Finally! After 4 long years of legal wrangling, yesterday Justice Billings issued his Decision and Order in the matter of Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] vs Maine Department of Environmental Protection, denying AQF’s Rule 80C appeal and fully AFFIRMING the Clary Lake Water Level Order. All of AQF’s arguments were denied. ALL of them. The document is 17 pages long and totally worth reading fully. Each argument is addressed separately and in great detail:
The Decision did come sooner than I had anticipated; I was figuring we’d be lucky to get a ruling before April or even May. I’ve been saying all along that I fully expected the court to uphold the Order so this was not really an unexpected outcome, but that doesn’t make it any less noteworthy, or exciting. I can hardly contain myself 🙂
It will be interesting to see what happens next.
George,
You are THE MAN! Thanks for all of your time and hard work tending to this lake fiasco. Hope to see you and Margaret this summer to celebrate. Ronnie Spann (Diane Grant’s son)
Hi Ronnie, thanks for the kudos. Really, the person to thank is Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak for putting together a great defense of the Water Level Order. All I’ve try to keep people informed and maintain public interest in this matter so it doesn’t get forgotten.
GREAT NEWS!!!!! FINALLY!!!
Thank you so much!
Your welcome Dedi, though really, it’s DEP and Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak who deserve the credit. All I’ve been doing is pushing a rope for the past 7 years 🙂
Great to know that a special turtle (or it’s offspring) may reclaim it’s spot on a sunny log at the shallow end of the lake. The turtles were often found basking in the warm sun from the time I was six years old. I am 72 years old now. What a wonderful lake. Thanks for reclaiming it.
We have a ways to go before we can really celebrate, but I share your optimism. We’ve won a big battle.