About 25 residents turned up for a Knickerbocker Group meeting at the proposed Cuckolds Inn utility line crossing on the southeast end of Southport Island on May 12.

Danielle Betts, Knickerbocker Group, described the utility route and construction details and entertained comments and questions for about an hour.

Betts said, if approved, the utility lines could be installed in a 24-hour period and would be constructed so that they would not be visible. In the intertidal zone, electric, water and sewer utility lines will be encased in 3-inch steel pipes.

At the salt pond, the pipes would be trenched where the bottom was firm, and on mudflats, workers would sink the pipes by walking on them. A post-construction survey would be undertaken to ensure bottom contours are returned to original conditions, she said.

The utility line will exit across private property where electric and water lines will connect to existing services along Route 238. The sewer line will cross under the roadway and terminate at a septic field on private property.

Assembled residents questioned the route choice, the need to bring sewage effluent onshore at all, the effects of freezing conditions in the salt pond on pipe integrity, and suggested project conditions to ensure that lines did not leak.

Betts said the current route had been chosen because it had been used as a utility crossing by the Coast Guard (which did not enter the salt pond) and as a result of neighbors’ objections to an earlier proposed route through Newagen Harbor.

Alternative sewage disposal methods had been considered, but rejected, Betts said. A holding tank on the Cuckolds will contain sewage solids, and it will be pumped as needed. The 2-inch sewer line connecting to the island will contain effluent only. Betts said overboard discharge of treated effluent directly from the Cuckolds was considered, but is not permissible under state law.

Water and sewer pipes will be drained at the end of each season, so freezing in the salt pond, if it were to cause a pipe rupture, would not result in a sewage leak, she said.

Roger Altemier recommended the septic line be metered so that any leaks during use could be detected. Steve Malcom, Knickerbocker Group, said that was feasible, and Betts said effluent meters could be added to the proposal.

Fred Macvicar asked why the Cuckolds Inn is accepting reservations for June 27 when permits had not been granted. Betts said the council was accepting reservations at its own risk.

Attorney Peter Drum, representing landowner Libby Cameron, asked if the Cuckolds Council had obtained a title opinion that would allow the utility line to cross the dam at the entrance to the salt pond.

“I believe my client owns the the dam. I’m not sure how you can cross it without permission,” Drum said.

“Our proposal is based on the submerged utility lines being installed in state-owned lands below mean low water, which is supported by our team's survey and research work,” Betts said on May 13. “I understand Peter Drum will be providing his own boundary research, and we will certainly look into his client's concerns.”

Betts said she will be accepting comments through the end of this week (5/16/14) to include with submitted materials to the permitting agencies: the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Parks and Lands. The Bureau of Parks and Lands comment period on the utility line ends on May 17. There is no set comment period for either Maine DEP or Corps of Engineers review.

Peter Tischbein, Corps of Engineers, said, if issued, the Corps would permit the utility line under a General Permit, rather than an individual public notice with comment period.

“This is not a particularly unique activity. The coast of Maine is crisscrossed with utility lines,” Tischbein said. “Probably 80 to 90 percent of permits are done under a general permit.” Tischbein said that although there is no formal comment period, the Corps would consider comments from interested parties.

Related:

Cuckolds Light almost ready for visitors, but local concerns remain

Cuckolds utility line still a work in progress