CARMA opposes activities related to metals prospecting and mining in the Georges River watershed.
Oppose mining in Knox County, Maine!
Respond • Resist • Resolve
In February of 2023, residents in the towns of Union and Warren were stunned when they learned that Canadian mining company Exiro would be coming to town intent on exploring metallic deposits in the St. George River Watershed.
Understanding that they needed to engage in a swift and aggressive grassroots advocacy campaign, a small and dedicated group of residents launched CARMA, “Citizens Against Residential Mining Activity” to communicate strong opposition to metallic mineral mining and adopt a legal strategy to strictly regulate and control mining activity in their towns.
And we did just that!
In the past nine months, CARMA launched educational forums, organized rallies, formed a legal team, mobilized volunteers, and was influential in having the towns of Warren, Union and Hope enact mining moratoriums in order to develop stricter mining regulations.
There is overwhelming support for our mission from committed volunteers, dedicated mining experts, and knowledgeable scientists. Your year-end donation to CARMA will have a significant impact on our ability to continue our fight to restrict mining and preserve the quality of our water, environment, and residential life.
Make a year-end donation to CARMA today!
As our thank you, donations of $200 or more will receive CARMA greeting cards featuring photographs of our community along the St. George River watershed by Judy O’Dell.
Pledge your support
With your help, we will continue to advocate and be activists to protect our communities in midcoast Maine and throughout our state.
As our thank you, donations of $200 or more will receive CARMA greeting cards featuring photographs of our community along the St. George River watershed by Judy O’Dell.
What’s going on?
A group of concerned citizens in Warren and Union are organizing with the goal of preventing toxic metal mining from harming the area.
STEP 1: MINING MORATORIUM
On April 19, 2023, both towns voted on a moratorium on metallic mining activity. The message from the towns was clear, with Warren passing its mining moratorium 145-2, and Union passing its moratorium 191-0. DONE!
STEP 2: REGULATE AND CONTROL MINING
However, the moratoriums are only temporary measures. The permanent solution is to pass strong regulation on metallic mining activity in our towns. In March 2023, CARMA collected over 650 petition signatures from Warren and Union to set up votes on regulating and controlling industrial-scale metallic mining. Both towns certified enough signatures to put the issue up for a vote in June, 2023.
UNION – STATUS OF MINING REGULATION
The Union Select Board accepted the Union citizens’ petition and put the regulations on mining to a town-wide vote on June 13, as required under Maine state law. The residents of Union overwhelmingly voted “no” to mining in residential areas.
- Citizens voted YES on Article 4 in favor of a land-use ordinance that would regulate industrial-scale metal mining.
- Citizens voted YES on Article 4 in favor of an extended moratorium on mining activities.
WARREN – STATUS OF MINING REGULATION
In Warren, a mining committee has been formed to examine the existing metallic mining ordinance and make recommendations for changes to it. The people of Warren will ultimately get to vote on changes to the ordinance when the committee’s recommended changes are complete.
HOPE – STATUS OF MINING REGULATION
At their July 20, 2023 Special Town Meeting, citizens of Hope unanimously voted to enact a mining moratorium joining the towns of Warren and Union in a step towards preventing metallic mining in their communities.
LEGISLATION AT THE STATE LEVEL
Meanwhile, the State of Maine legislature has passed legislation to weaken Maine’s mining laws. More legislation is in the works. To stay informed, follow CARMA’s State of Maine Legislative Update page.
Community response
“We live in and visitors come to Maine for a reason – it offers the most gorgeous natural beauty available in the world. Do not let industrial profiteers lull you into complacency. Talk to your neighbors, communicate with your Select and Planning Boards and write to Exiro to let them know your opposition to mining in our residential communities.”
— Stuart Finkelstein of Warren, Maine
Read the full letter in The Portland Press Herald
“It’s not worth the risk of contamination of mine drainage seeping into our wetlands, ponds and aquifers. Airborne particulates common to mining affect human health, contaminate soil and water, and damage and kill trees and plants. We can’t take the risk.”
— Lori Bailey of Union, Maine
Read the full letter in the PenBay Pilot
“The proposed mining exploration in Union and Warren has brought us residents of these two towns a golden opportunity. The well-attended meetings have brought forth a tsunami of opposition that has coalesced in the form of CARMA, or Citizens Against Residential Mining Activity. While I am not an active member of CARMA, I do offer a full-throated roar of approval for their actions to prevent foreign mining companies from coming to town to offer their 30 pieces of silver to those residents who would lease their mineral rights for a quick buck.”
— Jake Stamp of Warren, Maine
“Metal mining would be irreversibly devastating for our economy. Metal mining not only pollutes, it pollutes with toxins that stay in the water and soil for generations. Because of the area’s interconnected waterways and aquifer, contamination anywhere in the area will end up affecting all areas. Contamination can happen years and years after a mine shuts down, and contamination lasts for generations.”
— Forty-five local Union, Warren business owners
Read the full article in the PenBay Pilot
“There may be money in them there hills for some big out-of-state companies, but there will be nothing for the locals of Maine except a damaged landscape, lost revenues from a destroyed tourist industry and whatever the health fallout of digging up heavy metals in the 21st century.”
— The Courier-Gazette Editorial Board
Read the full letter in The Courier Gazette
“CARMA consists of local citizens who raised money at the grassroots level in Union and Warren, sought out the best and most experienced municipal land use attorney they could find, and handed the Union and Warren planning and select boards a road map for an expeditious, and legally sound and defensible implementation of a land use ordinance amendment. All of this work was intended to assist and support our municipalities.”
— Susan W. Springer of Union, Maine
Get involved
The most important thing you can do is make your voice heard.
Help us spread the word about the dangers of mining in residential communities. Download the fact sheet on the effects of metallic mineral mining. And click below to volunteer or donate.
Donations will be used to fight for a metals-mining-free future in Knox County. This includes education, awareness, and legal costs associated with challenging and defeating metals mining proposals in our communities.
About CARMA
Citizens Against Residential Mining Activity (CARMA) opposes activities related to metals prospecting and mining in the Georges River watershed. As a collection of residential communities and interconnected waterways and wetlands, Warren, Union, and the other towns in the watershed are at significant risk of irreversible environmental degradation and contamination. CARMA offers information and education about this type of mining activity in Warren, Union, and Hope, and advocates for strong regulation on metallic mineral mining in these towns.
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