[dropcap]A[/dropcap] number of newsworthy things have happened this week, and of course I’ve been away and unable to update the website in a timely fashion. I’ll get caught up as soon as I can. To start, there is a lengthy article in this week’s Lincoln County News by staff writer Abigail Adams about DEP’s September 28th Notice of Violation. The article also covers the October 8th response filed by PretiFlaherty attorneys for Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) requesting the Department stay (put on hold) their enforcement action, pending the outcome of the appeal of the Water Level Order (WLO) in Lincoln County Superior Court. Ms. Adams interviewed a number of people for the story and includes quotes from Paul Kelley, Richard Smith, PretiFlaherty litigator Tim Connolly, and DEP spokesperson David Madore. I was also interviewed for the article, and accurately quoted.
The article contains a couple of misstatements worth pointing out. First the article states: “AquaFortis Associates was named alongside Pleasant Pond Mill in the petition, however the water level order issued in January 2014 only named Pleasant Pond Mill.” In fact, Aquafortis Associates was both named in the petition AND, along with PPM, as a party subject to the final Water Level Order.
Second, the article states that “The Clary Lake Association, an association of lakefront owners in Whitefield and Jefferson, petitioned the DEP to establish a water level order in 2012.” This is a common misconception and an easy mistake to make, and I do not fault Ms. Adams for coming to that conclusion. It is however wrong. The Clary Lake water level petition was a citizen’s petition of lake shore owners, and I was the petition spokesperson; If memory serves me, only about 1/2 of the petition signers were also CLA members. The Clary Lake Association (CLA) only endorsed the petition after it’s filing, and early on took steps to intervene n the petition proceedings. Since the issuance of the WLO, the CLA has taken over the primary role supporting and promoting the WLO.
With the exception of the 2 incorrect statements mentioned above, the article appears to be factually accurate. Here’s a link to the online article:
I’ll post a link to an archived copy later.