Independent gubernatorial candidate Rick Bennett offers plan to protect Maine's environment
AUBURN, Maine — Standing on the banks of the Androscoggin River, independent candidate for governor Rick Bennett unveiled his plan to protect Maine’s environment on Thursday.
“It’s the foundation of our health, our economy, and our way of life,” Bennett said, promising to hold polluters accountable, fully implement state laws to get rid of PFAS forever chemicals, and expand land conservation. “Maine’s environment is not separate from our economic future. A healthy environment and a strong economy walk hand in hand.”
Bennett outlined his four top environmental priorities should he win the November election.
“I will, number one, protect clean water and reduce pollution, two, keep forests intact and habitats connected, three, build climate resilience, and fourth, critically, staff and fund this work,” he said.
Bennett said he would increase the budgets for the Departments of Environmental Protection, Agriculture Conservation and Forestry, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Marine Resources, as they collectively receive only 1% of the state budget.
“Maine’s environmental and natural resource agencies are stretched way too thin,” Bennett said. “We need to recruit and retain the scientists, the foresters, the wardens, the engineers, the planners, and public servants who protect Maine’s environment every day.”
To keep waters clean, Bennett said he would apply unclaimed bottle deposits that currently go to the beverage industry to fully fund the state’s existing Lake Water Quality and Protection Fund, which he said is underfunded by $2 million annually.
To protect old growth forests, Bennett said he would expand Land for Maine’s Future, the state’s primary land conservation program, by issuing a new bond.
“If we want Maine to stay Maine, we have to protect the woods, the waters, and the habitat that define this state,” Bennett said. “I’ll work with communities to protect failing culverts and stream crossings, so native species can move, can recover, and can thrive.”
To build resilience to climate change, Bennett’s plan would devote funding to stormwater systems, flood protection, and coastal defenses.
Bennett’s plan would support farming adaptations by expanding irrigation support for blueberry growers and fully funding the Maine Healthy Soils Program, which Bennett said could fund only $960,000 of $5 million in requests this year.
“Our communities are already dealing with stronger storms, flooding, working waterfront damage, and changing conditions that put real pressure on people’s livelihoods,” Bennett said. “... The cost of inaction here is simply too high.”
Bennett has been a member of the Maine State Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee since he rejoined the state senate in 2020.
Bennett also supports a ban on out-of-state construction waste, primarily from Massachusetts, from being dumped in the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill near Old Town, which is operated by Casella.
Bennett Campaign Policy Director Sarah Nichols, formerly Sustainability Maine Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, credited him for having secured unanimous, bipartisan passage of the bill in 2022. However, since being signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills, implementation has been delayed.
