New hope for a bivalve bonanza.

• Position: Maine - Protection for Stockton Harbor clams

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...