Category Archives: Petition News

News about the Clary Lake water level petition

22 October 2015 Lincoln County News: DEP Issues Notice of Violation of Clary Lake Water Level Order

[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. Continue reading →

18 October 2015 Kennebec Journal: DEP issues violation notice on Clary Lake water level

[dropcap]There[/dropcap] is an article in today’s Kennebec Journal (and Morning Sentinel) by Central Maine Papers staff writer Jessica Lowell about the Notice of Violation issued by the Department of Environmental Protection on September 28th (see: DEP takes enforcement action, issues a Notice of Violation). The article is factually accurate and lists the specific violations in the NOV, namely:

failing to meet the 2014 water level order;
failing to submit a surveyed plan showing the normal high-water mark of Clary Lake;
failing to obtain DEP approval for a final water level management plan;
failing to install a lake gauge and file a report detailing the inspection results of its installation;
and failing to allow the lake to rise gradually between ice-out in 2015 until Aug. 1;

The article also states that Attorneys for Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) contend that among other issues, complying with the notice of violation is impossible because it sets deadlines that cannot be met, noting that PPM has only 15 days to comply with the minimum flow provisions of the water level order and to “undertake all other steps necessary to prevent further dewatering of the lake and begin raising the level of the lake in compliance with the (water level order).

DEP issues violation notice on Clary Lake water level

I’ll post a link to an archived copy shortly.

13 October 2015: DEP takes enforcement action, issues a Notice of Violation

At long last, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection has taken decisive action by issuing a Notice of Violation (EIS #2015-006-L) to Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM, as the record owner of the Clary Lake dam), Paul A. Kelley, Jr., as former manager and sole member of PPM, Aquafortis Associates, LLC (AQF, as an entity asserting flowage rights), and Richard L. Smith, as manager and sole member of AQF. The Notice of Violation (NOV), issued on September 28, 2015, alleges that each day since at least October 1, 2014 constitutes a violation of the Water Level Order (WLO) and a separate offense. In addition to the NOV, the Department “retains its right to enforce its water level order by any other appropriate remedy, including, but not limited to, entering the dam premises to carry out the terms of the water level order.” Continue reading →

29 September 2015: Clary Lake Association sends letter of appreciation to Whitefield Select Board

CLA President and meeting moderator Malcolm Burson sits between State Representative Deb Sanderson and State Senator Christopher Johnson near the end of the August 26th meeting of Clary Lake shore owners and town of Whitefield representatives. Photograph by George Fergusson 26 August 2015

Clary Lake Association President Malcolm Burson, on behalf of the entire Association membership, has sent a short but sweet letter to the Whitefield Select Board thanking them for their recent letter to the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection. The Select Board’s letter did more than just voice support for the letter jointly written by Representative Deb Sanderson and Senator Christopher Johnson, they went on to describe in no uncertain terms the reasons for their concerns over the Clary Lake water level crisis, their dissatisfaction with the State’s failure to take enforcement action, and their hope that the State do everything they can to speed the process along. The Town of Whitefield Select Board which has always been supportive of the Clary Lake Association has now added their voice to the growing chorus of voices calling for a rapid resolution to this crisis:

CLA President’s Letter to Whitefield Board 09-28-2015

The Town of Jefferson has every bit as much at stake as Whitefield, and more, and we’re sincerely hoping their Select Board will take similar action soon.

15 September 2015: Two Maine lawmakers say DEP has failed to protect Clary Lake

Paul Kelley standing in front of the Clary Lake dam. Photograph by George Fergusson, 8 August 2007

There is an article in today’s Central Maine Papers (Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel) by staff writer Paul Koenig about the letter written by Representative Sanderson and Senator Johnson last week (see: Representative Sanderson, Senator Johnson send letter to DEP). The article suggests the DEP has failed to protect Clary Lake by not taking enforcement action on the water level order issued by the Department over a year and a half ago, in late January 2014. The article acknowledges why DEP has not taken enforcement action, but that their failure to do anything nonetheless is “clearly in violation” of their legislative mandate to protect and prevent diminution of the state’s natural environment. Because the Water Level Order (WLO) is under appeal in Superior Court, if the DEP were to attempt traditional enforcement action, lawyers for the dam owner would likely request a stay of the Order from the court, and they would probably get one, because that’s how these things roll. However, the article points out that in light of the severe ongoing impact low water is having on Clary Lake shore owners and the sensitive lake environment, they are entitled to equitable relief in the form of a high water level while the court case plays out. Equitable relief as I understand it is a judgment that the Court would issue in lieu of the Department taking actual enforcement action. Actions by the DEP such as entering the property to physically implement the terms of the order are provided for in the statute.

Two Maine lawmakers say DEP has failed to protect Clary Lake

The article quotes Paul Kelley, owner of the company that owns the Clary Lake dam as saying that one of the reasons why he can’t raise the water level of Clary Lake is because doing so “would expose Pleasant Pond Mill LLC to potential lawsuits from upstream and the owner of the mill property below the dam.” I’ve always dismissed Kelley’s concerns over being sued by Aquafortis Associates LLC because, really, who believe his partner, Richard Smith, is going to sue him for high water damage? Continue reading →

14 September 2015: Attorneys for PPM & AQF file reply in support of their motion to amend [UPDATED]

Late last Friday afternoon attorneys for Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) filed their final brief in support of their motion to amend their petition for review of final agency action (the water level order appeal), and a sur-reply to the State’s motion to dismiss. The reply was expected; the sur-reply was not, at least not by me. For anyone trying to follow what is going on in these proceedings, things sure have gotten confusing. Among other provocative claims, this latest filing challenges the State’s position that PPM no longer exists, instead claiming that PPM is an “existing legal entity in Good Standing.” The filing ended with a request for a hearing at the Court’s discretion to respond to any questions that the Court may have regarding the pending motions:

9-11-2015 Petitioners’ Reply in support of their motion to amend and sur-reply to DEP motion to dismiss [UPDATED LINK]

Don’t know what a sur-reply is? Neither did I. From the USLegal.com website:

Sur-reply is an additional reply to a motion filed after the motion has already been fully briefed. For example, a legal document such as a motion is filed by one party (filing party) requesting the court to enter an order. The other party (responding party) responds to the motion. The filing party then replies to the responding party’s response. Some courts allow the responding party to file a sur-reply to the filing party’s reply to the responding party’s response.

I was under the impression that once a motion has been fully briefed, that respondents have to ask a judge for permission to make an additional filing. I guess it remains to be seen if Lincoln County Superior Court is one of those courts that allow responding parties to file a sur-reply.

11 September 2015: Representative Sanderson, Senator Johnson send letter to DEP

State Representative Deb Sanderson contemplating the Clary Lake dam during a site visit on August 10th. Photograph by George Fergusson 10 August 2015

As they promised at the town hall meeting held back on August 27th, Representative Deb Sanderson (R) and Senator Christopher Johnson (D), in an outstanding show of bi-partisan cooperation, have jointly drafted a letter which was sent earlier this week to the Department of Environmental Protection’s current Acting Commissioner, Avery Day. The letter, which included an 11 page attachment of captioned photographs and water level charts illustrating the low water conditions around Clary Lake, was also sent to Deputy DEP Commissioner Heather Parent, Attorney General Janet T. Mills, Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak, IF&W Commissioner Chandler Woodcock, and the Lincoln County Commissioners.

Representative Sanderson asked that the letter and attachments be embargoed and not be released to the general public until today. Later this morning I’ll be emailing digital copies of the letter and attachments to the towns of Whitefield and Jefferson, the Lincoln County News, the Kennebec Journal, and a number of other interested parties. They’re also being posted here.

I think the letter is outstanding and I have no doubt that being jointly written and signed by a Republican Representative and a Democratic Senator, this letter will raise eyebrows in Augusta and will be taken very seriously. Such bi-partisan cooperation by two legislators who normally don’t see eye to eye on much of anything is truly heartening, and I applaud them both for their willingness to put aside their ideological differences and come together on this most pressing matter. On behalf of the Clary Lake Association and the People of the State of Maine, I wish to sincerely thank Representative Sanderson and Senator Johnson for their help, regardless of the outcome of this effort.

The letter concludes with a request for “equitable relief” as opposed to enforcement action. Equitable relief is a legal term referring to a court-granted remedy and is not the same thing as enforcement.

At the town hall meeting, Sanderson and Johnson also offered to meet with Paul Kelley to discuss a possible resolution of the Clary Lake water level crisis. I understand that they planned to meet earlier this week, but I don’t know what, if anything, came of that meeting.

03 September 2015: DEP files their response to petitioner’s opposition to dismiss and motion to amend

On August 21st attorneys for Pleasant Pond Mill LLC and Aquafortis Associates LLC (“Petitioners”) filed their opposition to the State’s July 6th motion to dismiss, and another motion to amend the original 80C petition (see PPM/AQF file opposition to State’s motion, amend original petition). The DEP had 2 weeks to respond. Today, one day early, lawyers with the Attorney General’s Office fired back, filing their reply to Petitioner’s objections to their motion to dismiss and in a separate filing, their opposition to Petitioner’s motion to amend the original appeal. The State’s filing includes considerable supporting documentation including documents obtained from the Secretary of State’s Interactive Corporate Services website, a letter dated January 16, 2015 from Assistant Attorney General Thom Harnett to Paul Kelley accompanying a DRAFT Notice of Violation (NOV) prepared by DEP, another letter dated March 3, 2015 from AAG Harnett to Paul Kelley regarding his Petition for release from dam ownership or water level maintenance, and some relevant case law.

The State maintains that PPM must be dismissed from the 80C action, that PPM was cancelled on March 26, 2015 and has never been (nor can be) revived for purposes of maintaining this action. According to state law, once an LLC is in dissolution it cannot file suit or maintain an action in court, and once an LLC is canceled, it cannot be revived except under certain special circumstances and then only for a specific purpose, and for a specific period of time. The State maintains that the steps Paul Kelley took to revive his company are not allowed by law and were therefore ineffective. The State also opposes Petitioner’s motion to amend the original 80C action for the same reasons: PPM doesn’t exist can’t engage in litigation.

If the judge in the case agrees with the DEP that PPM no longer exists and cannot maintain an action in court (and the evidence that this is so appears overwhelming), then PPM will be removed from the proceedings and the case will continue with only Aquafortis Associates LLC pursuing the appeal. This would be interesting since Aquafortis does not own the dam, which is the subject of the Clary Lake water level order.

02 September 2015: Legislators Enter Clary Lake Water Level Order Fray

There is an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by staff writer Abigail Adams about the town hall meeting of lake shore owners, Whitefield town officials, and community members that was held last week, on Wednesday, the 26th of August. The meeting, originally conceived and organized by the Clary Lake Association, was held at the Whitefield Fire & Rescue building and was attended by over 60 people. The Kennebec Journal published an article in anticipation of the meeting (see: “Legislator to hear Clary Lake water level concerns at Whitefield meeting“) and I wrote about the meeting the next day (see: “Wednesday night meeting to air grievances about Clary Lake well attended“).

Legislators Enter Clary Lake Water Level Order Fray

The primary purpose of the meeting was to provide Representative Sanderson and Senator Johnson with an opportunity to hear Clary Lake shore owner concerns and grievances. They will then jointly draft a letter to the DEP requesting equitable relief for Clary Lake shore owners (I’ll post a copy of that letter here when it becomes available). According to the article, Sanderson and Johnson also plan to meet with the dam owner to “hear Kelley’s concerns and hopefully negotiate a resolution.“

Representatives of the Clary Lake Association will be separately meeting with Jefferson and Whitefield Select Board members in the next few weeks to encourage them to play a more active role in supporting the State in their defense of the Clary Lake water level order.

24 August 2015: PPM/AQF file opposition to State’s motion, amend original petition

Last Friday, attorneys representing Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) made two filings in Lincoln County Superior Court. The first was an expected objection to the State’s July 6th Motion to Dismiss. The second filing was a motion to amend the original Rule 80C petition (aka the water level order appeal) which was initially filed back in February 2014. The State’s response to the Petitioner’s objections to the motion to dismiss is due September 4th. Presumably then the judge will then rule on the State’s motion to dismiss as well as the petitioner’s motion to amend the original petition.

The motion to amend the original 80C petition was apparently intended to correct or address certain deficiencies in the original filing that had been highlighted in the State’s motion to dismiss. I had wondered if PPM was going to try to join their recently dismissed appeal of Agency action with the water level order appeal but apparently not as there is nothing in the amended motion about it.

In other developments this month, according to a document filed on the State’s Interactive Corporate Services web site date August 14th, PPM has been reinstated as a LLC in good standing. This move was expected: in a 2014 Maine Supreme Court case, the Law Court determined that State law prevents an LLC in administrative dissolution from filing suit in court, they can only defend themselves in court.

12 August 2015: Kelley’s recent appeal dismissed from Lincoln County Superior Court

Picture of Paul Kelley taken at the 15 October 2013 Lake Shore Owner meeting. Lincoln County News photo

At the Clary Lake Association Annual Meeting back on August 1st I provided an update on the Clary Lake water level order and where things stand (see post: “2015 Clary Lake Association annual meeting a great success). During that discussion I described a July 24th filing in Lincoln County Superior Court by dam owner Paul Kelley which I had only learned about the day before. The filing consisted of an appeal of a recent DEP decision to dismiss his petition for release from dam ownership, and a request for mediation. At that time I suggested that the appeal might be dismissed because Mr. Kelley filed it himself without the benefit of counsel. As it turned out, at a conference held on August 4th, Lincoln County Superior Court Judge Daniel Billings did dismiss the appeal stating “Because the filing in this matter was made on behalf of an LLC by a non-attorney, this matter is DISMISSED without prejudice.” One would have thought Mr. Kelley would have known that a lawyer is required when a Limited Liability Company (LLC) is involved in litigation in Superior Court. He certainly does now. Continue reading →

31 July 2015: Another Lake shore owner complains to DEP

Jane Roy sent an impassioned email to Beth Callahan of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection the other day, and received a response from Ms. Callahan earlier today. Jane promptly posted both emails on the Clary Lake Association’s Facebook page but I thought they were worth re-posting here.

Jane Roy is a daughter of Stanley Whittier, a long time Clary Lake Association member who built his place on the lake way back in 1958. The Whittier property is located on the north shore of Clary Lake at the end of the Duncan Road in an area of the lake which as we know has been badly impacted by both low water and pond weed growth (see post “Duncan Road lake shore owners severely impacted by low water” and “Lake shore owners concerned about invasive aquatic plants“). I tied up at the Whittier’s dock the other day (in about 12” of water!) and spent a while talking with Stanley and his daughter Gail about the upcoming annual meeting, the low water conditions, the status of 80c proceeding in Lincoln County Superior Court, and various initiatives currently underway by the Clary Lake Association.

Before posting Jane’s email and Ms. Callahan’s response, I thought I’d comment briefly on this matter. First, I think Jane’s email was thoughtful and considerate and absolutely appropriate. Second, I felt Ms. Callahan’s response was honest and sincere, but understandably restrained: DEP staff has to be very careful what they say regarding an ongoing 80c proceeding. I’ll be somewhat less restrained and say that it is clear to me that both the Maine DEP and the Attorney General are actively engaged and aggressively pursuing a resolution of this matter in court and I am confident that we will ultimately prevail. So take heart people: it is only a question of when, not if, DEP will initiate aggressive enforcement action against the dam owner. Also, the Clary Lake Association is well aware of the fact that other parties besides DEP can take enforcement action. This and other initiatives will be discussed at tomorrow’s annual meeting.

Here are the emails:

From: Roy, Jane [mailto:Jane-Roy@idexx.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2015 4:01 PM
To: Callahan, Beth
Subject: Clary Lake – Please Help Us?

Hi Beth,

I just left you a voice mail at your 446-1586 number.

Please call me and help me understand why nothing has been done to
enforce the Lake Level order. Our Lake is all but gone now.

I cry each time I go to the Lake and watch it disappearing. We all are.
I can’t sit back anymore and simply hope that George Ferguson and
the facts of this case will stand on their own merit. Another Summer
has come a gone with additional losses of acreage each year. In 2012
I sold my Sea Doo and bought a kayak because of this mess. I ran aground
in my kayak in the middle of the lake this year. Is this ok? I think not. Continue reading →

08 July 2015: State files motion to dismiss with Lincoln County Superior Court

On Monday 06 July 2015 lawyers with the Maine office of the Attorney General on behalf of Maine DEP filed a motion to dismiss All of the Independent claims in the petition and All Claims raised by Petitioner Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM). This leaves claims raised by Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) as the only claims the State feels are worthy of the court’s time (i.e., counts I-V of the original appeal dated February 26, 2014). This motion to dismiss was made in response to the Court’s Procedural Order dated 02 June 2015 which gave the State 5 weeks to file their motion. The deadline to file was July 7th. The plaintiffs have 5 weeks to respond to the State’s motion.

While not a routine procedure, it is still relatively common for a respondent (in this case the State, representing DEP) to file a motion to dismiss part or all of a petition they feel is irrelevant, frivolous or outside the jurisdiction of the court and not worthy of appeal, especially when the plaintiff (in this case, PPM and AQF) has filed a petition that includes Heaven and Earth, including the kitchen sink. So that’s what this filing by the State is intended to do: get rid of the counts they feel are irrelevant and frivolous so the Court doesn’t waste its time on matters that aren’t relevant to the case.

Continue reading →

19 June 2015: New Legislation to affect people considering a water level petition

DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho testifying before the Environment and Natural Resource committee. I was there for a work session on LD 1244, “An Act To Amend Environmental Permitting Standards”; the Commissioner was actually testifying on a different bill at the time, she did not comment on LD 1244. Photograph by George Fergusson, 29 April 2015

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection introduced proposed legislation this past spring entitled “An Act To Amend Environmental Permitting Standards.” The proposed legislation, designated LD 1244 and sponsored by Republican Senator Thomas Saviello, was turned over to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) of which he is co-Chair, on Apr 7, 2015. The main thrust of the legislation had to do with changes to the application and permitting process for wind power and micro hydro projects, but sections 10 and 11, tacked onto the end of the bill, were proposed changes to Title 38 MRSA §840 otherwise known as the Water Level Law. This is the law that governs the water level petition process including a requirement for an adjudicatory hearing. This Maine Legislature Information Page has links to everything pertaining to LD 1244.

I first became aware of the bill on April 24th, a few weeks after it was introduced, and I developed an immediate interest. I didn’t initially feel the need to bring it up on this site because the proposed changes to the law would not affect the Clary Lake water level order, which is already issued, though not yet enforced. However I believed the changes would have a profound impact on other parties contemplating their own water level petitions and so decided to take a stand on the issue. Though I missed the initial work group session where the ENR Committee solicited public testimony, I did attend a subsequent work group session, submitted written comments on behalf of the Clary Lake Association, and was given a brief opportunity to speak on the bill despite the time for public testimony having already passed. I am grateful to both chairs of the committee, Senator Saviello and Representative Welsh, for this opportunity. I believe the Committee heard what I had to say.

The changes requested by the Department included requiring mandatory mediation before any member of the public could file a petition, which I actually thought was a fine idea, but I felt the language was way too loose and needed to be tightened up. In addition, the Department wanted to raise the application fee to cover the actual costs of conducting an adjudicatory hearing. The original language of Section 11 as initially proposed is as follows: Continue reading →

10 June 2015: Lincoln County News: Clary Lake Mediation Ends Without Resolution

Abigail Adams photo (click the image for the article)

There is an article about the end of mediation of the Clary Lake water level order in this week’s Lincoln County News. The article, by reporter Abigail Adams, is factual and accurate but I thought it put too much emphasis on the confusion surrounding the dissolution of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and what effect, that will have on the Department of Environmental Protection’s enforcement of the water level order. As I understand it, despite various people speculating to the contrary, there is no reason to believe that PPM’s dissolution will have any impact at all on DEP’s ability to enforce the Order. Anthony Buxton, the PretiFlaherty attorney representing Kelley and Smith readily admits that State law allows PPM even after dissolution to serve as a petitioner in the appeal of the Department order but goes on to say that DEP’s attempting to force a dissolved company to comply with the water level order is a “metaphysical impossibility.” Time will tell. Here’s a link to the article:

Lincoln County News: Clary Lake Mediation Ends Without Resolution

Continue reading →

26 May 2015: KJ: Mediation over Clary Lake water level ends without resolution

There is an article by Paul Koenig in today’s Central Maine Papers (Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel) reporting on the ending of mediation of the Clary Lake water level order appeal. The article also mentions in passing the recent dismissal by the DEP of PPM’s Petition for release of dam ownership or water level maintenance. The article offers no new information beyond what we have already reported here in two separate postings (see dismissal of the petition for release and the termination of mediation).

Here’s a link to the article. Because of Centralmaine.com’s subscription policy, free access to articles is limited to 10 per month. In case anyone is unable to access the the article at the above link, here’s a local PDF copy:

Mediation over Clary Lake water level ends without resolution

Continue reading →

18 May 2015: DEP Dismisses PPM’s Petition for Release from Dam Ownership

Last week, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection dismissed and returned to Paul Kelley and Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) its pending Petition for Release from Dam Ownership or Water Level Maintenance. The May 13, 2015 letter from Kathy Howatt, Hydropower Coordinator to Mr. Paul A. Kelley Jr. cited numerous reasons for its decision including a statement made by Mr. Kelley in an email sent to mediator John Sheldon on March 26, 2015 that PPM “never in fact owned” the Clary Lake dam, and the fact that Mr. Kelley has dissolved and cancelled PPM as a Maine Corporation (mediation is now officially over, see Mediation Report Filed with Superior Court). The letter further points out that the Department has not made any determination regarding the actual ownership of the dam but they do feel that the petition has either been voluntarily withdrawn through Kelley’s own actions, or no longer complies with statutory and rule requirements to be considered still valid. Here is a copy of the letter which we received earlier today:

DEP Letter Dismissing Petition for Release

Continue reading →

08 May 2015: Mediation Report filed with Superior Court

When Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and AquqaFortis Associates LLC (AQF) appealed the Clary Lake Water Level Order in Lincoln County Superior Court back in February 2014, they requested mediation under the Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Service (CADRES). The request was granted. Butch Duncan and Art Enos also asked to participate in mediation. It now appears that mediation has finally ended and the long-awaited mediation report has been filed with the Lincoln County Superior Court. It is a public document and as such it is being made available here:

Mediation_Report_SA_14-1_08_May_2015

Continue reading →

25 March 2015: Whitefield Selectmen Vote to Waive Foreclosure on Clary Lake Dam

Paul Kelley (left), of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC, and Richard Smith, of Aquafortis Associates LLC, speak about the non-payment of property taxes at the Whitefield selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, March 24. (Abigail Adams photo)

There is an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by reporter Abigail Adams about the Town of Whitefield waiving automatic foreclosures on property belonging to Aquafortis Associates LLC and Pleasant Pond Mill LLC. The article includes a lot of background information with the only obvious error being that it indicates the 2 parcels owned by Aquafortis Associates are “downstream” from the dam whereas in fact, they are on opposite sides of Route 218; the 1 acre vacant lot is actually located on the same side of the road as, and on the south side of, the Clary Lake dam.

Here’s a link to the article on the Lincoln County News site (I will archive a copy of the article in a few days):

Whitefield Selectmen Vote to Waive Foreclosure on Clary Lake Dam

I posted about this story last week; see: 19 March 2015: Whitefield votes to waive automatic foreclosures on PPM, AQF properties.

09 March 2015: Still no solution in battle over water level at Clary Lake

Paul Koenig of the Central Maine Papers (Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel) has written an article that appeared in this past Saturday’s paper. There has been precious little news in recent months about the Clary Lake water level order and the ongoing mediation. Sadly, while it is good and generally accurate reporting, there’s not a lot of new information in the article.

Still no solution in battle over water level at Clary Lake

I’ve archived a local copy should anyone have trouble getting the article off the paper’s site.