On July 16th the Maine Board of Environmental Protection voted NOT to assume jurisdiction over the controversial Searsport Harbor "channel widening" dredge project. Listen below to recordings of each speaker and each board discussion that took place at the meeting.
* BEP Chair James Parker opens the meeting 1min 43 sec
* Patricia Aho introduction 3min
* Commissioner's report_Pat Aho 5min
* MDEP Mark Bergeron & Commissioner Patricia Aho. 4min 32 sec
* MDEP Commissioner Aho's anti jurisdiction rationale 11min 45 sec
* Chairman introduces public comment section. 47 seconds
* Steve Hinchman, attorney for Islesboro Island Trust 21min 52sec
* Kim Ervin Tucker, attorney for Maine Lobstering Union 31min 46 sec
* Arch Gillies Islesboro, Armindy McFadden, Whales Tooth Pub, aquaculturist 17min 20sec
* Ron Huber Friends of Penobscot Bay, David Black lobsterman, Wayne Canning lobsterman 19min 43 sec* Christopher Hyk, Elaine Tucker, Belfast, Harlan McLaughlin, Searsport and Barbara Moore, Indian Island 9min15sec.
* Army Corps of Engineer staffer Mark Hable 6min23sec
* Maine BEP & Staff debate then vote not to assume jurisdiction 41 minutes
Notes: The refusal was made despite voluminous requests they do so from a wide spectrum of Penobscot Bay user groups area residents and partisans.
The people and their attorneys explained in detail how the project to dig up nearly a million pounds of centuries-old sediment from the edges of Searsport Harbor, then dump it into waters and onto the bayfloor area shared by Northport and Islesboro, would shut down lobster fisheries in those waters for three years or more, would kill generations of lobsters at the sites and wreak havoc with Maine's lobster "brand" in regional national and global markets - already beset by the permanent lobstering closure of lower Penobscot River for chronic mercury contamination. But it was for naught.
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