AUGUSTA, Maine — An amendment to the Department of Marine Resource's (DMR) Kennebec River Management Plan is drawing support and opposition.
Those in favor of the amendment, which would remove the Lockwood dam in Waterville and Shawmut dam in Fairfield, said removing the dams is crucial in the hopes of restoring native fish populations.
Nick Bennet is a Staff Scientist with the Natural Resources Council of Maine and takes the proposal one step further. He said the two dams, and the Hydro Kennebec Dam in Waterville, and the Weston Dam in Skowhegan should be removed as well.
“Because all four of these dams block a huge amount of habitat for sea-run fish," he said.
Fish like Atlantic salmon, alewives, eel, and blueback herring.
Peter Fallon is the President of the Maine Association of Charter Captians and said this dam removal opportunity isn't likely to come around for the next few decades.
"With roughly 1,000 dams in Maine, what's the harm in removing a few?" he said.
River and fish population restoration is the focus for those backing the removals, but those against it point out their concerns.
Erica LaCroix is the town manager of Winslow and said if the two dams nearby are removed then residents could expect a $1 million property tax increase.
“The impact to local business has a ripple effect that needs to be considered," she added.
While the two dams in question are in Waterville and Fairfield, there are people like Bennett who want to see all four dams, which include the other dam in Waterville and the one in Skowhegan, removed.
“I think the way the whole process went about was wrong," President of the Skowhegan Area Chamber of Commerce Jason Gayne said.
“There was not much consideration given to the economic impact that’s going to happen.”
The property tax increase will disrupt residents of those four towns as well as limit recreational opportunities, Gayne said.
Another issue Gayne has with the dam removal is how it would affect the water level of the river. If the Weston dam was removed the water level would drop significantly and would make recreational opportunities near impossible in Skowhegan he said.
“How can you use a boat in a stream?”
Brookfield Renewable Partners owns all four dams in question. The Toronto-based company operates 34 other Hydro-power facilities in Maine generating 321 megawatts of energy in total.
“Those impoundments are key to providing water volume and stable river flows," Stakeholder Relations Manager Miranda Kessel said Wednesday.
She added the energy from the dams supply electricity to 30,000 homes.
Kessel echoed the similar economic concerns that would impact the dam towns but is also bothered by the "lack of transparency" from the DMR.
State Senators Brad Farrin (R-Somerset) and Scott Cryway (R-Kennebec) also took issue with the DMR's handling of the matter and wrote a letter to Commissioner Patrick Keliher:
In an e-mail to our staff, you wrote: “The final document will be nothing more than a guidance document and that is clear spelled out in §6171. Conservation and propagation of marine organisms. I think some believe that this automatically means the dams are to be removed. That is not the case as there is still a very lengthy FERC process that needs to play out”
According to page four of the plan amendment itself, however, “The MDMR will submit this document to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as a Comprehensive Management Plan Amendment.”
“[The DMR is] claiming on one hand that it’s just merely a guidance document that isn’t legally enforceable while also saying once it’s adopted it can be enforced by federal agencies," Kessel said.
Gayne also shared his frustrations with the DMR. The department held a public hearing on this issue earlier this month but Gayne said the public meeting was not recorded and that public comments either for the dam removal or against it can not be seen.
The DMR did not return requests for comment as it is waiting for the public comment session on this matter to end on Saturday before it releases any statement.