Public Meeting at Maine Maritime Academy’s training facility in Bucksport on Thursday, November 14 at 5:00pm (details)
Background
As you may be aware, Toddy Pond is what it is because of a dam in Orland that maintains the water level. This dam, originally associated with the paper mill in Bucksport, is now the subject of a petition by Bucksport Mill LLC has petitioned the DEP for permission to abandon the dam. Two other dams (creating Alamoosook Lake and Silver Lake) are also proposed to be abandoned.
In the event a new owner (prepared to maintain the dam(s) going forward) is not identified, Maine DEP’s preferred action is apparently to order release of the water held by the dam, which would all but drain the three water bodies.
The four towns with properties abutting Toddy Pond are working together with the Toddy Pond Association to coordinate a response to the Bucksport Mill petition with the goal being to keep the dam in place and maintain Toddy Pond’s water level. (Bucksport is also a part of this group, due to their interest in Silver Lake and contractual interest in the other dams.) In connection with that effort, the four towns have agreed to solicit and accept donations to fund legal advice focused on the towns’ interests in maintaining Toddy Pond.
Resources
For those who are interested, the Toddy Pond Association (working with the Alamoosook Lake Association and the towns) has prepared a wide variety of resources–the petition and exhibits, a GIS-based map of how much the Toddy Pond water body would shrink if the dam were removed, information packets, and more. Here are a few current resources:
- Donation request and fact sheet (as distributed on Election Day)
- A “joint statement” describing the current state of affairs
If you’d like to be kept up to date on the Toddy Pond developments, please email the Toddy Pond Association at toddymail@toddypond.org.