By Kevin Mann of The Maine Monitor
Officials and residents seek answers about potential impacts on Sappi Ltd. and local tax revenue.
SKOWHEGAN — More than a year after Brookfield Renewable sold the Weston Dam to The Nature Conservancy, the Skowhegan Select Board remains unclear about the transfer’s status and its potential effects on the town.
The sale cleared the way for The Nature Conservancy to pursue the decommissioning and removal of the Weston Dam and three other hydroelectric dams on the lower Kennebec River. Officials expect the process to take several years.
In the meantime, Brookfield will operate the dams while The Nature Conservancy conducts a broader study of the dam system and gradually transfers operational oversight to the Kennebec River Restoration Trust, a nonprofit the parties formed when they completed the sale. That transfer will happen before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves a decommissioning plan, an intensive regulatory process that could take most of a decade.
At Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, town leaders questioned the status of the process. Board members said they and the public lack enough information to plan for the dams’ removal and its potential effects on the local economy. Skowhegan Select Board member Amber Lambke asked for an update on the transfer.
“To the topic of the transfer of dam ownership,” Lambke said, “it’s my hope that we can start having open and transparent conversations that are educational in nature.”
Lambke questioned how the transfer could affect Sappi Ltd., one of the largest employers in Skowhegan and Maine. Sappi owns and operates the 2,500-acre Somerset Mill, which employs 780 people. The company completed a $500 million upgrade at the mill last year as part of a series of investments made over the past decade.
“We know that there is conflict in meeting Sappi’s needs,” Lambke said. “We as a town need to understand” those needs.
Alex Mas, deputy state director for The Nature Conservancy in Maine, previously told The Maine Monitor that the organization is committed to finding a collaborative solution with Sappi that meets the mill’s needs.
Board members and attendees agreed that the town needs an open process to learn more about the sale and its potential effects. They said they wanted to hear from representatives of The Nature Conservancy, Brookfield, Sappi and the Kennebec River Restoration Trust, as well as legislators and scientists.
“There needs to be education on both sides,” Select Board member Ethan Liberty said. “But I also think if we’re going to have speakers come in and explain what’s going on, that we need to allow the public to ask questions.”
Local business owner and former Skowhegan firefighter Joe Almand told the board that the dams remain controversial among residents.
“There’s a lot of misinformation,” he said. “There’s a lot of questions about it.”
Almand asked about the potential loss of tax revenue if regulators decommission the dams.
“That’s a lot of revenue that could go away once these dams are gone,” he said. “And we need to figure out, well, what are we going to do to mitigate that?”
The board and attendees discussed holding a special town meeting to gather stakeholders but did not adopt a specific plan. Members agreed to keep the issue on the agenda for future meetings.
Lambke advocated for an ongoing series of presentations because the process could take years.
“This is a big issue,” she said. “It’s going to unfold over many years. It’s not one conversation.”
The Select Board’s next meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Kevin Mann is a Community Reporting Fellow receiving training through the Journalism New England Career Lab to do civic reporting that provides people in towns across New England with the information they need to be engaged in their community.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Sept. 28 to reflect that Brookfield will gradually transfer operations to the Kennebec River Restoration Trust before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves a decommissioning plan.
This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from The Monitor, sign up for a free Monitor newsletter here.