horization to remove the dam. The Kennebec Hydro Developers Group, representing the owners of seven dams upstream of Augusta, would volunteer $4.75million towards removal of the dam and restoration of the river. In exchange, they would receive an extension for up to sixteen years to install their respective fish passages and ladders. Bath Iron Works, a well-established shipyard that builds destroyers for the Navy, will contribute $2.5million towards the cost. The shipyard wants to fill in seventeen acres of the Kennebec to build new dry docks, and will receive permission to do so because of its contribution. The last player in the game is the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, who will privately raise $1.5million for the project and also manage the removal of the dam and the restoration of the river (Howe,1998). The Commission approved the settlement agreement on September 18, 1998 and the Edwards Dam was breached on July 1, 1999.Some argue that the destruction of the Edwards Dam was a big mistake because of the rich industrial history that was carried away with it. Some say it could have been a mistake due to the negative impacts that releasing the river might have on the area in the future, as it has not been a full, free-flowing river for over one hundred sixty years. Even others say it was mistake because the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission didnt really have the authority to order the removal. The opinion of most people towards the removal of the dam seems generally to be a favorable one, though. It was the first step towards truly realizing that not all hydroelectric dams are gentle on the environment, probably not even most of them are. The decimation of anadromous fish populations is a very serious problem in this generation that needs to be addressed. The case of the Edwards Dam will hopefully open the eyes of a number of people to the various pressing environmental concerns that are in abundance at this mom...
