BREWER, Maine — The Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) voted 5-2 on Wednesday to reject a proposed mining project in the Katahdin region that faced controversy.
The proposal has been facing backlash for months from Wabanaki tribes, local businesses, and conservation groups, the Natural Resources Council of Maine said in a news release.
Pembroke residents voted overwhelmingly in May 2022 to ban industrial-scale metallic mineral mining in the town, according to previous reporting. Additionally, nearly 1,000 Maine people and businesses voiced they were against the proposal specifically put forward by Wolfden.
Penobscot County LUPC Commissioner Peter Pray dissented in the decision.
"The proposal to develop a metal mine at Pickett Mountain, just miles from Baxter State Park and Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, was made by an inexperienced, underfunded company named Wolfden Resources that claimed it would meet environmental standards that even large, experienced, and well-funded mining companies have never met," the release stated.
Evidence that showed mining pollution would endanger the region's clean waterways led to the decision Wednesday.
"The chorus of opposition also made clear the proposed mine would undermine Maine’s robust outdoor recreation economy and the jobs it supports," the release added.
Wolfden's proposal aimed to mine next to the three State Heritage Fish Waters, as well as the headwaters of the West Branch of the Mattawamkeag River, which according to the release is sacred to the Penobscot Nation. The area also provides a federally designated critical habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon.
"We are thankful that the LUPC heard and responded to the testimony of Wabanaki people, experts, and the people of Maine by rejecting Wolfden’s mining proposal. This ruling is a great victory for the precious waters and lands of the Katahdin region and the people that rely upon them for sustenance and well-being," Penobscot Tribal Chief Kirk Francis said in the release.
The project did receive strong support from some residents in northern Penobscot County, like Peter Pray, the only representative from the county on the LUPC. Pray cast one of the two dissenting votes Wednesday, out of support for a project that he believes would have brought an economic boost to his region.
"It would give us a chance to bring something to nothern Maine," Pray said Wednesday.
This is the second proposal Wolfden has submitted for the mining project. Its initial request was withdrawn due to it being "riddled with errors," the release said. Its second request was submitted in January 2023.