Denmark Select Board finds Poland Spring permit application complete, schedules Aug. 11 public hearing

The Denmark Select Board voted July 14 to accept Poland Spring’s 2026 water-extraction permit renewal application as complete and scheduled a public hearing to begin Aug. 11 at 6:00 p.m.

Chair said the company submitted supplemental materials and the town’s technical agent, Rick, reviewed those materials in a July 12 memo and found the previously outstanding items to be complete. “The permit renewal is complete,” the Chair said when the motion to accept the application’s completeness was seconded and approved by voice vote.

Under the timetable described by the board, the town has 45 days to schedule the public hearing; the Select Board chose its regular Aug. 11 meeting as the start of that hearing. The chair said registration for speakers will open at 5:45 p.m. and the hearing will begin at 6:00 p.m. Parties with an interest will be allotted up to 10 minutes to present (opponents will present first if they wish), and members of the public will generally be allowed up to 10 minutes each for comments and questions. Written questions and comments submitted ahead of the hearing will be addressed after all registered speakers have presented, the chair said.

The chair and staff said the town will post Rick’s July 12 memo and the supplemental application materials on the town website so the public can review the documents before the hearing. Staff confirmed the memo and related materials will be uploaded to the town’s public records section.

The Select Board emphasized that the Aug. 11 session will be treated as a public hearing that may extend to subsequent weekly meetings (Aug. 18, Aug. 25, etc.) if necessary to allow all interested parties to speak or if technical issues require additional time. The board did not make a final permit decision at the July 14 meeting; the hearing will collect testimony for the board’s review and any future deliberations or decisions.