The Chewonki Foundation met further obstacles this week in their quest to remove the Lower Montsweag Brook Dam, but Chewonki President Don Hudson said he remains confident in the Montsweag Brook Restoration Project.
In a document dated June 10, Wiscasset Code Enforcement Officer Rick Lang outlined a number of concerns surrounding the project.
Although Chewonki did not need a permit from the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to dewater the dam, Lang said, Chewonki’s application to the Wiscasset Planning Board “may/should have triggered several erosion and sediment control laws.”
Chewonki began draining the dam May 24, turning the pond above the dam into a rivulet before torrential rains again brought water streaming over the spillway.
According to a June 2 email from Betta Stothart Connor, Chewonki’s director of communications, Chewonki plans to keep “the low level outlet open through the summer… any flow into the area will pass downstream.” The outlet, or drain, could allow the pond to fill and empty repeatedly before dam removal.
Chewonki needs shoreland zoning and site permits from Wiscasset, as well as permits from Woolwich and the Army Corps of Engineers, before removing the dam.
According to Hudson, “We’re doing everything by the book.” Hudson said the concern surrounding erosion laws amounts to “an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
Hudson said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “is handling the environmental assessment of the project.”
“We’re essentially working with federal and state partners very closely,” he said.
Lang also expressed concern with regards to a letter to Chewonki from the Army Corps of Engineers (AOE). “Does the letter… requiring authorization prior to doing any work, mean that they need all of their permit [sic] in place including their erosion control plan before draining out the dam? I have call in to the Army Corp [sic] on this issue.”
The June 4 letter from the Army Corps, signed by Senior Project Manager Peter Tischbein, contains a warning to Chewonki. “It was made clear to you that authorizations referred to above must be obtained before any work or filling is done in areas subject to Corps jurisdiction. Performing such work or filling without first obtaining Corps authorization could result in substantial penalties.”
According to Hudson, however, that language does not reference drainage of the pond. “We’ve been working with the Army Corps for half a year,” Hudson said.
According to Lang’s documentation of the project, he is also waiting to hear from the DEP and Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (IFW) regarding erosion control and “damage to the existing brook and wild life [sic].”
According to Maine’s Erosion and Sediment Control Law, “If a person is filling, displacing or exposing soil or other earthen materials, the Erosion Control Law requires that he or she take measures to prevent unreasonable erosion of soil or sediment… Erosion control measures must be installed before the activity begins, be maintained, kept in place and functional until the site is permanently stabilized.”
Lang listed other laws that pose concern as well, including the Natural Resources Protection Act, the Maine Construction General Permit, and the Stormwater Management Law.
The Wiscasset Planning Board scheduled a public informational meeting for June 28 at 7 p.m. According to Town Planner Jeffrey Hinderliter, “we thought it would be a good idea to hold a public info meeting so it would give the applicant enough time to respond to public comment and the Planning Board to consider [sic] before the application is determined complete.”
In remarks made at a June 15 meeting of the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen, Hudson expressed confidence in the project but also regret regarding the handling of the dewatering process. Hudson said he “grossly underestimated the importance” of the pond to nearby landowners.
“When the pond was let out,” Hudson said, “I saw that as a beginning… some people saw that as a pretty severe end.”
Hudson said he came to appreciate the concerns of landowners.
Hudson also said Chewonki is in negotiations with Maine Yankee to purchase a small parcel of land on Rt. 1 for a parking area. After dam removal, parking would help attract visitors to the site, and Hudson said Chewonki would provide an “educational kiosk” to promote public knowledge about the project as well as ecological restoration on a larger scale.
Unfortunately, Hudson said, Maine Yankee “is not about to agree to [the sale] as of yet.”
