5 Town Dam Committee: Representatives from the 5 Town Dam Committee met at the Bucksport Town Office on Wednesday, December 18th to discuss new developments regarding Bucksport Mill LLC’s petition to abandon the Toddy, Alamoosook, and Silver Lake dams.     Outreach Enhancements  The group discussed enhanced efforts to increase public awareness of the status of the dams and to encourage citizens to contribute to funding the costs incurred by the 5 Towns for legal representation in our discussions with the current dam owner.  In addition to the current effort to distribute our bi-weekly statement via print media,  email, website posts, and Facebook page postings the group is looking for additional avenues to engage with citizens.    Ownership Models It is recognized that the Silver Lake dam is very unique in that it is a public water supply and also provides cooling water for an electricity generating plant.  Its future most likely will follow a different path from that of the Alamoosook and Toddy dams.     The four towns abutting Alamoosook Lake and Toddy Pond believe the State of Maine should conclude that there is sufficient justification (regional recreational value; important fish, bird, and other wildlife habitat) for the state to assume ownership of the dams. However, the towns also believe that developing an alternative ownership contingency plan is prudent given the uncertainties and time frames involved. Thus the four towns associated with Alamoosook and Toddy have been working with our local legislators to have special bipartisan legislation introduced in the state legislature that would create waterfront protection districts that would have the authority to 1) own and operate the dam creating the relevant body of water (Alamoosook and Toddy) 2) assess special taxes/fees on property owners fronting the respective water body and those with deeded access, and 3) potentially incorporate a provision for mandatory contributions by abutting municipalities to defray a portion of the dam ownership costs.   There are numerous local water districts formed by similar legislation that provide potable water within the defined district area, charging water rates to users in order to generate funds for operating and capital costs.   Although these districts are not the preferred outcome, the four towns believe that, if successfully formed, they would provide a long-term solution to maintaining the dams and the lake/pond water levels, since the taxing authority would provide a relatively certain, stable source of funds for operations. Private ownership of the dams exposes both the property owners and the municipalities to a variety of risks, such as inadequate funding, a new petition to abandon the dam, bankruptcy, and lack of representation/control by the property owners.   While creating this entity can be done via legislation at the state level, Implementation of this effort would be completely subject to municipal voter approval.  The group will seek public input on the details of the design and will be gauging the public support for such an entity.     Legislative Support Steve Bishop - HD 17 Representative, and David Haggan Senate District 10 along with HD- 36 Representative Kim Haggan attended the meeting.  All three pledged support for the bipartisan legislation and offered their assistance in working with DEP to gain support for the Towns.    

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Posted on by Clerk

5 Town Dam Committee

12/5/24 JOINT STATEMENT 

5 TOWN DAM COMMITTEE 

(SILVER, ALAMOOSOOK, TODDY) 

Representatives from the 5 Town Dam Committee met at the Bucksport Town Office on Wednesday, December 4th to discuss new developments regarding Bucksport Mill LLC’s petition to abandon the Toddy, Alamoosook, and Silver Lake dams.  

Under the statute governing the petition to release water from a dam  ( 38 M.R.S. § 902), each of the 5 municipalities is required to hold a town vote to consider ownership of the dams.  This vote only indicates the town’s interest in pursuing the due diligence necessary for making an ownership decision in the future.  The meetings are scheduled as follows:

  • Blue Hill – November 25th,  5:30 PM, Select Board Room (passed)
  • Surry – December 3rd, 7 PM Select Board Room – (passed)
  • Penobscot – December 7th, 1 PM Fire Station
  • Bucksport – December 12th, 7 PM Town Council Chambers
  • Orland – December 13th, 6 PM, Orland Community Center

Once the Towns have voted, Bucksport Mill LLC has agreed to enter into a consultation process with the Towns.   This consultation process should provide towns with the necessary information on the conditions of the dams and the costs associated with maintaining them, but the information actually shared depends on Bucksport Mill’s cooperation.  This is the first step in determining the possibility of future ownership.

Over the last week, Committee representatives briefed the Hancock County Commissioners and the Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District on the dam abandonment threat and the current progress on identifying new ownership.   Both organizations are willing to support our efforts.

Outgoing HD17 State representative Ron Russell briefed the group on several pieces of bipartisan legislation under development in Augusta that will directly assist our 5 Towns in resolving this situation.  Representative Nina Milliken, new Representative Steve Bishop, Senator Nicole Grohoski, and Senator David Haggan are working to pass these initiatives. They include:

  • The bill would increase the consultation period with the Dam owner and codify information requirements that the owner must share
  • A revolving fund that could be used for the assessment and renovation of dams
  • A revamp of the Maine Emergency Management Agency (the group overseeing dams across the state).  The legislation would beef up the program to increase inspections and technical assistance to dam owners
  • Create a structure for dam ownership that would allow the entity to access grant money for the renovation of high-hazard dams (all three of ours are classified as high-hazard by MEMA)

The Committee is committed to keeping the residents updated on the progress.  To that end, in addition to these biweekly updates being posted on town websites, we are developing expanded outreach efforts to keep everyone informed.  This outreach will include routine notifications to news outlets and interested organizations.  Any questions can be directed to any of the 5 Towns or the two lake associations.