Governor Janet Mills says she won’t allow the Sappi Paper Mill to be shut down, as the environmental impact of nearby dams is reviewed by regulators.

Governor Mills penned an open letter to Sappi employees, which was shared with the Morning Sentinel. In the letter, she says she spoke with senior leadership and assured them “the mill isn’t going anywhere.”

“Closure of this mill, and the resulting ripple effect across the industry, including job losses, would not be acceptable to me – and I will not allow it to happen. My Administration’s commitment to the mill is clear and unwavering,” the governor went on to say.

According to the Portland Press Herald, those concerns have to do with dams along the Kennebec River, including the Shawmut Dam, and their effect on fish passage on the river.

Mills said that politicians and the dam owners have wrongly suggested the state is requiring the removal of the Shawmut Dam and aiming to close the mill.

She says a natural fish passage can be used to protect the dam, and that the dam owners and Sappi leadership can come together to improve the situation.