The Lamoine Planning Board met at the Lamoine school and once again faced the permitting issue for several MacQuinn gravel pits.
Chairman John Holt noted that the tests showed no problems with water quality but he also voiced displeasure at where the samples were obtained. He repeated the town’s demand for the drilling of new wells and considered the plastic pipes in the ground used to obtain samples as “open top rain gauges” of insufficient depth. Code Enforcement Officer Mike Jordan stated that the collection of samples was in the presence of geologists employed by MacQuinn and as such met with his approval. He would not issue a violation. Holt continued to maintain that these pipes were not wells and that the agreements stipulated that wells would be drilled. Jordan responded with, “Who are you to tell a geologist what is right and wrong?” Holt vowed to never again issue a conditional permit.
Chairman Holt noted that he was named in a lawsuit by the gravel companies and expressed a desire that the town provide better legal representation.
Chairman Holt proposed a workshop for 16 September at 6:30 PM for the purpose of formulating the Planning Board’s version of a re-worked gravel ordinance. His ideas for reform included greater specificity in defining water monitoring wells and collection, distinguishing between large and small pits by defining usage levels rather than size and streamlining the permitting process.
