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Historical Note
Scope and Content Note
Organization and Arrangement
Restrictions
Index Terms
Related Material
Administrative Information
Series Description
Androscoggin River, 1940-1983
Correspondence and research, 1918, 1948-1967,
n.d.
Other rivers, 1938-1939, 1952-1962,
n.d.
Reference material, 1947-1971, n.d.
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Collection Summary
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| Title |
Walter A. Lawrance papers |
| Creator |
Lawrance, Walter A. |
| Dates |
1938-1983, n.d. |
| Extent |
8.5 linear feet |
| Collection ID |
MC099 |
| Abstract |
The collection contains material related to Walter A.
Lawrance's work as a consultant (1943-1946) and as Rivermaster
(1947-1978) of the Androscoggin. Lawrance, a professor of Chemistry
at Bates College, had the legal authority to control the amount of
pollution discharged into the river by the three major paper mills
located along it. Included are his annual studies of the river's
odor and other qualities, as well as research projects aimed at
limiting waste in paper production and removing pollution from the
river. Some related correspondence, research and reference material
are also available. |
| Repository |
Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library,
Bates College |
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Historical Note
Walter Albert Lawrance was born in Pimlico Herts, England on
September 4, 1894. He grew up in Canada, receiving an A.B. and A.M.
from McMaster University in 1916 and 1919 respectively, and a Ph.D.
from the University of Toronto in 1921. In 1916, he worked for the
Aetna Chemical Company, and from 1920 to 1921, he served as an
Assistant Professor of Chemistry at McMaster. In 1921, he joined
the Department of Chemistry at Bates College, where he remained as
Stanley Professor of Chemistry until his retirement in 1965.
Lawrance became a consultant for the State of Maine in 1943
following the first of several lawsuits brought by the state
against the International Paper Company in Jay, Maine, the Oxford
Paper Company in Rumford, Maine, and the Brown Company in New
Hampshire. The state charged that the companies' use of the river
to discharge sulfite waste liquor, a by-product of wood pulping
process, had resulted in such severe pollution that the river
smelled of rotten eggs and caused buildings nearby it to discolor.
Lawrance was given the responsibility of developing anti-pollution
standards for the river, and thus initiated his annual study of the
river's odor and other qualities.
In 1947, the Maine Supreme Court appointed him Rivermaster
(later called Administrator) of the Androscoggin River. In this
position, Lawrance had the power to restrict not only the amount of
waste discharged into the river by the mills, but also their
overall production, as previous measures had failed to reduce
pollution significantly. In this role, Lawrance worked
collaboratively with researchers from each company to determine
other means of controlling the problem, including adjusting the
water temperature and flow. The group formally became the
Androscoggin River Technical Committeee in 1948, composed of
Lawrance as Chair and two representatives from each of the three
paper companies. In 1953, the Committee recommended and the
companies adopted pollution standards vastly more stringent than
those imposed by the State, and yet the river continued to be one
of the most polluted in the country.
A turning point for the river came in 1967 when the
International Paper Company converted to the Kraft method of
producing paper with Lawrance's encouragement. A German process,
this technology allows for the strong waste materials to be burned
and only weaker waste to be discharged into the river. The other
companies converted by 1977. By this point, voluntary actions, as
well as clean-up mandated by Federal laws, such as the Clean Water
Act, had resulted in a significantly improved river, so much so
that the Androscoggin River Committee was officially disbanded at
the end of 1977. Early the following year, the Maine Supreme Court
ended the position of Rivermaster, and Lawrance officially retired
from his duties. He died in 1987.
Return to the Table of Contents
Scope and Content
Note
The collection documents the efforts of Walter Lawrance to
identify, track, and resolve pollution-related problems impacting
the Androscoggin River from Gorham, New Hamsphire to Lewiston,
Maine. The collection is composed of the reports Lawrance made of
his annual studies of the river's odor and other qualities
beginning in 1943 and continuing through 1977. These reports were
based on water samples taken daily from late spring to early fall
from hundreds of sampling stations. This work was completed by
Lawrance along with several Bates College student assistants and
colleagues from the mills and the College.
Also included are the annual reports of his research projects,
undertaken from 1946 to 1959 with representatives from the three
major paper companies located along the river and done under the
auspicies of the National Council for Stream Improvement. These
projects focused on means of controlling and resolving water
pollution, including investigating the river's flow, using sodium
nitrate to replenish the water's oxygen, and filtering the waste
water. Their encouragement, along with Federal pollution controls,
ultimately led the paper companies to adopt the Kraft method for
paper production, which resulted in significantly less pollution
and a vastly improved river.
The collection also includes Lawrance's related research
material, including material documenting similiar work he did to
improve the Presumpscot River. There is also material about civil
defense against biological and chemical weapons, an area in which
Lawrance maintained expertise, and a sizable collection of
reference material related to water pollution.
Return to the Table of Contents
Organization and
Arrangement
Organized into four series: I. Androscoggin River (including
Lawrance's River Studies); II. Correspondence and Research; III.
Other Rivers; and IV. Reference Material.
Return to the Table of Contents
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for
research.
Use Restrictions
The collection is the physical property
of Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library. Bates
College holds literary rights only for material created by College
personnel working on official behalf of the College, or for
material which was given to the College with such rights
specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights,
including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and
assigns. Researchers are responsible for obtaining permission from
rights holders for publication or other purposes that exceed fair
use.
Return to the Table of Contents
Related
Material
Androscoggin River oral history collection, Edmund S. Muskie
Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College.
Return to the Table of Contents
Index Terms
These records are indexed under the following headings in the
Bates College Library catalog. Researchers wishing to find related
materials should search the catalog under these index terms.
Corporate Names:
Bates College (Lewiston, Me.) --
Faculty
National Council for Stream
Improvement
Topical Subjects:
Industries -- Environmental
aspects
Paper mills -- Maine
Pollution control industry
Water -- Pollution -- Androscoggin
River (N.H. and Me.)
Geographic Subjects:
Androscoggin River (N.H. and
Me.)
Return to the Table of Contents
Administrative
Information
Acquisition and Custody Information
Transferred from the Carpenter
Archives, April 2007. Accession No.: 07-019.
Preferred Citation
Walter A. Lawrance papers, Edmund S.
Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College.
Return to the Table of Contents
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MC099/01:
Androscoggin River, 1940-1983
6 linear feet |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series contains studies, reports, raw data,
and other information primarily documenting pollution and its
control in the Androscoggin River. The series is arranged in
several subseries reflecting the various efforts of Lawrance and
others to study, document, and ultimately improve the river's water
quality. |
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Most significantly, the series contains the annual
reports produced by Lawrance from 1943 to 1977 as consultant and
the Rivermaster. Additionally, there are his annual project reports
produced from 1946 to 1959 for the National Council for Stream
Improvement. The need for Lawrance's work, as well as some of the
funding to support it, came from the three major paper mills, The
Brown Company, The Oxford Paper Company, and The International
Paper Company, which discharged unfiltered waste material into the
river. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Organized into five subseries. |
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MC099/01.01: Androscoggin River
studies, 1943-1977
3.5 linear feet |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series is composed of the unpublished annual
reports of the Androscoggin River studies completed by Walter
Lawrance and other researchers, known collectively as the
Androscoggin River Technical Committee, from 1943 to 1977 (the 1964
report is missing). The earliest report is from 1943 and was
dedicated to determining the intensity and cause of the river's
nauseous odor in the Lewiston-Auburn area. Daily observations were
made from May 19-Sept. 30, 1943, followed by weekly observations in
Oct. 1943. The resulting annual report contains information on air
temperature, humidity, weather conditions, wind velocity, wind
direction, volume over Lewiston Falls, color of the river water,
river surface conditions, and the type and intensity of the river
odor. Additionally, the report included press coverage on issues
relative to the Androscoggin River and pollution control efforts.
The study followed a similar model each year, beginning in the
early summer and concluding in the early to mid fall. |
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By 1948, the annual report was expanded to include
water, as well as air, quality data. Additionally, attention was
given to the use of sodium nitrate as a means of supplying oxygen
to the river water. The 1962 annual report includes the "Final
Report, Androscoggin River Odor." Subsequent years contain a
variety of reports, such as "Lewiston-Auburn General Data,"
"Androscoggin River and Pool Data," "Mill Pollution to Androscoggin
River," "Benthal Activity in the Pool" "Analytical Data," along
with the press clippings. The last annual report, produced in 1977,
includes a summary of water quality and important achievements in
its improvement. The report begins, "Water quality in the
Androscoggin river from Berlin, New Hampshire to Rumford (V.B.),
Maine, is now the highest in at least thirty-five years. All three
waste treatments were in continuous and stabler operation and the
effluents contained a very low pollution load." |
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Lawrance served as Chairman of the Androscoggin
River Technical Committee from 1943 to 1977. He was joined by
representatives from each of the big three paper mills who used the
river. Other known committee members include: Stuart R. Cooper, who
served from 1958 to 1977 and represented the Oxford Paper Company
and the Boise Cascade Paper Company, Thomas E. Linder, from 1970 to
1977, who represented the International Paper Company, and Earl L.
Hanson, from 1974 to 1977, who represented the Brown Company. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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The subseris is arranged in chronological
order. |
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MC099/01.02: Androscoggin River
projects, 1946-1959
1 linear foot |
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Scope and Content Note |
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The series contains unpublished annual reports
produced by Walter Lawrance for the National Council for Stream
Improvement Inc. describing the results of several research
projects. The reports contain information about benthal deposits in
the Androscoggin River; the microbial utilization of nutrients in
the river under aerobic and anaerobic conditions; the time of
passage of pollution from Berlin, N.H. to Lisbon Falls, Maine;
suspended solids entering and leaving the pond; and hydrogen
sulfide production in the water. Lawrance was assisted in his
research by a number of people, inlcuidng William H. Sawyer, Jr.,
who did bacteriological research, Donald A. Campbell, and Richard
M. Briggs. Each report was also distributed to the three major
paper mills. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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The subseries is arranged in chronological
order. |
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MC099/01.03: Raw data,
1940-1966
.25 linear feet |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This subseries includes raw data collected by
Lawrance and his associates about water quality of the
Androscoggin. Also included is information about the location of
the initial 361 water sampling stations in Gulf Island Pond. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Arranged alphabetically by folder title. |
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MC099/01.04: Reports by Lawrance,
1943-1978
.25 linear feet |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This subseries has published and unpublished
reports by Lawrance about the Androscoggin River. Included are
summary reports of pollution control activities published on the
20th, 23rd, 25th, and 36th anniversary of the Androscoggin River
Studies undertaken by the Androscoggin River Technical
Committee. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Arranged in chronological order. |
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MC099/01.05: Reports by others,
1942-1983
1 linear foot |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This subseries is composed of reports about the
Androscoggin River compiled or written by people other than Watler
Lawrance. Includes information about pollution, sanitary
conditions, catalytic oxidation of hydrogen sulfide, sewerage,
sewage treatment facilities, fishery management and recreational
use. Authors include a number of engineering firms, and state and
federal agencies. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Arranged chronologically. |
MC099/02:
Correspondence and research, 1918, 1948-1967, n.d.
1 linear foot |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series contains Lawrance's correspondence and
research on a variety of subjects. Included is information about:
his work as an expert witness in a lawsuit brought by several
property owners in Bristol, New Hampshire against the Franconia
Paper Corporation; civil defense against biological and chemical
weapons, an area in which he apparently maintained expertise; the
Federal Water Pollution Act amendments proposed by Edmund S.
Muskie; the S. D. Warren Company and pollution of the Presumpscot
River, and various chemical processes and structures. Also included
in the series is a commemorative binder given to Lawrance on the
occasion of his retirement from Bates College in 1965. Within the
binder are congratulatory letters from a variety of former
students, professional coleagues, and friends. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Arranged in alphabetical order by folder
title. |
MC099/03: Other
rivers, 1938-1939, 1952-1962, n.d.
.5 linear feet |
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Scope and Content Note |
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This series contains pollution, odor, and related
studies of other rivers beyond the Androscoggin, and includes
information about rivers in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Hampshire,
and Maine. Two studies related to pollution of the Presumpscot
River were co-authored by Lawrance; the remainder were presumably
collected by him for reference purposes. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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The series is arranged in alphabetical order. |
MC099/04:
Reference material, 1947-1971, n.d.
1 linear foot |
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Scope and Content Note |
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The series primarily contains publications by the
American Chemical Society, the National Council for Stream
Improvement, Inc., and the New England Interstate Water Pollution
Control Commission. There is also a general section of publications
on water pollution produced by a variety of people and
organizations. |
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Organization and Arrangement |
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Arranged alphabetically by author and then title,
with the general section on water pollution filed last. |
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