April 22, 2019
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Ms. Kathy Davis Howatt
Hydropower Coordinator
Bureau of Land Resources
17 State House Station,
Augusta, Maine 04333-00017
Kathy.howatt@maine.gov
RE: Request for Hearing on DEP Application #L-13256-33-J-N, Ellsworth Hydroelectric Project,
Brookfield Renewable Energy Group, Black Bear Hydro Partners LLC’s Application for §401
State Water Quality Certification, (FERC Docket P-2727).
Dear Ms. Howatt:
On behalf of the Downeast Salmon Federation, Conservation Law Foundation, Atlantic Salmon
Federation, Downeast Conservation Network, Frenchman Bay Conservancy, Georges River Trout
Unlimited, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, the Maine Council of the Atlantic Salmon Federation,
Maine Elver Fisherman Association, Maine Rivers, The Friends of Graham Lake, Trout Unlimited, Union
River Sporting Club, and Union Salmon Association (collectively “Organizations”), please accept this
request for a public hearing1 on the application for state Water Quality Certification (“WQC”) of Black
Bear Hydro Partners, LLC (“Applicant”) in connection with the Ellsworth Hydroelectric Project
(“Project”). Our Organizations are “interested persons” and have a direct interest in this application
process. The issuance of a Water Quality Certificate, as part of the FERC re-licensing for this project, will
directly affect the interests of each of our Organizations’ members, including their recreational use of the
Union River and their interest in restoring and preserving its biodiversity.
In its current form, the Applicant’s Project presents an increased risk to the Union River’s water
quality and the habitat of endangered and threatened species which will not be rectified or mitigated under
the terms of the proposed FERC and WQC applications. The cumulative and continuing adverse water
quality impacts resulting from the operation of the Project on aquatic species and poor water quality have
been consistently documented and are a matter of local, regional and state wide interest. The most recent
example of these impacts are clear in the attached photographs taken by the Downeast Salmon Federation
on April 17, 2019 of the confluence of the Union River and Branch Lake Stream. Additional adverse
water quality impacts have been observed and are certain to continue under the Applicant’s operation of
the Project as set forth in the FERC and WQC applications. While it is clear to our Organizations that
the Project has not met and cannot meet water quality standards applicable to the Union River, we believe
that it will be necessary to offer evidence as to the negative impacts of the Project on the Union River’s
biodiversity, conservation, scenic, recreational, and other values and standards. We also believe that the
appropriate forum to present and consider that evidence is a public hearing. The testimony and evidence
that the staff and members of our Organizations, many of whom collectively have decades of experience
working to understand, improve, and protect the conservation, scenic, recreational, biodiversity and
quality of water resources in Maine and in the part of the state impacted by this Project in particular, will
ensure that the Department has the best information available for it to evaluate the Applicant’s WQC
1

As that term is used in 06-096 C.M.R. ch 2, subpart 7(A) and to be held in accordance with the Maine
Administrative Procedure Act, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4, and the Department’s rules governing licensing
hearings.

 application and the full suite of alternatives that are available. In contrast, Applicant’s primary function
and expertise is the operation of the hydroelectric dam facility, one of several it owns or operates
throughout the state, to generate and sell electricity often without, or with limited regard, to the resulting
adverse environmental impacts on water quality and biodiversity.
Accordingly, our Organizations believe that a public hearing would assist the Department in its
evaluation of Applicant’s WQC application, resolving the credible conflicting technical information and
giving the public confidence in the Department’s ultimate decision. Thank you for your consideration of
this request.
Sincerely,

Sean Mahoney
Executive Vice President and Director
Conservation Law Foundation
53 Exchange Street, Suite 200
Portland, Maine 04101
smahoney@clf.org

Dwayne Shaw
Executive Director
Downeast Salmon Federation
P.O. Box 201
Columbia Falls, Maine 04623
dwayne@mainesalmonrivers.org

Scott L. Sells, Esq.
On behalf of the Downeast Salmon Federation
The Sells Law Firm, LLC
477 Congress Street, 5th Floor
Portland, Maine 04101-3431

cc:

Jerry Reid, Commissioner, Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Andy Goode, Vice President, Atlantic Salmon Federation
Bob Deforrest, President, Downeast Conservation Network
Aaron Dority, Executive Director, Frenchman Bay Conservancy
Terry Young, President, Georges River Trout Unlimited
Paul Anderson, Executive Director, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries
Gerry Zegers, President, Maine Council of the Atlantic Salmon Federation
Darell Young, Founder and Co-Director, Maine Elver Fisherman Association
Landis Hudson, Executive Director, Maine Rivers
Chuck Verrill, President, Maine Rivers
Brad and Diane Perry, The Friends of Graham Lake
Jeffrey Reardon, Maine Brook Trout Project Director, Trout Unlimited
Heath King, President, Union River Sporting Club
Morris Lambdin, President, Union Salmon Association

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