This from 2021. And yes, it's still sitting there. The alternatives? Desecrating #YuccaMountain? Polluting the #GreatLakes? Or maybe burying it underneath Congress? But until we figure out how to transport and permanently store nuclear waste, it is being stored on site. And not just in #Maine -- everywhere there was a #NuclearPowerPlant!

Armed Guards Protect Tons Of #NuclearWaste That Maine Can’t Get Rid Of

By Abigail Curtis, BDN
Published July 19, 2021

"In the summertime, the picturesque village of #WiscassetME is infamous for its long lines of people hungry to try a lobster roll at Red’s Eats and cars that crawl through town on the often-clogged #USRouteOne.

"But just a few miles south of downtown is a different kind of roadblock: 550 metric tons of nuclear waste stored on a coastal peninsula at the now-decommissioned #MaineYankee atomic energy plant that have nowhere to go.

"The change in presidential administrations means another chance for the federal government to make good on its promise to remove the waste, so the site can be closed for good. The Biden administration’s Department of Energy seems to be picking up where the Obama administration left off, creating a process for communities to volunteer to host the waste.

" 'What worries me is that there really isn’t any national leadership right now on this stuff. There isn’t an agency that has a mission and has developed a strategy, that has goals and is willing to act on it,' Don Hudson, the chairman of the Maine Yankee Community Advisory Panel, said. 'We’re currently in this limbo.'

"That’s a problem because the waste — 1,400 spent nuclear fuel rods housed in 60 cement and steel canisters, plus four canisters of irradiated steel removed from the nuclear reactor when it was taken down — is safe for now, but can’t stay in Wiscasset forever.

"The situation in Wiscasset underscores a thorny issue facing more than 100 communities across the U.S.: close to a hundred thousand tons of nuclear waste that has no place to go.

"Securing these remnants of nuclear energy generation is an ongoing task that requires armed guards around the clock and costs Maine Yankee’s owners some $10 million per year, which is being paid for with money from the government.

"After the government failed to remove the spent fuel, Maine Yankee and the other two decommissioned nuclear power plants in New England — Connecticut Yankee in East Hampton, Connecticut, and Yankee Atomic in Rowe, Massachusetts — took it to court. So far, they have been awarded a total of $575.5 million in damages during four rounds of litigation, money that has been paid out of the U.S. Judgment fund. A fifth round is happening now, and the lawsuits are likely to continue until the fuel is removed.

"All told, the country’s many abandoned nuclear facilities — including Maine Yankee — have cost the federal government billions of dollars, a sum that increases by about $2 million each day, according to Eric Howes, the spokesperson for Maine Yankee and two other decommissioned plants in New England.

" 'All the #taxpayers in the United States are paying for the government’s failure to meet its obligations,' he said.

"But as the years pass, it seems that fewer and fewer people even realize that there are tons of nuclear waste on the secured site behind a chain-link fence on Bailey Point. Hudson and others worry that for many, it’s too easy not to think about it, diminishing the drive to find a better solution.

" 'Nobody ever travels by it. Nobody ever sees it,' Hudson said. 'It’s the classic out of sight, out of mind.' "

https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2021-07-19/armed-guards-protect-tons-of-nuclear-waste-that-maine-cant-get-rid-of

#ClimateChange - the gift that keeps on stinging!

Spike in #jellyfish sightings prompts coastal safety warnings across #Maine

#SouthernMaine communities advise beachgoers to stay alert with increased jellyfish sightings.

Published: 3:29 PM EDT June 24, 2025
Updated: 8:49 PM EDT June 24, 2025

MAINE, USA — "Coastal communities in southern Maine are warning beachgoers to stay alert after a rise in jellyfish sightings, including the presence of large #LionsManeJellyfish and #MoonJellies along the shoreline.

"Municipal officials and public safety departments have issued safety advisories in recent days for swimmers, families, and pet owners visiting local beaches.

" 'Today, you may notice our lifeguards flying a purple flag alongside the green flag,' the #OgunquitME Fire Department said in a social media post. 'This indicates the presence of marine life hazards—specifically an increase in lion’s mane and moon jellyfish in our local waters, as well as at other beaches along the Maine coast.'

"While most jellyfish encounters are not harmful, officials said there have been 'a few instances of jellyfish stings locally.' Lion’s mane jellyfish, in particular, can deliver painful stings that remain potent even after the jellyfish wash ashore.

"In #EliotME, police issued a warning after recent sightings near Dead Duck at the Eliot Boat Basin. The department urged caution, especially for families with dogs.

" 'Dogs are especially at risk,' the Eliot Police Department said. 'Curious sniffing or contact can lead to serious injury or illness.'

"Officials recommend keeping pets and young children away from the water’s edge if jellyfish are visible. In addition to avoiding contact, beachgoers are encouraged to report sightings to lifeguards.

"At #WillardBeach in #SouthPortlandME, a nearly five-foot-wide lion’s mane jellyfish was spotted over the weekend, according to the city’s parks and recreation department. Lifeguards have been trained to safely remove jellyfish that wash ashore using tools like shovels.

" 'If you see one, don’t touch it,' the city advised in a public post. 'They sting. Observe it—they’re interesting to watch and pretty too.'

"Those interested in helping marine researchers track #JellyfishSightings can report #observations through regional #CitizenScience platforms or agencies like the #GulfOfMaineResearchInstitute or #BigelowLaboratory for Ocean Sciences.

"In the meantime, officials are reminding visitors to enjoy Maine’s beaches safely and stay informed."

Source:
https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/public-safety/spike-in-jellyfish-sightings-prompts-coastal-safety-warnings-across-southern-maine-beach-summer/97-b79da2cb-bfc0-49ed-8dcf-712d208c384e

#Maine joins 20 states to challenge #Trump administration funding cuts

by MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press
Wed, June 25th 2025

BOSTON (AP) — "Attorneys general from more than 20 states, including Maine, and #WashingtonDC filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging billions of dollars in funding cuts made by the Trump administration that would fund everything from crime prevention to #FoodSecurity to #ScientificResearch.

"The lawsuit filed in Boston is asking a judge to limit the Trump administration from relying on an obscure clause in the federal regulation to cut grants that don’t align with its priorities. Since January, the lawsuit argues that the administration has used that clause to cancel entire programs and thousands of grants that had been previously awarded to states and grantees.

" 'Defendants’ decision to invoke the Clause to terminate grants based on changed agency priorities is #unlawful several times over,' the plaintiffs argued. 'The rulemaking history of the Clause makes plain that the (Office of Management and Budget - #OMB) intended for the Clause to permit terminations in only limited circumstances and provides no support for a broad power to terminate grants on a whim based on newly identified agency priorities.'

"The lawsuit argues the Trump administration has used the clause for the basis of a 'slash-and-burn campaign' to cut federal grants.

" 'Defendants have terminated thousands of grant awards made to Plaintiffs, pulling the rug out from under the States, and taking away critical federal funding on which States and their residents rely for essential programs,' the lawsuit added.

"The White House's Office of Management and Budget did not immediately respond to a request made Tuesday afternoon for comment.

"#RhodeIsland Attorney General Neronha said this lawsuit was just one of several the coalition of mostly Democratic states have filed over funding cuts. For the most part, they have largely succeeded in a string of legal victories to temporarily halt cuts.

"This one, though, may be the broadest challenge to those funding cuts.

" 'It’s no secret that this President has gone to great lengths to intercept federal funding to the states, but what may be lesser known is how the Trump Administration is attempting to justify their unlawful actions,' Neronha said in a statement. 'Nearly every lawsuit this coalition of Democratic attorneys general has filed against the Administration is related to its unlawful and flagrant attempts to rob Americans of basic programs and services upon which they rely. Most often, this comes in the form of illegal federal funding cuts, which the Administration attempts to justify via a so-called agency priorities clause.'

"#Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the lawsuit aimed to stop funding cuts he described as indiscriminate and illegal.

" 'There is no ‘because I don’t like you’ or ‘because I don’t feel like it anymore’ defunding clause in federal law that allows the President to bypass Congress on a whim,' Tong said in a statement. 'Since his first minutes in office, Trump has unilaterally defunded our police, our schools, our healthcare, and more. He can’t do that, and that’s why over and over again we have blocked him in court and won back our funding.'

"In #Massachusetts, Attorney General Andrea Campbell said the U.S. Department of Agriculture terminated a $11 million agreement with the state Department of Agricultural Resources connecting hundreds of #farmers to hundreds of food distribution sites while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [#EPA] terminated a $1 million grant to the state Department of Public Health to reduce asthma triggers in #LowIncome communities.

" 'We cannot stand idly by while this President continues to launch unprecedented, unlawful attacks on Massachusetts’ residents, institutions, and economy,' Campbell said in a statement."

Read more:
https://wgme.com/news/local/maine-joins-20-states-to-challenge-trump-administration-funding-cuts