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By COLIN HICKEY
Staff Writer Friday, June 29, 2007

Daniel W. Marra, president of Kennebec Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited, said Wednesday that the Kennebec Coalition sees the proposal by Essex Hydro Associates as too conceptual to bear serious evaluation and nearly certain to bring further delays to a sea-run fish passage goal already behind schedule.

"There seems to be a lack of diligence so far," Marra said, "in coming forth with the level of detail necessary to allow other parties to assess whether this is a realistic proposal."

Essex Hydro's plan for Fort Halifax cannot happen without the Kennebec Coalition's blessings -- a requirement that dam owner FPL Energy has stated publicly.

Jonathan H. Winer, Hydro Essex's executive vice president, said he is disappointed with the Kennebec Coalition's opposition as well as with the response from two federal agencies that rejected the plan.

But he held out hope that much of the opposition is due to a misunderstanding.

"A number of items in the letters show that we are missing each other in the communication," he said, "and it is unfortunate."

The Kennebec Coalition's response to Essex Hydro's plan, documented in a June 18 letter, is the latest development in a controversy surrounding Fort Halifax Dam, a hydroelectric facility built more than 80 years ago.

A 1998 agreement -- a pact the Kennebec Coalition participated in -- called for safe and effective fish passage to be provided at Fort Halifax by May 1, 2003, through either a fish lift or dam removal.

Dam owner FPL Energy chose to pursue dam removal after it was determined that a fish lift would cost $3 million to $4 million, making the project too expensive to continue operating.

But the energy company quickly encountered resistance to its planned breaching.

Rep. Kenneth Fletcher, R-Winslow, a homeowner on the Fort Halifax impoundment, founded a group -- Save Our Sebasticook -- that fought to save the dam.

Save Our Sebasticook has delayed the removal process through a number of legal challenges, including one still pending in Maine Supreme Court.

Essex Hydro is one of the newest players to enter the controversy.

The hydro operator, which owns and operates the nearby Benton Falls dam, made public in March its interest in acquiring Fort Halifax, as well as its willingness to build a fish lift to meet the stipulations of the 1998 agreement.

Fletcher saw Essex Hydro's proposal as a solution that should satisfy all parties in the debate.

He argues that the Kennebec Coalition's continued opposition is proof that the group's true objective is dam removal, not merely fish passage.

"For whatever reason," he said, "they want dam removal at all costs. I don't know whether it is to say that they won or what."

Marra said what the Kennebec Coalition wants is the safest, most effective passage possible for sea-run fish.

He said Essex Hydro has not provided proof it can meet that objective.

FPL Energy has made plain that every party involved in the 1998 agreement must sign off on the Essex Hydro proposal for it to happen.

F. Allen Wiley of FPL Energy confirmed that position Wednesday.

But he also said that the Maine Department of Marine Resources is making an effort to see if the Essex Hydro plan can be saved.

"My understanding is the DMR is trying to convene a meeting among the various signatories (of the 1998 agreement) to see if something can be worked out," he said.

In its May 25 letter to the Kennebec Coalition and other signers of the 1998 agreement, Essex Hydro wrote that 2009 would be the earliest it could achieve passage through a fish lift.

But it also noted that 2010 would be a more likely date.

Marra said the Kennebec Coalition is convinced 2010 is overly optimistic. He said the Essex Hydro plan would almost certainly draw legal challenges that could push back installation of a fish lift by several years.

Winer, when contacted Wednesday, said legal challenges are always a possibility.

At the same time, he said he is confident that his company could move forward on its plan for Fort Halifax if most of the stakeholders are supportive.

For now, according to Winer, he and others at Essex Hydro need time to evaluate the various responses they received before planning and making their next move.

Colin Hickey -- 861-9205

chickey@centralmaine.com

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