Jay Clement of the Army Corps of Engineers has (wisely) cancelled tomorrow’s inter-agency, pre-application meeting with Pleasant Pond Mill LLC because he believes it is “premature” and a “non-starter” given that Mr. Kelley has so many “unresolved issues” with the DEP, not the least of which is pending litigation. This meeting was to be attended by agency representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Maine Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC), the Department of Marine Resources (DMR), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Adminitration (NOAA), the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Also planning to attend were Whitefield Select Board members Tony Marple and Sue McKeen and Assistant Attorney General Thom Harnett. That the meeting was cancelled does not surprise me. What surprises me is that they waited until the last minute to do it 🙂 I can’t imagine a more egregious waste of time, money, and resources than to have all these knowledgeable and important people sit in a room listening to Paul Kelley complain about how the DEP has done him wrong. Clearly, Paul Kelley isn’t going to get any help from the Army Corps of Engineers:

After giving this case additional thought and monitoring the regular
exchange of complex emails between DEP staff and Pleasant Pond Mill LLC,
I’ve come to the conclusion that tomorrow’s interagency discussion is
premature.  There are just too many DEP specific issues that the applicant
needs to work through before he will be in a position to apply for a Corps
permit, not the least of which is pending litigation.

The Corps has no authority over or interest in the applicant’s negotiations
with the DEP.  In the event these are resolved at some point in the future
and a definitive project is identified, the Corps would be happy to
orchestrate or participate in a pre-application discussion.  A Corps permit
would be required for any permanent or temporary discharge of fill material
in waterways or adjacent wetlands.

I apologize for the last minute cancelation.  All addressees listed are
extremely busy with meetings and field work this time of year.  Attending
yet another on a project that for the moment appears to be a ‘non-starter’
due to a number of complex issues, would not be an effective or efficient
use of our collective time.  Please pass this email on or otherwise contact
anyone I’ve missed.

Thank you for your consideration.

What a nice letter 🙂

We’re now a little more than halfway through the implementation of the Clary Lake water level order and this seems like a good time to step back and take a look at where we are in the implementation process and what we can expect next. Everyone I’ve talked to is pretty much universally disappointed that more isn’t happening and angry that Paul Kelley seems to be getting away with doing nothing. I understand that sentiment, however nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. Kelley isn’t getting away with anything anymore:

Next up for Mr. Kelley is the July 2nd deadline to resubmit a revised water level management plan followed by the August 1st deadline for having completed repairs to the dam as well as having installed a water level gauge. Somewhere in that time frame the Department will respond to his abject failure to address the requirement in the Order for establishing the historical normal high water line of Clary Lake, and then he’ll have to address that too. Finally, by October 1st the dam must be in an operational state with the water level of Clary Lake at the level called for in the order.

Mr. Kelley is running out of time.