Staff Report

Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart interviews Senator Brad Farrin of Somerset County

Stewart: Brad, there have been a lot of headlines lately about the sale of dams on the Kennebec River. What’s going on in your neck of the woods?

Farrin: A few months back, there was an announcement that Brookfield [Renewable] and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) had signed a purchase-sale agreement for four dams on the Lower Kennebec. It’s in the purchase-sale stage now — they’re doing their due diligence; and TNC has reached out to municipalities.

The biggest thing that came out of that announcement is the ongoing battle alongside Brookfield for the relicensing of the Shawmut Dam, which is integral to the operation of the Sappi Mill. For those that aren’t familiar with the Sappi Mill, they provide 800 jobs. That one mill is an $8.3 billion economic driver for the State of Maine. 

The mill has said they cannot operate without the impoundment of about 20 million gallons that they take out of the Kennebec every day. If the Shawmut Dam were to be removed, they would not be able to operate. The thing I’ve tried to talk to TNC about is that people are scared. They’re scared about their livelihoods. The Sappi Mill is a non-starter — that has got to be solved.

What’s really frustrating about this whole process has been the administration. The Governor put a statement out almost two years ago — don’t worry the dams aren’t going anywhere; and they have been totally quiet on this whole thing. That is really frustrating because I think they’ve had a role in this. The reason Brookfield was put into a place to sell these dams is because they couldn’t get a water quality certificate from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which would not allow FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) to issue a new license.

Stewart: Sounds like the domino effect is Maine State Government is failing to work with the dams, therefore putting them in the position where they have to sell and now jeopardizing 800 jobs at Sappi and all kinds of other impacts from the removal of the dams.

Farrin: If you go back and look at this process that Brookfield went through, the Department of Marine Resources changed the percentage of fish passage to an unattainable and highest standard that’s ever been applied to a water quality certificate, which shouldn’t be tied together. Then the DEP not only incorporated that into their determination — they said, while we’re at it, we’re not only going to look at the Shawmut Dam, we’re going to look at the other three dams as well.

They’ve done everything along the way to delay this until Brookfield withdrew their application and said these goals are unachievable and you don’t want us to do business here.

Stewart: Bureaucratic overreach seems to be the real root of this issue — the red tape that folks in Augusta are throwing up and the refusal of the current administration to work with the private sector and industry that’s really important to Maine’s economy. What does the Republican Vision look like on this going forward?

Farrin: As a whole, this particular issue shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It’s about Mainers and jobs and our economy. On the bureaucracy piece of it, I think you need people that recognize that those delays and that uncertainty play a role in how businesses interact.

They hold off on buying equipment, hiring people, making investments back into the infrastructure. If you have that bureaucracy understanding and working with businesses as opposed to putting up more roadblocks, that’s the key. You’ve got to have people understand that business mentality and what impacts we, as legislators, have on those decisions that are made. I think we’ve lost that.

Stewart: Brad, thanks so much for the update. Great work. We’re really proud of all the things the entire delegation in your neck of the woods is working on and fighting for — jobs in rural Maine, for our economy, for a backbone in our industry here. Thanks for all you do for the Maine people, thanks for your service and thanks for joining us here today.

Farrin: Thank you for your leadership and let’s keep the fight up!

Stewart: Absolutely.

Senator Harold “Trey” Stewart III represents District 2, which includes communities in Aroostook and Penobscot counties. He is the Senate Republican Leader and a member of the Legislative Council.

Senator Brad Farrin is serving his fourth term in the Maine Senate, representing the people of Senate District 3. He serves as the Senate Republican lead on the Legislature’s Transportation Committee and as a member of the Government Oversight Committee

Text edited for clarity and brevity.