No FERC license still - Last January DEP asked SAPPI to withdraw their State water quality certification application for the Eel Weir dam hydro project. SAPPI complied. This has delayed issuance of a FERC license for at least a year. SAPPI must reapply next January. According to DEP, the licensing delay is necessary because a lower river flow model must be developed that reflects the changing condition of the lower river. In 2001 the Smelt Hill Dam was removed coinciding with a substantial reduction in waste discharges from the SAPPI mill in Westbrook. These two changes have improved dissolved oxygen in the lower river. Marina leadership on Sebago Lake has complained that minimum flows from Sebago are too high and this causes lake levels to drop below the lake level management plan(LLMP) . DEP desiring to please the Marinas now wants to reduce minimum outflows to a level where minimum class C river standards can still be met. Class C minimum standard is the dissolved oxygen which can still support life. What does this mean? Sebago Lake’s water level average will increase. The quality of the lower Presumpscot as well as the upper Presumpscot will in drier times be of a poorer quality. This will place an unnecessary stress on the fishery.
FOSL supports a Flow Model- FOSL has mailed a letter to FERC outlining why a Sebago Lake flow model is necessary. The letter is in support of PWD’s flow model request for the Final FERC EA.
Steve Kasprazak also wrote a letter in support of a flow model. A flow model with real time monitoring would provide flood warnings and information for making decision that could help ameliorate a flood. The Patriot’s Day storm was a scary reminder of how poorly this lake is managed for flood prevention. Steve’s letter clearly shows how fast Sebago Lake can rise from a moderate 3 day rain event. A rainfall doubling the Patriot’s day storm could have sent the lake 1 to 2 feet above the dam. A rain which hit Southern Maine a year ago could have sent the lake level at least four to five feet over the dam. Because of the LLMP Sebago Lake is at significantly more risk of severe flooding. These two letters can be read on the internet. Go to FERC elibray, enter p-2984 in the docket box and then adjust the date range from January 1, 2007 to the present.
More Erosion Damage
Erosion damage was severe on many west shore properties. Long Beach and the shorefronts just north of the Northwest River were hit hard by the Patriot’s Day storm,
The damage occurred when levels were one foot below full pond. FOSL has informed FERC and other agencies of the damage.
Let’s Blog
Friendsofsebago@blogspot.com
All FOSL members should receive the username and password. These may be passed on to trusted people. The blog will also be open to other lake organizations like ourselves.
Username________________ password__________________
New FOSL poster is available. This poster has 3 then and now beach comparisons. Email friendsofsebago@yahoo.com if anyone would like a copy(ies). The web address on the poster(oops) should be www.friendsofsebago.org
An Agreement with SAPPI and River organizations:
An agreement with Friends of the Presumpscot(FOPR) and SAPPI have been reached for removing Cumberland Mills dam and creating fish passage on other dams. FOSL in an intervenor in the lower river dam relicensing and will comment on these events. FOSL does not share the perceived enthusiasm for this agreement for many reasons. From experience we learned that SAPPI does not honor agreements. The time frame is so distant that we have to wonder if SAPPI will even exist in Westbrook in ten years or 30 years as projected in the agreement. FOSL believes that according to law, upstream and downstream fishways should be present on all dams of the Presumpscot. FOSL was completely left out of the negotiations and was not even aware they were occurring.
President’s message: The present LLMP is bad for beaches, flood prevention, lake wetlands, the ecosystem and water quality. The FERC proposed LLMP is a slight improvement in that the maximum target point has been dropped 6 inches to 266.15 msl but accepting this new plan dooms Sebago Lake to a future of harmful unnatural regulation. We can not support any plan which does not restore the world’s finest inland lake beaches and halt shoreline erosion. Also, we can not allow any plan which places riparian owners at an elevated risk of flooding. In addition, we can not accept a plan which is destroying lake wetlands. The constant lake levels during the growing season and the reduced annual fluctuation has eliminated the wetlands ability to filter and absorb nutrients from water shed runoff. The Songo River and its wetlands through which 60% of Sebago Lake’s input drains through has radically changed since the 1980’s. Erosion has made the river 20 to 40 feet wider. Many oxbows have been cut off. Instead of a sandy bottom river it is mucky and silty. Water clarity is poor. Vast patches of pond weed fill the river. The regulated lake levels are just what the milfoil needs to proliferate. The ancient oxbow wetlands never dry out in the summer so organic matter is not oxidized and safely reduced. The river and wetlands instead of being a filter for pollutants are a source of pollution for Sebago Lake. This scenario is evident in other smaller wetlands around Sebago Lake. The rooted vegetation of Haydn Bog is disappearing and large floating mats of algae drift into Sebago Lake. The goods news is that the scientific literature is filling with studies and a call for scientific investigation on the damaging effects of unnatural lake regulation. Other lake groups on China Lake and Cobbossee Lakes are presenting the same message as FOSL. I encourage everyone to read our 45 page letter to DEP at (www.friendofsebago.org) and spread the word how the DEP violated the Clean Water Act. Again, FOSL greatly appreciates your loyalty and support.
Important: Annual Meeting Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Location- 27 Long Point Road, Standish. Same place as last year.
Dinner will start at 6 pm.
Please send membership and donations to
Friends of Sebago Lake, P.O. box 561, Fryeburg, Maine 04037
$10 individual $25 family other __________
Name_________________ tel:_______________ email:______________
Address_______________________________________________________
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