New hope for a bivalve bonanza. (Maine).

CLF recently announced the settlement of a "citizen suit" that was brought, under the federal Clean Water Act, against the General Alum & Chemical Corporation of New England. GAC is located on Searsport's Stockton Harbor--once the "Clam Capital of Penobscot Bay"--and has a lengthy history of discharging highly acidic wastewater, stormwater, industrial process tailings, and industrial debris into that once-pristine body of water.

Years of pollution and other impacts have combined to so degrade Stockton Harbor that only a tiny fraction of its hundreds of acres of storied clam flats is still open to clammers, worm diggers, and seaweed harvesters. CLF's settlement is designed to set in motion the Clam Capital's restoration.

Central to the settlement will be funding, primarily donated from GAC, for an impact study of the causes of Stockton Harbor's decline. The money might have come from penalties, had CLF litigated. The first phase of restoration will result in recommendations to jump-start the harbor's recovery. GAC has installed a long-overdue new treatment facility for its wastewater discharges, and will bring itself into full compliance with federal requirements designed to prevent hazardous material spills, stormwater and wastewater pollution. The company has also agreed to undertake "housekeeping measures" designed to keep the harbor free from other impacts of its operations. And it will work closely with the neighboring communities of Searsport and Stockton Springs to further improve the environment surrounding its facility.

While CLF is pleased with GAC's efforts, the case demonstrates a larger problem threatening Maine: the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), recently given the added responsibility for federal pollution compliance, is asleep at the wheel when it comes to enforcing laws designed to protect the health of our coastal waters. Had DEP taken its environmental protection responsibilities seriously, years of environmental harm from GAC could have been avoided.

CLF is finding that the same can be said about a number of other coastal Maine polluters. This appears to be especially true in areas where population growth and associated increases in wastewater and stormwater flows are straining the capacities of aging municipal treatment facilities. So CLF-Maine is poised to bring a second round of cases, designed to bring these other polluters into compliance with environmental laws. Our actions should also strike a blow against sprawl, by forcing state and local officials to rethink ill-considered development decisions. And they're intended to send a wake-up call to DEP, reminding the department that it needs to do a better job of protecting one of the loveliest coastal environments on the planet.