A bit of information about the lower Saint George River's softshell clam stocks and the govt records of the two sewage treatment plants that discharge into it. Both clams and the treatment plants appear to be doing well, each possibly for different reasons.
St George River Shellfish and Sewage treatment plants
Soft-Shell Clam Recruitment in the St. George and Weskeag Rivers (2017 & 2018)
Regional clam ordinance for Saint George South Thomaston, Thomaston, Cushing and Warren
Georges River Regional Shellfish Ordinance
& Georges River Regional Interlocal Clam Management Agreement of 2002 (table of contents below)
Sewage Treatment plants that pump into the lower Saint George
Links to their EPA pollution webpages The most recent sewage license and the one before.
Thomaston sewer permit 2018
Thomaston sewer permit 2003
Warren Sanitary district sewer permit 2016
Warren sanitary district sewer permit 2010
Maine Water Company discharge permit 2016 (in Warren)
Table of Contents of a Review of this SG Interlocal Agreement. by Togue Brawn et al Full pdf
Chapter 1 reviews the purposes and methods of the study.
Chapter 2 Clam biology & the
principles of soft-shell clam management.
Chapters 3 and 4 History and background of clam harvesting
and mgmt in Maine.
Chapter 5 The Georges River Program, its development and details of its organization and scope.
Chapter 6 Literature review on fisheries economics, rational choice theory, externality theory, collective action
theory and co-management
Chapter 7 State of Maine landings data obtained from the
Department of Marine Resources. It compares catch per unit of effort figures
between the Georges River estuary and the state as a whole both prior to and post
management.
Chapter 8 discusses how the theories and facts discussed in the previous
chapters are relevant to the Georges River Program. In particular, it examines the
relevance of co-management theory versus economic theory. It also discusses the
program's potential for long-term success, and what lessons can be learned from
the program and applied to fisheries management theory in general
End
PART 2 THE SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS
Useful part of the 2003 Thomaston sewer permit
"The applicant has applied for a renewal of Waste Discharge License (WDL) #W002643-46-B-R,
which was issued on August 26, 1996 and expired on August 26, 2001.
"The WDL authorized the
disposal of treated sanitary waste water by discharge to the St. George River in Thomaston, Maine
and for disposal via a surface waste water disposal system (hereafter referred to as spray irrigation).
"The previous [1996] license authorized the discharge of 0.46 million gallons per day (MGD) of treated
sanitary waste water to the St. George River until the completion of the new treatment lagoons but
no later than March 31, 1998.
After completion of the new treatment lagoons or after March 31,
1998 whichever came first, Thomaston was authorized to discharge 0.9 MGD of treated waste
water to the St. George River during the months of January, February, and March of each year and
to spray irrigate 0.65 MGD of waste water on land during the period April 15 through October 31
each year.
Useful part of the 2018 Thomaston Sewage Permit
Permit #ME0100668, (permit hereinafter) that was
issued by the Department on April 10, 2013, for a five-year term. The MEPDES Permit/ WDL
authorized the operation of an aerated facultative sanitary wastewater treatment lagoon system with
two wastewater disposal options. From January I through March 31 each year, the permittee was
authorized to discharge up to a monthly average flow of 0.9 million gallons per day (MGD) of
treated sanitary wastewater to the St. George River, a Class SB water in Thomaston, Maine.
From
April 1 through November 30 each year, the petmittee was authorized to spray irrigate treated waste
via a surface wastewater disposal system onto land in Thomaston, Maine.
On June 6, 2017, the permit was modified authorizing the permittee to operate the surface waste
water disposal system to dispose of 30 million gallons of treated effluent via creating ice piles
between December 1 and March 31.
