During their regular meeting Dec. 13, the Edgecomb Board of Selectmen signed a letter to the Maine Dept. of Transportation outlining the towns’ objection to a potential alternative to the recently halted Wiscasset Bypass.
“The craziness is real and the decision is borderline psychotic,” said Selectman Jack Sarmanian.
The letter vehemently objects to the DOT’s plan to seek an alternative route that would, according the letter, have “greater environmental impacts” and involve the “bisecting of some of the largest undeveloped habitat blocks in Midcoast Maine.”
The letter also objected to the significant cost of a bypass calling it an “unconscionable amount to pay in the current deficit-dominated financial landscape.”
The letter is an early salvo in what Sarmanian called a “long process” that would require “significant” action from Edgecomb residents. MidCoast Bypass Task Force member and Edgecomb resident Amanda Russell began the meeting by saying that she feels “criteria can be met” to reinstate the Army Corps of Engineers original Least Environmentally Damaging Practical Alternative (LEDPA) survey.
The plan, known as N8C, was recently shelved due to the discovery of a Bald Eagle’s nest on Davis Island in Edgecomb. While not on the current list of endangered species, the American Bald Eagle is still protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The act prohibits transport or removal of a nest unless authorized by permit, which are issued only in extreme cases according to Sarah Nystrom of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In the case of the Wiscasset bypass, Nystrom asserts that there are a number of alternatives that would leave the eagle’s nest intact and result in little or no disturbance to the birds. The confusion created by the DOT’s decision prompted resident Diane Eacobaccii to wonder who the town was “jousting” with and what is the proper amount of notification owed to townspeople.
“The town should look into the legality of the process,” said Eacobacci.
Sarmanian urged Edgecomb residents to show up in “large numbers” to a meeting between the DOT and the MidCoast Bypass Task Force scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Dec. 15 at the Edgecomb Eddy School.
“We need to be proactive and not allow the DOT to impact our community,” said Sarmanian.
The next meeting of the Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Dec. 20 at 6 p.m.
