerate that owns most of the dams in Maine has sued the state over the high-stakes battle over the future of four dams on the lower section of the Kennebec River and the survival of Atlantic salmon in the United States.

Brookfield Renewable Power, a subsidiary of $600 billion global asset company Brookfield Asset Management, sued the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Marine Resources late Monday in Kennebec Superior Court. The suit claims that the agencies have not conformed to a legally binding 1998 management agreement and other state laws in their alleged goal to demolish the four dams between Waterville and Skowhegan.

“The state of Maine is intent on demolishing Brookfield’s four dams on the lower Kennebec River,” the suit asserts, and argues that one state agency, DMR, has violated state laws governing administrative procedures by drafting materials for another, DEP, which has the power to block the federal relicensing of hydroelectric dams."

Colin Woodard reports for the Portland Press Herald September 28, 2021.

Source: Portland Press Herald, 09/29/2021