All three midcoast towns that border Crawford Pond, a potential mining site, have passed moratoriums on metallic mineral mining citing pollution concerns — but any permanent changes are yet to be made.
Early this year, Canadian mining company Exiro Mineral Corp released plans to look for nickel, cobalt and copper near Crawford Pond. Since then, nearby towns Warren, Union and Hope passed moratoriums, or temporary bans, on mining in their town borders.
The moratoriums put a temporary hold on mining while the town planning boards and committees work on updating zoning ordinances and mining ordinances from the 1990s to ensure mining is more eco-friendly and safe for the communities. However, so far, nothing permanent has been done.
Nickel, cobalt and copper are often used in renewable technologies, and the White House has recommended an expansion in domestic sourcing for these minerals. But the midcoast townspeople are concerned that mining for these metals could pollute waterways.
That’s why Union is on its second 180-day moratorium with no potential changes to the ordinances ready for the November election, said Jay Feyler, Union’s town manager. Warren’s 180-day moratorium is up in August, but the Warren committee working on updating its mining ordinance from the 90s hasn’t proposed anything, either, said Sherry Howard, Warren’s town manager.
Hope just passed its moratorium on July 20 so it’s still in the early stages. Matthew Deane, Hope’s code enforcement officer, said he expects the Hope Planning Board to take the lead on looking into permanent changes, but nothing is concrete yet.
However, some say the delay is unnecessary.
“There’s no reason that this needs to take more than several weeks. It just doesn’t,” said Dave Stuart, one of the founders and board members of Maine nonprofit Citizens Against Residential Mining Activity. “If you get the right legal resources, you don’t have to spend a lot of time on it. You can analyze the issue. The ordinance amendments have already been drafted. We provided Warren and Union with a roadmap to how to implement these procedurally and substantively.”
Exiro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jules Walkup is a Report for America corps member. Additional support for this reporting is provided by BDN readers.