A washing machine and stove were among appliances dumped on Gilmore Brook Road in Dresden in early August. (Photo courtesy Allan Moeller)
The man allegedly responsible for dumping carpeting, tires, mattresses, a stove, a washing machine, and an assortment of other items on a 300-acre parcel of land on Gilmore Brook Road in Dresden has been identified and summonsed, Third Selectman Allan Moeller said at the Dresden Board of Selectmen’s Monday, Aug. 22 meeting.
Miles Herbert, 19, of Livermore Falls, was summonsed for littering, Game Warden Doug Kulis said. Littering of amounts more than 15 pounds carries a minimum fine of $500.
The site of the illegal dump in Dresden will be one of the locations of the Maine Warden Service’s Landowner Appreciation Day on Sept. 18, a program that helps large landowners clean up illegal dump sites, Kulis said.
The Maine Warden Service will bring a dumpster to the site Sept. 18, fill it up, and pay for its removal, Kulis said. Recreational clubs, such as snowmobile clubs or four-wheeler clubs, will be eligible to win cash prizes for participating in the event, he said.
Tires, mattresses, and carpeting were a few of the items dumped on Gilmore Brook Road in Dresden in early August. (Photo courtesy Allan Moeller)
Moeller will be able to access an excavator for the day to aid in the cleanup effort, Moeller said. Kulis was able to identify the individual responsible for the illegal dump by going through the items at the site, Moeller said.
First Selectman Dale Hinote proposed developing a town ordinance to inflict harsher penalties than the state for illegal dumping, a common problem in Dresden. The dump site, however, is on privately owned land, complicating Dresden’s ability to regulate it, Moeller said.
The town would not be able to even clean the site without the landowner’s approval, Moeller said.
The Maine Warden Service sometimes takes jurisdiction over dumping because it is an issue of landowner relations, Kulis said. Landowner Appreciation Day was developed to do something for large landowners to enable continued access for fishing and hunting, he said.
Kulis was able to identify and summons one individual, he said. “This person was only the most recent one,” Kulis said. “(Gilmore Brook Road) is one of those sites where they’ve been dumping for years.”
The cleanup is not expected to cost Dresden anything, Moeller said.
