Category Archives: Department of Environmental Protecion

07 February 2018: Update on the Clary Lake Water Level Order Appeal

Superior_Court_20180206_130133I attended the hearing for oral arguments on the Clary Lake water level order appeal yesterday in Lincoln County Superior Court (case AP 2014-1, Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] v. Maine Department of Environmental Protection [DEP or Department]). I was accompanied by my wife. In addition, Clary Lake Association President Malcolm Burson and Board member David Knight were there along with 3-4 people from DEP, a few people I did not know, and a couple of reporters. Paul Kelley and Richard Smith were also there. AQF was represented by attorneys Timothy D. Connolly and R. Benjamin Borowski; Attorney Anthony Buxton was NOT there; I don’t know if his decision to not show up is significant or not, but I was quite surprised by his absence. The State was represented by Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak. The purpose of the hearing was to give counsel for each side an opportunity to verbally present their case to the Judge. Their oral presentations closely followed their respective briefs (see:  10 October 2017: Aquafortis Files Rule 80C Brief16 November 2017: State files Response Brief, and 05 December 2017: Aquafortis Associates Replies to State Brief).  You’ll find a few more pictures from the hearing in the new Winter 2018 photo gallery.  Continue reading

05 February 2018 Reminder: WLO Appeal Hearing for Oral Arguments Tomorrow, February 6th

A quick reminder that a hearing for oral arguments in the Clary Lake Water Level Order Appeal is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday February 6th at 1:30 PM at the Lincoln County Courthouse in Wiscasset. The hearing is expected to last about 1 hour. I wrote about this in a Water Level Order Appeal Update post back on January 11th. The hearing will be in the Superior Court Room on the second floor of the Lincoln County Courthouse building. If you’re going to attend, plan to show up at least 30 minutes early; on court days, parking can be hard to find and there is a metal detector to pass through which slows down people entering the building. You’ll want to be on your best behavior and should leave your attitudes at the door: there will be no opportunity to speak, and disruptions of any sort will likely not be tolerated by the Judge. So no clapping, hooting, booing, or general mayhem; this is an opportunity to listen; pay attention and you’ll probably learn something. Make a scene and the lot of us will probably be thrown out of the court room 🙂

Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak will be there representing the Department of Environmental Protection. Attorney Anthony Buxton and likely several other lawyers from PretiFlaherty will be there representing Aquafortis Associates LLC.

11 January 2018: Water Level Order Appeal Update

A hearing for oral arguments has been scheduled in Lincoln County Superior Court for Tuesday, February 6, 2018 at 1:30 PM. The hearing is expected to last approximately 1 hour. The purpose of the hearing is to provide an opportunity for the parties to speak in support of their written briefs which have previously been submitted to the court.  The hearing is open to the public and Margaret and I plan to attend. I expect some CLA Board members will be there as well.know. 

For those of you who want to review the briefs in this case, here are links to the posts about them:

 

05 December 2017: Aquafortis Associates Replies to State’s Brief

On Monday December 4th, counsel for Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] filed their reply to the State’s brief which the State filed with the Court on November 15th. This latest filing brings the briefing schedule of the Clary Lake Water Level Order [WLO] appeal to a close. Next up, the Court will schedule a hearing so the parties can present their oral arguments. I expect this will be sometime early in the new year.

This final reply brief (only 11 pages) addresses the arguments presented by the State in support of the WLO and the procedures DEP used to establish it, and reiterates AQF’s arguments against the WLO that were put forth in their original brief. I consider most of AQF’s arguments to be categorically specious i.e., superficially plausible, but actually wrong. For example, AQF argues that 38 M.R.S.A. § 841(1) implies that DEP can’t issue a WLO on a breached dam (see page 4). Nice try. First, the statute says nothing of the kind and second, DEP doesn’t believe the Clary Lake dam is breached and neither do I, and for that matter, neither does MEMA. Nonetheless this doesn’t stop AQF from making that claim. They also continue to demonstrate their lack of understanding of the difference between a water level and a water elevation by arguing that the DEP didn’t establish a water level based on evidence solicited at the Public Hearing.

Here’s the brief:

Stay tuned. I’ll post the court schedule as soon as I get it.

20 November 2017: Thoughts On The Recently Filed State’s Response Brief

Last Wednesday afternoon Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak filed the Department of Environmental Protection’s brief in response to Aquafortis Associates LLC’s brief appealing the Clary Lake Water Level Order [WLO]. AquaFortis Associates LLC [AQF] filed their brief back on October 6th. Since posting the State’s brief last week, quite a few people have viewed and/or downloaded it. I’ve read through the brief twice now, the first time quickly to get a feel for it, and then again more carefully, taking the time to read the foot notes, review unfamiliar citations and check the exhibits, most of which I was already familiar with. For me, it was a trip down memory lane and I found it to be clear, well-written, and easy to follow certainly not what I’d call “hard reading” by any means. Your mileage may vary, but a number of people have commented to me that they found the brief easy to follow and helpful in understanding everything that has gone on over the last 6 years since the Clary Lake water level petition was filed in early January 2012. I believe Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak did an outstanding job of defending the WLO, clearly demonstrating a solid grasp of ALL ASPECTS of this very complicated case. I look forward to the hearing when both sides of the case get to present their arguments which I expect to take place early next year. Continue reading

16 November 2017: State Files Response Brief in Superior Court

Yesterday afternoon, as expected, Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak hand-delivered DEP’s Reply brief to Superior Court, thereby responding to the Rule 80c Brief filed by Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] on October 1oth. This much-anticipated brief (40 pages plus 36 pages of supporting documents) represents the State’s one opportunity to present written arguments to the Court supporting the Clary Lake Water Level Order and Attorney Boak has done an outstanding job of making the State’s case. If you’ve been following the Clary Lake water level saga at all closely, you’re really going to enjoy reading it. For me, it was a trip down memory lane. Granted, parts of it are a little difficult to get through but for the most part I found the brief easy to read, absolutely fascinating, and a joy to read: 

As with the Rule 80C Brief filed by AQF, the State’s Brief includes numerous references to documents in the State’s Administrative Record (numbered 1 through 264). If you want to track down any given AR document to see what it says, you’ll find it in the following directory which includes an index file 000-Index.pdf so you can tell what’s what.

Next up: According to the Court’s briefing schedule, AQF will need to file their reply brief by December 4th. The Judge will then schedule a hearing for the parties to present their arguments, probably sometime after the first of the year.

Stay Tuned.

13 November 2017: DEP Responds to Clary Lake Association Petition

Back on August 21st we filed a petition with DEP requesting they take enforcement action on the Clary Lake Water Level Order [WLO].  We finally received a response from DEP Commissioner Paul Mercer by way of a letter from him dated October 17, 2017. The Commissioner said that the Department had previously attempted to address violations of the Clary Lake water level order through the negotiation of a consent agreement but was unable to reach agreement with the owner of the dam. The Department now awaits the decision of the Court. While the Department response did not come as a huge surprise, we are nonetheless disappointed that they have chosen not to take further action at this time.

Here’s the letter:

My apologies for not posting this sooner. Life happened.

21 October 2017: Update on Clary Lake Water Level Order Appeal

Back on October 10th I posted Aquafortis Associates LLC’s [AQF] Rule 80C Brief and at the time I said I hadn’t read it but that I would shortly and would post my thoughts “at a later date.” I know some of you have been waiting for me to do just that. Well it’s a later date, I have read it, several times even, but have decided I will keep my thoughts on the brief to myself for now except to state that I think the arguments put forth in it are specious and without merit. I’d also suggest that apparently neither AQF nor their counsel has any idea what a bathymetric survey is or what it’s used for, and they seem equally confused over the difference between a water level and a water elevation. I don’t know whether this confusion is real or contrived, but I’m sure the State’s brief will clear it up.

The State’s response brief is due November 15th. I’ll post it as soon as I get a copy.

10 October 2017: Aquafortis Associates Rule 80C Brief Filed

Wait. What?

After three and a half years of countless delays and numerous stays, the Clary Lake Water Level Order appeal is finally getting down to business. Late last Friday counsel for Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) hand delivered their 40+ page brief to Lincoln County Superior Court. AQF is requesting the Court “reverse, remand, or modify” the Clary Lake Water Level Order and this brief explains their reasons for their request. I wanted to get it on the website without further delay. I haven’t read it yet but I will do so shortly and will post my thoughts on it at a later date. 

 

26 September 2017: WLO Appeal Briefing Schedule Revised

The briefing schedule for upcoming filings in the Clary Lake Water Level Order Appeal that was included in the August 15th Court Order (see “Clary Lake Water Level Order Appeal Update“) has been revised by the Court in response to a motion filed by counsel for Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] on August 30th. In addition to requesting a change to the briefing schedule, the motion also requested an increase in the number of pages allowed in the filings (Maine Judicial Court Rules specify page limits for different kinds of filings). Counsel for AQF cited conflicts with long-standing vacation arrangements for the requested change in filing deadlines. The motion was consented to by DEP (meaning the State did not object to the motion) and the court subsequently issued an ORDER on September 7th granting AQF’s motion in its entirety.

AQF’s  appeal brief was originally due 40 days from August 15th, on or about September 26th. The date for that initial filing is now October 6, 2017. The State’s Response Brief now is due on November 15, 2017 and the Petitioner’s Reply Brief is due December 4, 2017. The ORDER also granted Petitioner’s request for increased page limits.

I was somewhat dismayed (though not particularly surprised) to learn of the change in the briefing schedule since delays seem to be the way this game is played. I was nonetheless glad the filing dates were only pushed out 10 days. What has me scratching my head however is the fact that the MOTION and the ORDER both list Pleasant Pond Mill LLC [PPM] as a petitioner. I assume this is an oversight as PPM was removed from the suit by COURT ORDER on January 25, 2016 and while a few filings in early 2016 listed both PPM and AQF as petitioners, ALL filings in the last year have included only AQF as petitioner.

I don’t expect additional changes to the briefing schedule.

27 August 2017 Centralmaine.com: Whitefield and Jefferson residents list frustrations in petition to DEP

There is an article in today’s Centralmaine.com papers  by staff writer Jessica Lowell about the Petition we submitted to DEP last week. The article is in the Kennebec Journal, the Morning Sentinel, and was also picked up by the Portland Press Herald. I love all the publicity! Everywhere I’ve been this week people are mentioning Clary Lake, the petition, and asking me what’s new:

http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/08/26/whitefield-and-jefferson-residents-list-frustrations-in-petition-to-dep/

I assume the “good faith effort by DEP to bring relief to the residents around Clary Lake” referred to by DEP spokesperson David Madore was the 13 or so months of court-ordered mediation that ended in March 2015. The Notice of Violation (NOV) mentioned was subsequently issued in late September 2015.

My only complaint about the article: they could have used a new photograph! They’re still using a picture included in a story from August 2015.

23 August 2017 Lincoln County News: Petition Calls on DEP to Enforce Clary Lake Water-Level Order

There’s an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by Staff Reporter Abigail Adams about the Petition we filed with DEP on Monday, August 21st. It’s a detailed and timely writeup. Ms. Adams includes a comment from David Madore, DEP Spokesperson, to the effect that “the petition is under review.” The CLA Board has yet to get a response to the Petition from the Commissioner’s office.

I’ve archived a copy of the article should you have trouble getting it off the paper now, or in the future:

22 August 2017: CLA Petition to DEP Submitted

I want to thank EVERYONE who signed our petition to DEP and to let everyone know that the Petition which the Board introduced at the Clary Lake Association Annual meeting on August 12th, along with over 350 signatures collected both at the meeting and over the course of the week following the meeting, was hand-delivered to the office of the Commissioner of the DEP yesterday, Monday August 21st, as planned. Looking over the signature sheets I believe ALL Clary Lake Association members managed to sign the petition even if they weren’t at the meeting; quite a few people who are currently out of state printed out the signature sheet, signed it, and mailed or emailed it back to me. A lot of people collected signatures for us, but I’d particularly like to thank Debbie Duncan, Ellis Percy, Malcolm Burson, and Jack and Ann Holland for their efforts to collect signatures. It seems like more often than not, when I asked someone to sign they’d say “Already signed it!” 🙂

It remains to be seen how the Department will respond to the petition and what if anything action they will take towards enforcement of the Clary Lake water level order. They have a variety of enforcement options and while I don’t expect miracles, I am cautiously optimistic they will take this matter as seriously as we do.  I do expect to hear from them and will keep everyone apprised of any developments.

The petition was also sent to the Lincoln County News, Central Maine Papers, and the Portland Press Herald, and I do expect articles to appear later this week in most if not all those papers.

22 August 2017: Clary Lake Water Level Order Appeal Update

At long last, 3 Orders which we’ve been patiently waiting for since the hearing on April 25, 2017 have finally been issued by Lincoln County Superior Court Judge Daniel Billings. The first Order was a Joint motion for Extension of Filing Deadlines to April 28, 2017 (thanks for that!) and was GRANTED. The second Order has two parts, the first, Petitioner’s Motion for Taking of Additional Evidence and Discovery is DENIED, and Respondent’s Motion for Consideration of Extra-Record Evidence is GRANTED. The third Order pertains to Petitioner’s Motion Requesting Court Modification of the Record and GRANTS the motion with respect ONLY to those exhibits agreed to by DEP. The remainder of Petitioner’s motion is DENIED with respect to those exhibits DEP felt were not relied upon by them in preparing the Water Level Order [WLO] and hence were not relevant in a review of the WLO.

In short, these Orders represent a favorable decision for the State: DEP got everything they asked for while Aquafortis Associates LLC got none of what they asked for except for several concessions not objected to by the State:

So after three and a half years of delays, stays, and stalling tactics (and let’s not forget the 13 months of pointless mediation), the jockeying for position is finally OVER and the time has come to hear the arguments for and against the Clary Lake Water Level Order. We won’t have long to wait: included with the Orders is a Notice and Briefing Schedule which spells out the schedule for the filing of briefs and responses. Assuming everyone uses their allowed time to file their briefs and nobody tries to delay the proceedings further (I expect the Judge has little tolerance for additional delays from here on out) AQF’s brief will be due no more than 40 days from August 15th, by September 25th. The State then has 30 days from the filing of the Petitioner’s brief to file their response, by October 25th. Finally, the Petitioner’s response to the State’s response will be due 14 days later, around October 8th.

For background on the proceedings leading up to these Orders, see “24 March 2017: State files 2 Motions in Aquafortis v. Maine Department of Environmental Protection WLO Appeal” and “11 April 2017: State Files Response to AQF Motion to Modify Record.”

I have not heard anything about the Rubin/Ayer lawsuit lately but it seems reasonable to expect that with the WLO appeal now moving forward, that their suit against Kelley and Smith will also start moving forward.

Annual Meeting Reminder

The Annual Meeting of the Clary Lake Association is next Saturday, August 12th at 2:00 PM. The meeting is to be held at the home of Erin Grimshaw and Christina Bishop located at 739 Gardiner Road in Jefferson. Erin and Christina hosted the meeting last year and it turned out to be such a great venue that we’ve decided to hold it there again. Their home is located about 1/3 of a mile west of (towards Whitefield) the intersection of Route 126 and 215. You’ll know the place: this is the house at the foot of the old MacDonald hay field overlooking Clary Lake, and at the end of a looooong driveway. Andy Goss built the house a few years ago; Erin and Christina have owned it since 2013. Here’s a Google Map showing the location. If you need help finding the place George at 207-549-5991 for directions.

The rain date, on the off chance it is raining on Saturday, is the same time, same place, the next day. I can’t remember the last time the Annual meeting was rained out (though it got a little dicey last year). As usual, there will be a pot luck supper at the conclusion of the meeting so bring your favorite casserole, salad, desert, bread, dip, or what have you and plan to stay awhile and socialize.

Petition Announcement

This year the CLA Board intends to introduce for discussion and Membership approval, a petition to the Department of Environmental Protection requesting they take enforcement action in the matter of the Clary Lake Water Level Order. As most of you know, the Water Level Order was issued over 42 months ago on January 27, 2014 and a subsequent Notice of Violation was issued on September 28, 2015. Since then the Department has taken no further action. The order however is still in force and has not been stayed. We see no reason why they shouldn’t immediately initiate enforcement action. We hope you’ll be able to attend the meeting and sign this petition.

The Board will be collecting additional signatures and endorsements during the week following the Annual meeting and plan to submit the Petition to DEP on or about Monday August 21st. You do not need to be a Clary Lake Association member or a Clary Lake shore owner to sign the petition. If you can’t make it to the meeting but would still like to sign the petition, please contact George Fergusson at secretary@clarylake.org or call at 207-549-5991 and we’ll try to accommodate you.

18 April 2017: Spring Musings and a Look Ahead

firetruck on clary

Isn’t it time to get a dry fire hydrant installed at the inlet of the lake on Route 126?

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] try to keep this news forum factual and informative and not all that speculative. From time to time however I am compelled to offer up some commentary on what has been happening, where we are and where it looks like we are headed. This is one of those times. My goal is to bring some perspective and commonality into our lives where they intersect with Clary Lake and the travails that have assaulted it for so long. Spring is a good time for this kind of musing: it’s a time to wake up, gear up, get in shape, and get ready for another season. I feel this is going to be an important year, that a lot is going to happen. We may not see a resolution of our water level crisis this year but then again we might, the problem being that I really have no idea what a “resolution” might look like. Certainly we’ll see some real progress towards a resolution. Not only am I prepared to be surprised, I expect to be. If one thing has been proven time and time again it is that we have no idea what lies around the next corner. Continue reading

11 April 2017: State Files Response to AQF Motion to Modify Record

A few weeks ago I posted about 2 filings by the State asking the court to consider the “mootness” and “justiciability” of a request made by Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] for additional discovery. In those filings the State asked the court to DENY the AQF motion. There is also another pending AQF Rule 80C(f) Motion Requesting Court Modification the [Administrative] Record that has now been addressed by the State. In English what it means is AQF wants to add various documents to the Record because they think they are important and relevant to their case. Personally I think the real purpose of this and similar motions is not the pursuit of justice at all, but rather, is simply to bury the court in ever growing piles of useless documents intended to bog down the legal proceedings and drag things out. Because that’s how the game is played. But I digress.

I’m sorry to be just getting to this now: back on April 3, 2017 the State filed DEP’s response to AQF’s Rule 80C(f) Motion Requesting Court Modification of the Record. The filing includes a Proposed Order for the Judge to sign should he uphold the State’s motion. Besides the legal mumbo jumbo that we all struggle with, there is fairly clear and understandable content in this filing and I encourage everyone to take a look at it. I’ll explain what it means below:

State Response to Petitioners’ Motion Requesting Court Modification of the Record

Continue reading

10 April 2017 Central Maine Papers: Whitefield Dam Owner Files For Bankruptcy Protection

A new Central Maine Papers article by KJ staff writer Jessica Lowell appeared on-line last night and will be in today’s print edition. It is about Pleasant Pond Mill LLC’s [PPM] mind-boggling decision to file for bankruptcy, it also contains the necessary background to acquaint the reader with the basic facts of the story if they’re coming into this mess cold. The article contains a few mistakes (alternative facts?) which however do nothing to detract from it’s otherwise accurate and fair reporting. You have to admit, after 5+ years, our story has gotten pretty hard to follow. This is the first newspaper article about Clary Lake in over a year, and in my opinion it is overdue (shift-click to open link in a new tab):

http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/04/09/whitefield-dam-owner-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/

Continue reading

24 March 2017: State files 2 Motions in Aquafortis v. Maine Department of Environmental Protection WLO Appeal

On March 20, 2017 the State on behalf of DEP made two filings in Lincoln County Superior Court in their defense of the Clary Lake Water Level Order. These filings were made pursuant to the Court’s February 21, 2017 Order which (among other things) set the 3/20/17 deadline for the filing of “any additional motions concerning discovery or the course of future proceedings.” The first filing was a “Motion For Consideration Of Extra-Record Evidence For [the_tooltip text=”Mootness” tooltip=”In the legal system of the United States, a matter is moot if further legal proceedings with regard to it can have no effect, or events have placed it beyond the reach of the law.” url=”” background=”” color=””] and [the_tooltip text=”Justiciability” tooltip=”Justiciability concerns the limits upon legal issues over which a court can exercise its judicial authority. It includes, but is not limited to, the legal concept of standing” url=”” background=”” color=””] Purposes” and the second filing was the State’s “Opposition to Petitioner’s Motion for Taking of Additional Evidence and Discovery.” Both of these motions pertain to issues going to last August when the State submitted the Administrative Record and as far back as a year ago when Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] filed their amended petition (and the amended petition was required because the Judge threw Paul Kelley and his canceled company Pleasant Pond Mill LLC out of the case; see: 30 January 2016: Superior Court grants State’s Motion to Dismiss“).

Here are the latest filings- these really are fascinating documents and are well worth reading: Continue reading

18 November 2016: Update on the Clary Lake Lawsuits

My wife and I spent the better part of last Wednesday the 16th at Lincoln County Superior Court attending 2 different hearings. I had already planned to attend the discovery hearing in the Clary Lake Water Level Order appeal proceeding (Docket No. AP-14-1 ) scheduled for 1:00 PM, then Tuesday afternoon I got a call from Bob Rubin informing me that the Judge had also scheduled a discovery hearing in the Rubin/Ayer lawsuit (Docket No. 2016 CV-002) for 9:00 AM that same day. The judge, Justice Daniel Billings, is the same for both cases. Wednesday was looking like Clary Lake day at Lincoln County Superior Court and my wife and I decided to make a day of it and attend both hearings, which we did, and we even found enough time between hearings for a nice lunch at Sarah’s.

IMG_20150828_155836 (Custom)A little background regarding Docket No. 2016 CV-002 is in order since I haven’t written about it on this website since it was first filed: Robert Rubin and Cheryl Ayer are husband and wife, Clary Lake shore owners, Clary Lake Association members, and they are both lawyers licensed to practice in the State of Maine. Their property is on the west shore of Clary Lake. Many of you will remember Bob Rubin from the role he played during the Clary Lake Water Level Petition process, representing the Clary Lake Association pro bono as an intervener in those proceedings. Shortly after issuance of the Final Clary Lake Water Level Order on January 27, 2014, Bob Rubin retired. On January 11, 2016 Bob and Cheryl filed suit in Lincoln County Superior Court (see: “31 January 2016: Clary Lake Shore Owners Rubin & Ayer File Suit in Superior Court“). At the time Cheryl Ayer was a Board member of the Association. She subsequently resigned her Board position in April 2016 so as to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. Their complaint named defendants Paul Kelley, Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM), Richard Smith, and Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF). Paul Kelley and Richard Smith are defending themselves in this proceeding, they are not represented by counsel. Continue reading