Town signs $8,436 consent decree with state environmental agency

Wed, 06/21/2017 - 4:30pm

Lynda Clancy

Bill Buchholz, in August 2016, works on cleaning the algae from Hosmer Pond. He obtained an old float from the harbor, and which had been bound for the tinder pile, outfitted it with the scooper, and spent the summer lifting the oxygen-starving algae from the pond. He hauled the green sludge up to his house, and composted it in the woods. (Photo by Lynda Clancy)

CAMDEN — Given factors that resulted in the ongoing Hosmer Pond algae bloom, town leaders agreed June 20 to assist in its mitigation. How that happens and how much it might cost remains on the table for future discussions, but the majority of the Camden Select Board members said at their regularly scheduled meeting that they wanted to address the problem, and directed Camden Parks and Recreation Director Beth Ward to begin initial conversations with the Hosmer Pond Association.

Some of the association members, who are property owners along the pond’s shore, urged the board to take responsibility for cleaning out the green algae, which, they said, has thrived in a large portion of the 68-acre pond, including near the foot of the toboggan chute.

The pond is shallow — 18 feet at its deepest depth, and 10 feet at its average — and the citizens agreed with Select Board members that the Summer 2016 weather conditions contributed to the algae bloom. The drought and warm temperatures resulted in uncharacteristically heavy algae blooms in ponds, lakes and streams across Maine and the U.S.

Still, there remains a layer of sediment from the Ragged Mountain redevelopment project at the bottom of the pond, which also factored into the algae growth of last summer, and now this summer, they said.

“Last year, a lot of things conspired to exacerbate the problem,” said Lee Schneller Sligh, interim president of the Hosmer Pond Association and longtime advocate for the pond’s ecological health. “That pond has a high flush rate and no dam. It historically flushes very well. Last year, that did not happen because of the drought, and by the sediment that came in and settled.”

At the same meeting, the board signed an administrative consent agreement with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, agreeing to pay the state $8,436 for violating three state laws that regulate water protection, sedimentation control and stormwater management.

That consent decree cited the erosion of dirt and silt into Hosmer Pond Brook and Hosmer Pond following the mountain logging and trail clearing, all part of the town’s Ragged Mountain Redevelopment Project to improve the Camden Snow Bowl.

At the June 20 Select Board meeting, citizens objected to disassociating the project’s erosion from the growth of algae in Hosmer Pond. The algae was so abundant in 2016 that one citizen, Bill Buchholz, took it upon himself to rig an old harbor float with a specially built algae scooper and patrolled the pond regularly to mitigate the growth.

The size of the bloom in 2016 was approximately two acres, said Hosmer Pond resident John Scholz, later in the meeting.

The DEP had been monitoring the redevelopment project’s sediment run-off into the pond, which lies at the foot of Ragged Mountain and the Camden Snow Bowl, since 2014.

Following the erosion, the state issued violation notices to both the town, which was acting as the project manager, and the logging company responsible for cutting trees and disturbing the soils.

In May 2017, the DEP and Camden reached resolution on the extent of the environmental fines, and the first order of business was for Camden to sig a supplemental environmental project (SEP).

That involved the town committing to build a new ADA-compliant dock and reconstruct a boat launch on Hosmer Pond. The $52,000 need to complete the SEP would derive from what was left in the Ragged Mountain Redevelopment bond fund, and the Snow Bowl reserve balance. (Read Hosmer Pond project emerges as alternative to paying DEP fine).

Later in May 2017, DEP has also fined Bruce Dawson, owner of the Jefferson-based BCD Excavation and Forestry, $6,000 for violating the state’s erosion and sediment control law, protection and improvement of waters law, stormwater management law, and the Natural Resources Protection Act.

On June 20, citizens voted in a special town meeting to approve the consent agreement and payment of $8,436 to the state; thus, concluding all violation business with the DEP.

But they persisted in encouraging the Select Board to rid the pond of algae.

Not going away anytime soon

Association members asked the Select Board to amend the proposed consent agreement to stipulate that the town provide funds and other departmental services as needed for the clean-up of the algae.

Legally, however, such a consent agreement cannot be altered, said Camden’s attorney, Bill Kelly.

John Scholz, who lives on the pond and sits on the Camden Planning Board, told the board that if the agreement could not be amended, then the Select Board should address the issue independent of the legal contract.

“The agreement does not address the need or require the town to provide funds or departmental services to assist in the algae removal from the pond resulting from the three significant sediment erosion events, which covered the pond in silt during the first phase of the municipal redevelopment project,” he said. “Silt which remains on the bottom of the pond. Nor has a second separate article been provided for our consideration to address this issue.”

Scholz said he found it “surprising and frustrating” because: “The prior Select Boards, the Four Season Committee and the Parks and Recreation Department has been pushing the merits of developing the recreation area as a four-season facility. This area includes Hosmer Pond. A new improved boat launch is being built significantly improving erosion protection for the pond. At present, it will be providing excellent access for swimmers, fishermen, and boaters to a pond full of ongoing algae bloom. Is this what we want?”

Another Hosmer Pond resident, Kendra Watkins, said she paddleboards over the algae regularly.

“When you paddle over it , it breaks up and reforms,” she said.

Watkins suggested researching plankton or algae-eating fish.

Parks and Recreation Director Beth Ward pointed out that the state owns the pond, and its approval for such introductions must be approved by them. She said she had gone onto the pond that day with Buchholz aboard the algae scooper rig and witnessed the bloom.

Board member Robert Falciani agreed that research was necessary, and cited California’s recent struggle to eliminate algae from its lakes.

He also insisted that no more soil be allowed to run off Ragged Mountain.

“Encapsulate it, so to speak,” said Falciani.

“The Hosmer Pond Association has removed a lot of algae, but it is not something that can be done singlehandedly,” said Scholz.

Select Board Chairman John French said that the DEP had advised the town last summer that it would investigate mitigation.

“The DEP did not come up with a good way to remove algae and we offered resources to remove it,” he said. “They kept saying they would look at it and never did.”

Association member Ken Gross also urged the town to work with the residents.

“The algae problem has been with us for several years,” he said. We are looking forward to a longterm relationship with the association.”

Attorney Bill Kelly said the DEP was not concerned about longterm effects from the sediment runoff.

“In terms of the issue of incorporating algae bloom into this document, this was transient event and algae blooms happen for a variety of reasons,” he said. “There were no concerns from the DEP that there were residual effects from infiltration to the pond. It was not a hot topic. They spoke about it in expert terms. It was a discussion point, not a focal point.”

Select Board member Marc Ratner acknowledged that Maine had suffered algae blooms in 2016, but he said he would like to “move forward and help solve it.”

Camden citizen Beedy Parker also said that algae was an ongoing statewide problem and one that reflected a warmer climate.

But, she added, the cutting and the weather of 2014 caused the erosion probem.

“The weather is going to continue and runoff is going to continue unless you stabilize the mountain, and introduce things to water,” she said. “This is statewide, and an increasing climate change thing. I am very concerned about residual effects on Hosmer Pond and feel good about support on the board for environmental mitigation.”

The Camden Select Board agreed to resume discussion at its July meeting.

• Hosmer Pond project emerges as alternative to paying DEP fine (May 16, 2017)

• Camden considers new project to mitigate 2014 Hosmer Pond contamination (May 15, 2017)

• Ragged Mountain Foundation pays half of Camden's $743,134 Snow Bowl shortfall

• Camden waits for $743,143 reimbursement for Ragged Mountain redevelopment

• Camden Snow Bowl forensic audit report delayed, again (March 17, 2017)

• Camden's Snow Bowl audit results delayed, no decision on DEP consent agreement, yet

• Camden and the Snow Bowl redevelopment: One citizen's inquiry into the cash flow (Feb. 2, 2017)

• Camden Snow Bowl Manager resigns; Camden commences new town manager search (Jan. 27, 2017)

• Camden Town Manager resigns (Jan. 18, 2017)

• Tacos, fat bikes and demo skis at the Camden Snow Bowl this weekend

• Camden orders Snow Bowl financial audit; to negotiate with Sidecountry, Cold Toes Tacos