Camden, State of Maine move forward with resolving harborfront tree-poisoning case
CAMDEN — While the neighbors on the very short Metcalf Road have reached a settlement over the poisoning of trees between their properties, the Town of Camden and the State of Maine have yet to weigh in with their respective consent agreements.
At the Tuesday, July 11, regularly scheduled Camden Select Board meeting, an update concerning the town’s proposed consent agreement will be discussed in open session, according to Planning and Development Director Jeremy Martin.
The state will likewise discuss its proposed consent agreement July 21 at the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Maine Board of Pesticide Control. That will be a hybrid meeting, taking place in Room 101 at the Deering Building in Augusta.
Consent agreements allow violations to be resolved in a negotiated settlement without going to court. In Camden’s case, finishing touches are currently being put on the the proposed consent agreement that follows a violation notice issued in November 2022 against 1 Metcalf Road homeowners Arthur D. and Amelia Bond.
Camden had issued the Nov. 28 violation notice alleging that the Bonds, of St. Louis, Missouri, were responsible for herbicide application to vegetation and trees at 3 Metcalf Road, a waterfront home owned by Lisa Gorman, of Yarmouth.
The application resulted in damage to trees in the shoreland zone, and violated two regulations of town ordinances: Cutting too close to the shoreline and clearing too much vegetation from the property, said Martin, last year. Camden does not have regulatory oversight of pesticide/herbicide applications on private property, but its land use ordinance regulates tree-cutting in the shoreland zone, as does the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
The Maine DEP did not weigh in on the herbicide application, but the Board of Pesticide Control, an arm of the Maine Dept. of Agriculture, did and conducted its own investigation.
Camden said the caretakers of 3 Metcalf Road had noticed earlier in the fall that tree foliage on Gorman’s land was dying. They subsequently identified an herbicide in the leaves and soil, the town said in the violation notice, and determined the chemical makeup to Tebuthiuron 80 WWG, which has a trade name of Allagare.
“Gorman’s attorneys and hired experts were pursuing resolution, legal action and civil remedies to address the violations caused by Bond,” said Martin, in a July 6 memo to the Select Board. “Since Bond’s receipt of the Notice of Violation, Town Attorney Bill Kelly and I have been working to bring resolution to the municipal land use violations and have met with Bond’s attorneys numerous times. It has been our intention to encourage the civil resolution of the dispute ahead of resolving the municipal violations for several reasons. In addition, it has been our intention to let the State consent agreement process play out.”
Martin said that a revegetation plan had been approved by the town’s planning office, which included first removing soil and vegetation, which was transported — “per the recommendations of the State of Maine,” said Martin — to the state-owned Juniper Ridge landfill in Old Town.
“After many months of negotiating, on May 10, 2023, Gorman and Bond finally agreed on a substantial settlement to resolve the dispute,” said Martin.
The terms of that private settlement have not been disclosed.
After the July 21 Board of Pesticide Control meeting, Camden is to finalize its own consent agreement with the Bonds, Martin said.
“Resolution will include financial penalties as prescribed in Chapter 290 Section 5.7 and will include a responsibility that the Bond’s pay for environmental sampling that will take place at Laite Beach, which is down gradient of the herbicide application,” he wrote. “Should the herbicide be found in this area, the Bond’s will be held responsible to mitigate this trespass, as may be required by the Town.”
Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657
