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Surry chair: Four Town Dam committee files bill to create quasi‑municipal dam authority
Summary
The Select Board chair reported the Four Town Dam Committee submitted legislation to state representatives seeking authorization to form a quasi‑municipal entity that could assume dam ownership and levy assessments; the committee has requested extensive records from Bucksport Mill LLC and said Maine DEP staff are supportive.
The Select Board chair opened the March 5 meeting by saying the Four Town Dam Committee submitted legislation to Representatives Nina Milliken and Steve Bishop that would allow the towns to form a quasi‑municipal entity to take ownership of the dam and, if necessary, levy assessments on property owners.
The chair said the committee met with Melanie Loyzim, commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and that DEP staff were supportive of the committee's approach. The chair described the legislation as intended to give the new entity the authority to assume ownership and the financial tools to pay for repair or removal if required.
The committee has asked Bucksport Mill LLC for records of expenditures and maintenance since November; the chair said the company supplied a roughly 990‑page packet and the committee is extracting relevant documents. The board did not vote on any action to compel further disclosure at the March 5 meeting.
Why it matters: the liability, ownership and payment responsibilities for aging dams are central to who pays for repairs or removal. Creating a quasi‑municipal entity would change the governance and financing options available to the towns that rely on or are affected by the dam.
Board members did not set a timetable for next steps during the meeting; the chair said the bill was being sent to committee for markup and that the committee hopes it will be on the calendar in the next legislative session. There was no public comment recorded on the measure during the meeting.
The meeting moved on to routine agenda items after the chair's update; any future Select Board action on the petition, or further records the committee receives from Bucksport Mill LLC, would provide the basis for subsequent votes or town decisions.
