MAINE VOICES
No secret deal for Presumpscot's future
A recent column from Friends of Sebago Lake got several things wrong about a new plan.
George Lapointe
December 3, 2007
George Lapointe is commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
Making at least four fundamental mistakes in his Thanksgiving Day article in this newspaper, Roger Wheeler, president of the Friends of Sebago Lake, totally misses the mark in his criticism of the state of Maine.
Wheeler misstated the conditions around our cooperative work to restore fisheries to the Presumpscot River through our "framework agreement" announced this summer.
If finalized, it will result in removal of the Cumberland Mills Dam in Westbrook and re-establish, for the first time in over a century, native fish species in Westbrook and upstream.
The framework for settlement announced this past summer by the Maine Department of Marine Resources is not a result of secret negotiations between the State and Sappi Fine Paper North America, owner of the S.D. Warren mill in Westbrook.
FALSE: This is refuted by the 17-page "Settlement Framework Agreement" that Commissioner Lapointe himself negotiated and signed this past spring. The existence of this agreement was only made public in early July 2007, as stipulated by the agreement itself, which states at page 4: "the parties will jointly relase to the public copies of this SFA on or before June 30, 2007." It is difficult to conceive how Commissioner Lapointe can deny the existence of the secret negotiations which produced the 17-page preliminary settlement agreement he conducted a press conference about on July 11, 2007.
It is the result of over 10 years of hard work by not only the Maine Department of Marine Resources, but also by our federal partner the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and two river conservation organizations, Friends of the Presumpscot River and American Rivers.
FALSE: A cursory perusal of the 17-page "Settlement Framework Agreement" that Commissioner Lapointe approved and signed shows the document did not exist prior to March 2007.
It is also the result of S.D. Warren being prepared to work out a fair and equitable way to meet its environmental responsibilities and avoid further, protracted litigation.
This framework for settlement is not final, as Wheeler alleges. It is a document guiding current discussion we all hope will lead to a final settlement in 2008.
FALSE: The June 2007 SFA calls for a final settlement agreement between SAPPI, Maine Dept. of Marine Resources and Friends of Presumpscot River to be completed by December 1, 2007.
Contrary to what he asserted, the state will hold a public scoping meeting prior to finalizing any agreement, as we have done with other river restoration agreements. We will be reaching out to the public and municipalities along the river early in 2008 to learn more about thoughts that all stakeholders might have.
FALSE: It is oxymoronic to be "reaching out to the public" on a final negotiated settlement agreement. Common sense dictates that the proper time to "reach out to the public and stakeholders" is at the beginning of the process -- not at the end when it is too late to change anything.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources is proud of the provisions contained in the framework and excited about the opportunities that communities along the river will have as a result of it.
The allegation that the framework agreement does not contain specific passage dates simply in not true.
WRONG: Read the Agreement, Commissioner Lapointe. We did. Did you? The Agreement states that there will be NO fishways built at Mallison, Little Falls and Gambo Falls before certain dates; and no fishways will be built at these dams after these dates unless numerous conditions are fully met.
The document spells S.D. Warren's responsibility to remove the Cumberland Mills Dam in 2011 and to build a fish lift at the Saccarappa Dam in Westbrook, the next upstream dam, in 2016. As the population of sea run fish continues to increase, S.D. Warren would begin building fish lifts on the upriver dams as early as 2026.
That period is biologically justified based on the life histories of the target species. The framework is designed to restore all sea run fish, most notably alewives, shad and blueback herring, but including any stray Atlantic salmon as well.
FALSE: This period has no biological justification.
Friends of Sebago Lake is not correct in stating that S.D. Warren's current licenses to operate its dams are for 30 years, and that therefore the 50 years provided in the framework was some type of a sellout by the state.
FOSL is well aware of the license details (as they participated in the FERC process in which the license terms were set), so they must know that FERC issued 40-year licenses to S.D. Warren.
TRUE: The licenses are for 40 years. But that does not alter the basic problem. Dam licenses should be issued every 5 years -- like wastewater discharge licenses -- not every 50 years.
Why would the state agree to extend these licenses to 50 years if a final settlement is reached? Because FERC routinely issues 50- year licenses when licensees will be expending major amounts of capital to meet license conditions.
FALSE: FERC does not extend licenses just because dam owners are required to install fishways that they should have installed 100 years ago.
What the department, and other participants, did in this circumstance is similar to what has been done in other rivers: working cooperatively to restore sea run fisheries to an important Maine river.
FALSE: Working cooperatively, by definition, does not mean conducting secret negotiations with no public input.
We encourage the members of Friends of Sebago Lake and all other citizens interested in this fisheries restoration effort to attend the public meeting. To be notified of its date and location, call (207) 287-9972.
