WESTBROOK, ME – Friends of the Presumpscot River (FOPR) and Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) announced today the filing of a long-awaited settlement agreement that will lead to the construction of fish passage and removal of two dams at Saccarappa Falls in Downtown Westbrook. This agreement was reached by the two nonprofit groups, dam owner Sappi Fine Paper, the City of Westbrook, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Maine Department of Marine Resources and filed yesterday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Removal of the two dams will eliminate a significant barrier to migratory fish, once counted in the millions on the Presumpscot River, and will open a large segment of prime spawning habitat to several species of sea-run fish.
"After engaging in three years of negotiations with Sappi, other parties and our partner Conservation Law Foundation, this settlement agreement will result in vast improvements for our river," said Michael Shaughnessy, President of Friends of the Presumpscot River. "It is an agreement we can all be very proud of. When the dams are removed and fish passage finally constructed, we will have a wonderful result for the river and for the people who live in the Presumpscot's watershed. It will open up the longest and cleanest stretch of riverway in the most densely populated area of the state, and it will greatly enhance the economic and recreational value of the river."
Today's agreement also requires Sappi to either remove the next two dams upriver — Mallison Falls and Little Falls in Windham — or install fish passage facilities at those dams once a threshold number of American shad or blueback herring pass at the Saccarappa Falls site. The settlement agreement would also extend the license and fish passage deadline for two other Sappi dams, Gambo and Dundee.
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