If the town decides
to keep and maintain the dam:
Existing NOAA and TNC funding
would be redirected to other projects.
The Town would have to
proceed, working independently, with discussions and costs regarding stability
of bridges (with the Department of Transportation); alewife harvesting and fish
passage improvements (with Maine Department of Marine Resources); protection of
species listed under the Endangered Species Act (with NOAA); and saltwater in
the impoundment (with the Fire Department).
If a flood or storm surge
were to damage or blow out the dam and/or fishway, the town would be
responsible for remediation of any damage.
If the town elects
to move forward with further evaluating dam removal:
It would be 3-4 years before the dam actually came out. According to Matthew Bernier of NOAA, “This is a big,
complicated project that we couldn't fast track even if we wanted to. As the
owner of the dam, the town is always in control of the schedule since they have
to sign off on any permit applications.” Dam removal would depend on a number
of required activities, including:
- Additional sediment sampling (coring) for mercury upstream of the dam.
- "Phase 1" archaeology and historical assessments.
- The design, permitting and construction of alternative water supplies for fire fighting.
- Redesign of alewife harvesting facility.
- The evaluation, design, permitting and construction of bridge protection measures in conjunction with the Maine DOT.
- Baseline monitoring of sediment, vegetation, water quality, fish and wildlife, contaminants (1-3 years) throughout the Orland-Narramissic River system.
- The design and permitting of dam removal and site reconstruction.
NOAA
has provided money to The Nature Conservancy to move forward with these studies
and design tasks, and is lining up funding for construction and monitoring
activities.
