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Salmon advocates drop lawsuit over Kennebec dams

Brookfield spokeswoman Miranda Kessel says the fourth dam, called Weston, will continue to operate, because studies show the Salmon stand a better chance of survival passing through the turbines than when they spill over the top of that dam.
Jimmy Emerson, DVM
/
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Brookfield spokeswoman Miranda Kessel says the fourth dam, called Weston, will continue to operate, because studies show the Salmon stand a better chance of survival passing through the turbines than when they spill over the top of that dam.

Four conservation groups have withdrawn a lawsuit against Brookfield Renewable Partners over its Kennebec River dams' impacts to Atlantic salmon.

The Atlantic Salmon Federation, Conservation Law Foundation, Maine Rivers, and Natural Resources Council of Maine claimed that Brookfield was violating federal law by harming endangered Atlantic salmon. But a biological opinion issued last month by the National Marine Fisheries Service paved the way for continued dam operations, and undermined the lawsuit.

The conservation groups say they will now take their fight to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is reviewing the dams' licenses.

Murray Carpenter is Maine Public’s climate reporter, covering climate change and other environmental news.