Category Archives: News

News from around the lake.

04 October 2014: Who says the State boat launch is unusable?

IMG_4337 (Custom)Jack Holland called me earlier today and told me to get over to the boat launch and bring a camera. I didn’t stop to ask questions, I just dashed off. Well, the scene I encountered when I arrived there a few minutes later defied comprehension (see picture upper left). Nonplussed, I decided to just shoot first and ask questions later (you’ll find them in the new Fall 2014 gallery). I also decided to shoot a couple of videos. The first one shows them hauling the Cat loader out of the muck:

I was surprised and impressed those 2 trucks managed to drag that loader out, I’m pretty sure it weighed more than both trucks put together. Then with the loader out of the way, they were able to address the pickup truck problem:

I guess this situation would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. Backing your truck into the lake to get your boat because there isn’t enough water at the end of the ramp was not a great idea, getting stuck was virtually guaranteed. Getting the Cat loader stuck was inevitable once the (bad) decision was made to drive that into the lake to pull out the truck. Then they called dad.

These kids were fortunate really, nobody injured, nothing lost but face. Oh. And a broken drive shaft. And a tow rope. They stirred up a plume of clay sediment (visible in the above video) that will take a while to settle out and they’ve left some ruts in the lake bottom that will be there for years to come, but to put things in perspective, really, the environmental impact of their silly escapade is inconsequential in comparison to that being visited on Clary Lake by the dam owner himself, and through their inaction, the Department of Environmental Protection. Kids will be kids. While it is easy to be critical of their behavior, I can remember doing some pretty stupid things myself when I was young. Nothing like this of course.

29 September 2014: Irate Lake Shore Owner sends letter to DEP

I received the following email today sent by Clary Lake shore owner Jean McWilliams to Beth Callahan of the Department of Environmental Protection. Jean has every reason to be upset. We all do. One does have to wonder what the DEP is waiting for: the lake can’t get much lower.

September 29, 2014

Dear Ms. Callahan:

I am writing as a waterfront property owner on Clary Lake. I want to share my prospective as a resident on Clary Lake who has enjoyed this (previously) unspoiled lake for over 20 years. 

Jean McWilliams' water lineThis past weekend was warm and glorious and I planned to spend the weekend at our camp. Imagine my surprise when upon starting the water pump, there was no water. The first enclosed picture shows why;  the water line was fully out of the water. I have already extended the line once since the near draining of the lake. Apparently my family won’t be able to use the camp for the rest of the season, thanks to Paul Kelley’s actions.

Jack Holland's boatI’ve also attached a picture of my neighbor’s boat, high and dry as you can see. I am now 66 years old and have always planned to sell the camp in order to retire. As you can well imagine, property on Clary Lake is not exactly in demand.  So much for retirement, and again, thanks to Mr. Kelley. I am simply stunned that this situation has continued for over 3 years. The DEP has issued a water level order.  Mr. Kelley has ignored it.  He clearly does not care about the environmental, economic and recreational damage his actions have caused. I strongly urge you to enforce the water level order and insist that Mr. Kelley follow the law.  The blatant actions of this man are unacceptable and I ask that you enforce any and all regulations broken by Kelley.

Sincerely,

Jean McWilliams

 

Whitefield Selectman’s Meeting Agenda for Tuesday 23 September 2014

 

Below is a tentative agenda for Tuesday’s meeting:

Town of Whitefield Selectmen’s Agenda
September 23, 2014

Item Time Agenda Item
6:00 pm Call meeting to order
Sign Minutes 9/9/14
6:05 pm Sign Warrants Accounts Payable/Payroll
6:15 pm Fuel bids
6:20 pm Roadside Brush cutting
6:30 pm Paul Kelley RE: Building transfer
7:00 pm Fred Duncan RE: Senott Rd./DEP Letter/Tax issue
7:15 pm Discussion

a. Inter local community cooperation
b. Next Week’s Agenda
c. Other
8:00 pm Adjournment

 

10 September 2014: Updated Bathymetric Chart available

Clary_Lake_Depth_Map_with_aerial_SMALLI’ve updated the recently released bathymetric chart with new contours using some additional data in the vicinity of the ledges at the northwest end of the lake and a few other rocks. The revised contour map now clearly shows both those ledges and the rock currently marked by a white buoy in the vicinity of the Whitefield/Jefferson town line near the north shore. Also, the 148′ and 146′ contours have been replaced with 1′ depth contours making this version of the chart more accurate in depicting the shallow water around the shoreline. I will, as time permits, further refine the underlying data.

If you’re not seeing version 0.2 dated 09/10/2014 (check lower left hand corner) try clearing your browser’s image cache.

Several people asked about getting a contour map superimposed on an aerial photograph. No problem! There are now two images available, a large scale one and a smaller more manageable image (click on the thumbnail at upper left). They’re also available on the Maps, Charts, and Graphs page. You’ll also find a .KMZ file there which you can load into Google Earth.

06 September 2014: New Clary Lake contour map finally available

Clary_Lake_Depth_MapI have finally gotten around to generating a contour map of Clary Lake using data collected by the Department of Environmental Protection during their September 2012 bathymetric survey. In addition to the high resolution image pictured at left there’s a smaller version available, and a 24″x36″ PDF which is quite large but which can be viewed or printed out at about any scale you wish. Feel free to download them, you’ll find them and the other files pertaining to the original bathymetric survey over on the Maps, Charts, and Graphs gallery. Each image has a link in the description field to the full-sized image.

The data set consists of 3,265 points with each point defining a 3-dimensional location on the face of the earth (i.e., the latitude, longitude, and water depth below the top of the dam). The depth was measured with a depth meter and each depth measurement was paired with the latitude and longitude of the point obtained via GPS receiver. The data in the form of a spread sheet was supplied to us back in April 2013 along with a colorized bathymetric map of the lake generated from the data. This map was a marked improvement over the original depth map of Clary Lake, prepared by the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife back in late 1940s, but it lacks some real utility because it doesn’t show you what the bottom of the lake actually looks like- where the hills are, where the holes are, what the depth is at any given spot. According to the original depth map, the deepest spot in Clary Lake was only 23′ whereas we now know that the deepest spot is actually 29′ below the top of the dam. Continue reading →

Maine VLMP hosting a Watershed Survey Workshop

id-map-of-sitesEvery year in early September the Maine VLMP holds a Watershed Survey Workshop in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection. I attended one put on by the Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association this past spring and found it both educational and fun. Anyone planning on helping out with updating the Clary Lake Association’s 2001 Watershed Survey (tentatively scheduled for next spring) would benefit greatly from attending this workshop. Contact me if you have any questions or would like more information.

 

Watershed Survey Workshops

2014 Watershed Survey Training Workshop

How to Identify, Monitor and Mitigate Ways in Which Watershed Land Use Influences Lake Water Quality

Fri. September 12, 10AM to 3PM – VLMP Lakes Center, Auburn

WatershedSurveyPicNewBkgdVirtually all of the natural characteristics of a lake are influenced by the land area, or watershed, that drains to the lake. But human activities that alter the natural protective features of lake watersheds can result in significant degradation of water quality and aquatic habitat over time, unless conservation measures are undertaken to protect the lake. This workshop will cover basic information about the relationship between lakes and their watersheds, common threats to lake water quality from watershed development, and how to identify and resolve problems through the watershed survey process. We will begin with an inside discussion, followed by a field trip to a nearby lake watershed.Please bring a brown bag lunch. 

Pre-registration is required. To register please contact the VLMP office at 207-783-7733 or[email protected].

18 August 2014: Whitefield Selectmen write the AAG

The Whitefield Selectmen have sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Thomas Harnett, the person handling the Clary Lake water level order and its pending appeal filed by Paul Kelley in Lincoln County Superior Court. The letter urges the AAG to expedite the current mediation process and enforce any violations of the water level order that may be found to exist.  It was sent by email to the Service List. It has also just been posted on the Town of Whitefield’s Facebook page. It’s short and sweet so I’ll copy here in its entirety:

Thomas Harnett
Assistant Attorney General
Department of the Attorney General
State House Station 6
Augusta, Maine 04333-006

Dear Mr. Harnett:

The Town of Whitefield would like to convey to you its continuing concern about the
present state of water levels in Clary Lake. Since 2011, the lake level has been lowered and resulted in continuing and significant impacts to the environment and our community. Without going into details as they are well documented in the record, the low water level has adversely affected Clary Lake’s suitability for recreation, navigation and as a habitant for fish and other water dependent species. While the dam has been described by the owner as “breached”, it is in fact just damaged and reparable.

The Town is asking that your office actively use all means at its disposal to resolve
pending issues in order to restore Clary Lake water level to that which existed prior to 2011. In particular, your assistance in the expediting the current mediation process and enforcing any violations of the DEP’s water level order that may be found to exist would be appropriate and appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Sincerely,

Aaron Miller
Administrative Assistant to the Select Board
Town of Whitefield
cc: Service List

“Damaged and reparable.” Nice they got that bit in there.

The Selectmen voted to send a letter last week at their regularly scheduled Select Board meeting. That meeting was covered by the Lincoln County News (see: Whitefield Selectmen to write State officials about Clary Lake). I greatly appreciate the Whitefield Selectmen taking this assertive step.

Here’s a link to the actual document:

16 August 2014: Algae bloom not getting any better

IMG_20140816_090956The algae bloom that appeared a few weeks ago (see 01 August 2014: Yet another algae bloom in progress) hasn’t gotten any worse, but it certainly hasn’t gotten any better either. Today’s secchi disk reading of 2.00 meters (6.56′) shows that the water transparency has only marginally improved from 2 weeks ago when it was 1.82 meters (5.97′). The green scum you’re seeing around the edges of the lake are the dead and decaying carcasses of the cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that are responsible for the bloom. I took the picture at left this morning. Not very appealing.

It remains to be seen whether lake transparency slowly begins to improve or deteriorates further. I suspect, given the time of year and the low water conditions that we’re likely to see the bloom get worse as fall approaches. Both the Volunteer Lake Monitor Program folks and the Department of Environmental Protection are aware of the situation though it certainly wouldn’t hurt for a few more people to contact the DEP’s Division of Environmental Assessment and let them know what is happening. Here’s a link to their web page with instructions on how to report an algal bloom:

13 August 2014 Lincoln County News: Whitefield Selectmen to write State Officials About Clary Lake

George Fergusson, left, of the Clary Lake Association and Tom Hayes, Whitefield’s assessors’ agent speak to the Whitefield Board of Selectmen Aug. 12. (Kathy Onorato photo)

At their regularly scheduled meeting last Tuesday night, Whitefield Selectmen voted to write a letter to State officials expressing concern over Paul Kelley’s obstinate refusal to implement the Clary Lake water level order, according to an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by Kathy Onorato. In a brief telephone interview on Wednesday, Kelley complained about not having been notified that his company, Pleasant Pond Mill LLC, was going to be discussed at the meeting. For the record, I was at that meeting and the name “Pleasant Pond Mill LLC” was not mentioned once that I can recall though Mr. Kelley’s name was used numerous times. Also for the record, the Selectmen’s agenda was published on the Town’s facebook page on Monday. Apparently Mr. Kelley is not following that page:

Continue reading →

08 August 2014: New Website Permalinks

Some of you might have noticed a change to the link structure in use on our website. The original “?page_id=266” and “?p=2243” links have been replaced with a human readable “post-name.” For the most part this will be transparent and not require any thought or action on your part. If you have links you’ve saved in your browser for favorite pages, they’ll still work, you’ll just be automagically redirected to the new link. For example, if you point your browser at:

https://clarylake.org/?page_id=266″

you’ll be redirected to:

https://clarylake.org/current-water-level-charts/

One of the reason for this change is to make the links more human-readable, the other is to take advantage of page caching which should help with site performance. I’ve done a fair amount of testing and I don’t think anything is broken but if you find something that isn’t working, please let me know. Thanks.

03 August 2014: Yet Another Successful Annual Association Meeting

We had a good meeting of the Clary Lake Association yesterday, reasonably well attended though I had expected a somewhat larger turnout given how much we promoted the meeting. I remain somewhat chagrined that so many Clary Lake shore owners either aren’t interested in joining the Association or just can’t be bothered. I’m also surprised that some folks actually show up for the meetings, but are still unwilling to join! What’s up with that? The Clary Lake Association is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing the natural beauty, and quality of Clary Lake and its watershed. Everyone who owns land on Clary Lake should be a member, without exception.

The membership unanimously voted to adopt the Proposed Revised Bylaws. After the work the Bylaws committee put in on them over the past year, it would have been disheartening to say the least if they had been rejected! Furthermore, we got some good feed back from the membership to guide the Bylaws committee in revising the Membership and Voting Rights language to be voted on at next year’s meeting. I’ll finalize the newly adopted bylaws and post them on the website as soon as I get a round tuit. Continue reading →

01 August 2014: So much for repairing the dam!

IMG_20140801_123916According to the Clary Lake water level order today is the day that Paul Kelley was supposed to have completed repairs to the dam and installed a publicly-visible water level gauge. As you can see from these pictures taken just a little while ago, he hasn’t even bothered to cut the tree down that is growing out of the dam let alone actually effect any repairs to the dam. Of course, I’m not surprised since Kelley has yet to do ANYTHING substantive to comply with any requirement of the water level order. Here is the specific section of the Order that relates to today’s deadline:

6. A permanently mounted lake level gauge shall be installed on the Clary Lake Dam by the owner of the dam. The gauge must be marked in tenths of a foot and placed in a publicly visible area on the upstream face of the dam near its outlet. The gauge shall be placed such that the normal high water line, as determined by the procedures outlined in Condition #3, corresponds to an elevation of 0.0 on the gauge. This measurement will be used as a benchmark for observing water level changes and may be used for measuring the height at which the dam gate must be opened above its invert. Provided that the normal high Water line has been established in accordance with Condition #3, the gauge must be installed immediately following completion of the dam repairs as described in Condition #2 or by no later than August l, 2014, whichever comes first.

IMG_20140801_124030Sounds pretty clear to me, but then what do I know? I haven’t heard anything about mediation that is supposed to have started last Tuesday, July 29th. As soon as I find out anything, I’ll post it here.

23 July 2014: Kelley responds to DEP June 19th Communication

Special Condition #4 of the Clary Lake water level order is a requirement that the dam owner have a Professional Land Surveyor establish the historical normal high water level of Clary Lake and transfer that elevation to the dam. The Order required that the dam owner submit this survey to the Department by June 2nd. Paul Kelley did in deed submit something on that date and not surprisingly, it failed to meet the requirements of the Order. On June 19 the Department responded with a letter detailing the shortcomings of his submission. The letter gave him 30 days, until July 21st, to correct the deficiencies in his submission and resubmit the plan. That was a couple of days ago. I got a copy yesterday afternoon and it is sadly but not surprisingly, more of the same old, same old:

Continue reading →

22 July 2014: Enos Property on Clary Lake for sale

Imagine my surprise to find Arthur Enos has put his property up for sale:

$875,000.00 Request More Info
Current
Single Family
5 Br    0 Ba    ±4,000 sqft.
±17.000 Acr.
Clary Lake
MLS#: 1146688
 
Enos Lane is a beautiful year round residence located in Jefferson on Clary Lake. With approximately 17 acres of woods and views of the water, the property offers a secluded, landscaped setting at the end of a private drive with 700 feet of waterfront.

14 July 2014: Anyone missing their dingy?

Your dingy?

This little dingy drifted up to the northwest end of the lake the other day and beached itself on Eleanor Goldberg’s property. She pulled it up on shore. If it’s your boat, come get it or if you know who it belongs to, let them know. Thanks!

Well that didn’t take long. Mystery resolved. It belongs to Rick Gallion 🙂

11 July 2014 Kennebec Journal: Clary Lake dam owner and state still at odds

There was an article in yesterday’s Kennebec Journal by staff writer Paul Koenig providing a welcome update on the current circumstances surrounding the Clary Lake water level order. It is nice to see the KJ keeping this issue before the public, rather than letting it fade into obscurity. Paul Kelley was quoted as saying that mediation is to start at the end of this month and that the process is likely to extend into August: “My hope is that all the parties see that the best solution is no longer to fight this but to try to see if there is some constructive solution.” Nonetheless, the spokeswoman for the department said the DEP still expects the dam owner to begin maintaining the higher water levels by Oct. 1. Here’s a link to the article:

If anyone has trouble getting the article off the newspaper site, I’ve saved a local copy:

I was briefly interviewed by phone but I didn’t have a lot to say. The article does not mention whether the spokesperson for the Clary Lake Petitioners and/or the Clary Lake Association (as intervenors in the petition) will be asked to participate in the mediation. While I was quoted as saying that I don’t expect anything to come from mediation, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be willing to join in the process.

FYI, the next deadline for Paul July 27th when he has to resubmit his Water Level Survey (which was also deemed “unsatisfactory”) and then by August 1st he is supposed to have completed repairs to the dam, and installed a water level gauge.

The article also mentions the Branch Pond water level order and the recent letter from the Coombs. It remains to be seen how or if the Department chooses to respond to their “declaration.”

02 July 2014: Kelley’s Water Level Management Plan Disappoints

Paul Kelley responded today to DEP’s June 2nd letter clarifying the requirements of Special Condition #5 of the water level order and giving him till today to submit a revised Water Level Management Plan (see 03 June 2014: DEP responds to Paul Kelley’s Water Level Management Plan). Instead of a revised plan, Kelley responded with 4 separate documents: a letter to Beth Callahan, an email exchange he had with Beth Callahan back in March of this year, a copy of an email from DEP staff person Erle Townsend dated September 20, 2011, and a page of historical rainfall data from the NOAA website.

In short, more of the same. The email from Erle Townsend is the same as Kelley’s “Exhibit L” entered into the record during his testimony at the public hearing back in August 2012. We’ve seen it before. DEP has seen it before. Kelley seems to think it is relevant to the situation. It isn’t. Continue reading →

23 June 2014: DEP Responds to Paul Kelley’s Water Level Survey

“Unacceptable at this time” is how the Department of Environmental Protection has characterized Paul Kelley’s Water Level Survey that he submitted to the Department in response to Special Condition #4 of the Clary Lake Water Level Order. If you’re having a sense of deja vu all over again it’s because this this is the exact same phrase the Department used to describe his Water Level Management Plan in a letter sent to him back on June 2nd (see the news article here). Mr. Kelley certainly isn’t scoring very high marks with the Department over his attempts to comply with the Water Level Order… it’s almost like he isn’t even trying:

Special Condition #4, Clary Lake Survey, DEFICIENCY

The letter gives Mr. Kelley until July 21st to submit a survey along with a Condition Compliance Application and a $146 application fee. Mr. Kelley is not considered in violation of the Order at this time, but don’t worry: that will change soon enough.

Continue reading →

06 June 2014: DEP issues FINAL Branch Pond Water Level Order

The Department of Environmental Protection has issued the FINAL Branch Pond Water Level Order, effective today June 6, 2014. The Branch Pond water level petition was filed on December 9, 2008 but was put on hold by the Department for 3 years to give the dam owners time to effect repairs to the dam. Repairs to the dam were not made however, and processing of the petition resumed in December 2011. I have been following the proceedings since the summer of 2012, and I attended their Public Hearing in August 2013 and we’ve been hosting a few pages for the Branch Pond Association on our site for some time now. It is interesting to note that this Order was signed by Commissioner Patricia Aho herself:

branch_pondBranch Pond is a beautiful little pond located in the towns of China and Palermo, at the headwaters of the Western Branch of the Sheepscot River. It is well worth a visit. It’s smaller than Clary Lake but it has numerous islands and large relatively shallow water areas. I’ve been up there a couple of times and but I Branch Pond, Midas #5754haven’t been out on the pond. Yet. I plan to head up there with my kayak later this summer. With my fishing pole. Check out these photographs of Branch Pond. Those showing the impact of low water were part of the Branch Pond Water Level Petition.