AUGUSTA, ME, August 26, 2026 – The Maine Council of Trout Unlimited, leading a coalition of local and national conservation and sporting organizations and businesses, late yesterday filed comprehensive comments with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) calling for improved water management practices on the West Branch of the Penobscot River.
In a document filed with the FERC regarding the pending relicensing of Brookfield Renewable’s Ripogenus and Penobscot Mills hydroelectric projects on the West Branch, the coalition said 30-year-old water management practices must change to stop excessive lake drawdowns, the dewatering of the largest river gorge in the Northeast and the five-mile reach below Stone Dam in Millinocket, and recurring fish kills below McKay Station.
“Both fishermen and people who don’t fish are outraged that a company that sells itself as ‘green energy’ has made no effort in its license application to stop the fish kills. Despite saying that it is spending millions on upgrades, Brookfield is not doing enough to maintain the power line between McKay Station and Millinocket. Almost identical failures over the last two years have resulted in generator trips, fish kills, and forest fires,” said Steve Heinz, Maine TU Council FERC Coordinator.
Coalition proposals filed with FERC seek to correct operating practices that no longer fit the circumstances on the West Branch. When Great Northern Paper owned both the mills and the hydroelectric system, it operated the Project to provide the relatively level power and flows needed by the mills. After the hydroelectric assets were spun off in 2002, the hydro company shifted to merchant generation for the New England grid, timing generation to obtain the most favorable market prices. The GNP mills in and around Millinocket have long since closed, but the region’s water management practices have not been revised to reflect that fundamental change or the growth of commercial outdoor businesses and other opportunities helping to repower local economies.
Outdated dam operating practices allow: excessive drawdowns of Chesuncook Lake and the adjoining Caribou and Ripogenus lakes; the dewatering of Ripogenus Gorge, the largest and most spectacular river gorge in the Northeast, and more than five miles of the West Branch below Stone Dam, causing that reach to be included on the USEPA’s list of impaired waters; and the lack of an effective mechanism to prevent fish kills, which occur on average about once a year below Ripogenus Dam.
Latest Fish Kills & Forest Fires
Last month, a two-hour shutdown at McKay Station abruptly cut off most of the flow to the river below the station. Sparks from electric transmission lines owned and operated by Brookfield also triggered a forest fire.
This was the latest such event and killed thousands of landlocked salmon, the State Fish of Maine. The latest fish kill and fire renewed repeated calls—so far ignored—for continuous buffering flows into Ripogenus Gorge, an on-site dam operator, and a USGS-operated flow gage so flows can be monitored and reported by a trusted source. The real fix must include an automatic system to restore flows when the generators trip offline—something Brookfield did not include in its current relicensing application.
Ripogenus & Brookfield
The Ripogenus Project is owned and operated by Great Lakes Hydro America, LLC, part of Brookfield Renewable’s global energy business. Brookfield Renewable operates one of the world’s largest renewable-power and energy-transition platforms and is part of the broader Brookfield organization. Brookfield Asset Management manages more than $1 trillion in assets worldwide.
