There is an article about Pleasant Pond Mill LLC’s appeal of the Clary Lake water level order in today’s Kennebec Journal, written by Paul Koenig. Mr. Koenig interviewed Paul Kelley for the story. One statement in particular is worth quoting here:
“He said his company filed suit in superior court instead of with the appeals board because it wanted a final ruling on the dispute.”
This indicates that this really is the last stand for Kelley and that an appeal to the Maine Supreme Court is not in the cards. When he loses this appeal, he’ll be dead in the water. What a pleasant thought that is.
Owner of Clary Lake Dam in Whitefield files suit in court
[Archived copy]:
Owner of Clary Lake Dam in Whitefield files suit in court
Does that put the order in limbo or does he still have to abide by it? Seems to me that superior court could take awhile.
Hi Skip- His filing an appeal of the water level order does NOT stay the water level order, it is still in force and needs to be complied with. His first deadline is May 1st by which time he’s got to have a water level management plan prepared. Failure to meet that deadline constitutes a violation of the order and will be dealt with by the Department.
So Kelley has a rather over-full plate at this time. First he’s got the Water Level Order to contend with, second he’s got his Petition for release from dam ownership or water level maintenance to promote, and third he’s got his appeal in Superior court to pursue. He also no doubt has a few other monkeys on his back. One could almost feel sorry for him. Almost.