The Newcastle Board of Selectmen has rescheduled a meeting to discuss the Maine Department of Transportation’s Sherman Marsh Wetland Bank project to Monday, Oct. 3.
The move will give guests enough notice to attend the meeting, according to Newcastle Town Administrator Jon Duke.
The selectmen originally discussed the meeting Monday, Sept. 12 after learning DOT officials would visit local property owners later in the week.
The selectmen will invite the members of the project’s interagency review team, which includes officials from federal and state agencies; as well as the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners; local legislators Sen. Chris Johnson, D-Somerville, and Rep. Mick Devin, D-Newcastle; and Gov. Paul LePage.
The Sherman Marsh Wetland Bank would consist of the DOT’s purchase of conservation easements on 16 properties in Newcastle and Edgecomb, with the area of the easements totaling approximately 130 acres. By placing the conservation easements, the DOT would create a wetland bank to offset the impact of transportation projects on wetlands in the region.
The project has been met with opposition from most of the property owners it would impact and from Newcastle town officials. Many have expressed frustration about the restrictions the DOT would place on their land once the easements go into effect and about the amount of land in question.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the community room of the Newcastle fire station on River Road.
