On July 27, 2021, I submitted a letter to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection on behalf of my United Steelworkers membership at the Sappi Somerset mill in Skowhegan. The letter was in reference to a “draft order” dated Aug. 11 from the Maine DEP denying water quality certification for the Shawmut Dam on the Kennebec River, which supplies Sappi with intake water.

On Aug. 18, Brookfield, the licensee for the Shawmut Dam, withdrew the WQC application and refiled on Oct. 15 with updated data which supports the relicensing of the dam.

It’s important to note that we are talking about fish. The plan submitted by Brookfield estimates that 96% of Atlantic Salmon will survive once their planned project is completed. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions’ Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) concludes that reasonable protection, mitigation and enhancement measures can be fashioned (as outlined in the DEA) to support the recovery of diadromous fish in the basin and that decommissioning is not a reasonable alternative to relicensing.

The Mills administration wants 99% which is, according to William Ball of Archeron Engineering, “a sham intended to result in dam removal.” Ball further committed that the 96% survival rating Brookfield estimates is in line with rates that have been accepted by the DEP for other dams in Maine. The most recent data suggests that we are talking about less than five fish annually.

While the DEP’s draft rejection of application found the water quality to be of suitable use for drinking water and to support recreational activities, it ruled the discharge from the dam made the water an unsuitable habitat to support fish and other aquatic life. The Department of Marine Resources also states that 96% is not good enough and has played an important role in the DEP’s initial denial for WQC relicensing leading to a conclusion that politics is at play.

Here’s an excerpt from my letter to the DEP: “While many of my members are experienced outdoors men and women, they understand the balance between maintaining an environment that supports our fisheries and wildlife as well as their workplace. Statistics have shown that for every paper mill job, seven jobs in the outlying communities are also supported. Our plant in Skowhegan has been extremely fortunate in that we have been able to attract significant capital improvements over the years which has helped us maintain our competitive edge in several markets.

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“We have had to react to declining markets by diversifying and today continue to service several different markets in order to protect our assets and by extension our very jobs. Closing the Shawmut Dam would have extensive costs upwards of $50 million in the beginning phases of the project with the potential for annual maintenance costs moving forward for years. From many of my members’ perspectives, spending our capital improvement funding should be focused on continuing to diversify to protect our jobs and maintain our competitive edge in the markets that we are successful in.”

Senate President Troy Jackson submitted a bill in support of relicensing efforts and initially had support from both parties but when the vote came down, Republicans were nowhere to be found. So now we have the governor and Republicans sitting on the sidelines playing their political games while my members and our company try to figure out how to attract capital investments to keep our mill competitive for years to come.

It’s not easy to compete for capital investments for our mill and to be blunt, it’s certainly not the time for elected representatives to play games with the futures of our workforce and our surrounding communities. The process of attracting capital investments starts years before an actual project begins and often is timed to meet market demands that in turn help to maintain our competitive edge. Had Sappi not been able to attract the latest significant capital investments related to our packaging sector, every surrounding community would have been impacted economically for years and possibly forever.

We do not have the luxury of sitting around and waiting for a year for one side or the other to blink. We need all representatives of the people to come together for one common purpose: relicense the Shawmut Dam and save 96% of Atlantic salmon on the Kennebec River. Anything short of that is simply politics.

On behalf of my members and their families and surrounding communities; help us protect the salmon we fish for with our children and help us protect our jobs. It is that simple.

Patrick Carleton is president of USW Local 4-9 at the Sappi Somerset Mill.


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