02 April 2013: Pleasant Pond Mill LLC Notifies DEP of their Intent to Petition for Release from Dam Ownership

On behalf of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC, Paul Kelley has filed a notice with the DEP stating his intent to file a Petition for Release from Dam Ownership or Water Level Maintenance. This is a statutory process described in MRSA 38 Chapter 5, Sub-Chapter 1, Article 6, §§ 901-908. Earlier this evening I attended the Whitefield Selectmen’s regular meeting and listened to them discuss the situation. Paul Kelley was there representing  Pleasant Pond Mill LLC. Discussion mostly centered around the role the town would be playing in the petition process regarding public hearings, public notices, and notifying affected parties. Aaron Miller, town clerk had spoken with someone at the DEP about this petition and was led to believe that for the time being anyways, processing of the Clary Lake Water Level Petition would continue while this new petition is addressed. I will be making inquiries of my own later this week to confirm what to expect.

Here are copies of the certified letters that Pleasant Pond Mill has sent to the Selectmen, and the Town Clerk:

After the meeting Paul and I talked briefly and have agreed to maintain open lines of communication as we move forward in the hopes that a mutually agreeable solution to the problem can be found. I am cautiously optimistic.

About the Law

There are many privately owned dams in the State of Maine that belong to people who for various reasons don’t want to continue owning them. Usually the dams are in poor repair making them an expensive liability to own, and they may have water level orders on them (or pending water level orders) making the dams particularly unsavory to own and difficult if not impossible to sell, let alone give away. State law prevents dam owners from simply removing the dams, or abandoning them. Additional provisions in the law provide this petition process to help these unwilling dam owners find new owners for their unwanted property or, if no new owner can be found, allows them to  be relieved of the burden of ownership. If a new owner for a dam cannot be found, the dam is removed.

Now clearly, the existence of this law with all it’s provisions suggests that dam owners are more often than not alienated from the various parties that might reasonably be expected to want to own the dam and that furthermore, guidance, rules, and rigid structure are often necessary to find the interested parties, get everyone together, and help them work out a mutually agreeable solution. Pleasant Pond Mill LLC clearly feels they are alienated and sees this petition process as the only way forward for them. They are certainly within their rights to take advantage of the provisions of the law to address the Clary lake dam problem.

Here’s a copy of the Petition application which lists the general information and procedures involved in the petition, the required information in the petition, and a copy of the notice of intent to file the petition:

Petition for Release from Dam Ownership or Water Level Maintenance