March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

BEP plans to hear more testimony on Basin Mills project

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection has announced plans for another four days of testimony on the controversial Basin Mills Hydro Project.

The hearings will be conducted Monday, Jan. 11, through Thursday, Jan. 14, at the Augusta Elks Club, Route 27 North, Augusta. The BEP previously conducted a weeklong hearing on the project at the Bangor Civic Center. Plans also call for a third week of hearings to be held, starting Feb. 1 in Bangor.

As proposed by Bangor Hydro-Electric Co., the Basin Mills Project would involve construction and other activity on the Penobscot and Stillwater rivers. The area is located in the towns of Bradley, Eddington, Orono and Veazie.

Major components of the project include construction of an additional powerhouse at the existing Veazie Dam; construction of a new dam and powerhouse at Basin Mills, which is located between Orono and Bradley; and the decommissioning and removal of the powerhouse and penstocks at the existing Orono dam.

The project also involves actions designed to protect and improve area property and resources. The application pending before BEP proposes fishways, parks, flood control dikes and boat ramps.

Conservation groups, particularly salmon fishermen, have opposed the project.

The BEP will hear from Bangor Hydro, or the applicant, and registered intervenors from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 11, and Wednesday, Jan. 13; from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, and 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14.

Between 6 and 8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, the BEP will be available to listen to comments from the general public.

Details regarding the third week of hearings, to be held in Bangor, have yet to be determined.


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