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Our environmental reporter Emmett Gartner was up in Bucksport Thursday, sitting in on a tense meeting about the future of three of the area's dams, which are set to be abandoned. What does that mean? That's what locals wanted to know. 

“If the worst-case scenario… is that you release the water because we have no other option, do we have a (projection) of what will happen?” asked a resident on Toddy Pond whose family has lived there since the 1930s. “Should I get scuba gear for my house, or should I get sun-tanning lotion, because it will be a desert?”

In the second installment in his series on Maine's aging dams, Emmett digs into the state's dam safety program, finding that it is underfunded and understaffed, with just two engineers — one of whom they had to pull out of retirement — overseeing 523 dams across the state. 

“There's a lot of steps that we could do if I had another engineer,” the program's director told Emmett. “I would have sent an engineer down there to reinspect those dams. I don't have that. I just don't have those assets.”

Speaking of staffing: We're hiring! In the newsroom, we're looking for an education and workforce development reporter, an audience engagement director, and freelance contributors, including for Climate Monitor. On the development side, they're looking for an institutional giving manager. Here are the job postings. We'd love for you to share them with anyone you think might be interested — and don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions!

— Stephanie

Underfunded and understaffed, Maine’s dam agency does what it can to keep the aging infrastructure safe

Thirteen years after a Monitor investigation revealed that Maine was behind on inspecting the state’s most hazardous dams, Maine’s dam safety program, like dozens of others across the country, remains understaffed and underfunded, even in the face of a changing climate and more intense storms.

As Maine dams reach the end of their useful lives and maintenance bills mount, some dam owners are abdicating upkeep responsibilities or forfeiting ownership of their dams altogether — leaving communities like Bucksport and Orland at risk of inheriting these costly burdens.

Read this story by Emmett Gartner.

Federal audit finds Maine’s child welfare agency failed to follow its own policies: Inspectors made a series of recommendations, including additional training for caseworkers and supervisors and a system for documenting when notification letters are sent out. Read this story by Josh Keefe.

Maine’s electric vehicle goals won’t take us where we want to go: A key strategy in the state’s climate action plan is to put 150,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030. It’s not realistic. Read this story by Tux Turkel.

November ‘radio hour’ digs into child care facility violations: The show offers a behind-the-scenes look at recent Maine Monitor reporting. Listen to this discussion.

Maine Monitor commemorates 15th anniversary: From its founding, the newsroom has been nonprofit, nonpartisan, fiercely independent and dedicated to deeply researched and honestly reported journalism. Read our special anniversary edition.

Half of dams that threaten lives lack state inspection

“Some day something’s going to happen,” said Sen. Stanley Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, “and people’s eyes are going to open up.” 

Read this 2011 story by John Christie and Naomi Schalit.

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.