Protecting Our Water

Penobscot River Litigation

On December 3, 2021, the Penobscot Nation and US Solicitor General filed petitions for a writ of certiorari seeking review by the U.S. Supreme Court of the en banc decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Penobscot Nation v. Frey. On December 21, 2021, the MITSC commissioners voted, unanimously, to file another amicus brief in support of the positions taken by the Penobscot Nation and the United States. The brief was successfully filed on January 6, 2022.

To view the Amicus Brief click here…

The Burgeoning PFAS Crisis in Maine

• "Forever Chemical” PFAS Found in Landfill Leachate Dumped in Penobscot River. To read more on this topic and watch the video produced by Sunlight Media Collective please visit this link.
• PFAS in Agriculture: The chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been widely used since the 1950s in products ranging from food packaging to fire fighting foam. PFAS have recently been recognized as contaminants in agriculture and are believed to largely be entering soil through the application of biosolids, industrial sludges and ashes, which may contain these compounds that are difficult to break down. Over the past few years PFAS have emerged as a growing contaminant of concern for the food supply in Maine and elsewhere as testing has revealed levels of contamination in milk, deer meat, and eggs from areas where land was spread with amendments containing PFAS (in most cases, decades ago). Consider listening to this episode of Maine Calling to learn more on this topic.

Metallic Mining in Maine

• Canadian mining company Wolfden Resources Corporation of Thunder Bay, Ontario has been pursuing potential mining sites in two areas of Maine, Patten and Pembroke, that it is exploring for precious metals. Both sites have the potential to impact tribal watersheds and fisheries as well as the surrounding communities and local aquifers.
• Pembroke Clean Water will be hosting a remote event on Sunday, February 20, at 3pm regarding the proposed mine in Pembroke and will be featuring past MITSC commissioner, John Banks, of the Penobscot Nation, and Winona Laduke, of Honor the Earth, as speakers. The event will be moderated by Dwayne Tomah, Passamaquoddy cultural historian, and Dawn Neptune Adams of Sunlight Media. Topics will include learning from communities where mining has occurred in other states, learning from the Penobscot experience of environmental contamination of the Penobscot river, and sharing an indigenous perspective on building a movement to regulate mining in Maine. To learn more and access the Zoom link please click here..

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