The two legal devices for regulating pollution discharges into Maine waters are the effluent (wastewater) license and the stream classification system. Effective July 21, 1945, Maine’s Sanitary Water Board was empowered to license discharge of new pollution into rivers, streams, and lakes. The fee was $50. All existing polluters were “grandfathered” into the program.
The Board could deny a new pollution license if it would increase pollution in a way “inconsistent with the public interest.” Because of the ambiguity of the term “public interest” and the lack of specific water quality standards, the authority was meaningless.
In 1945, enough funds were provided to launch a program of stream pollution investigation which included sampling stations on Maine streams for immediate and future investigations. Ten monitoring sites were selected on the Aroostook River’s main stem from Masardis to Fort Fairfield and at 19 locations on five tributaries in the lower basin.
One main-stem sampling station was in Presque Isle (U.S. Rt. 1 Bridge). In 1947, dissolved oxygen averaged 9.5 parts per million, an excellent concentration for oxygen-sensitive fish species, such as salmon and trout. Measures of pH averaged 7.1, well within the range most aquatic animals prefer. No bacteriological examinations were done, so data were insufficient to classify any streams in the watershed.
In 1949, Maine’s Atlantic Sea-Run Salmon Commission (created by the Legislature in 1947) declared that with only “light” pollution, the Aroostook, with more fishway construction, offered some immediate hope of salmon restoration.
In 1951, the legislature passed a pollution law based largely on the Report on Water Pollution in the State of Maine, prepared by Maine’s Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Sanitary Engineering. The 1950 report, funded by the U.S. Public Health Service, noted the following about industrial pollution in the Aroostook River watershed.
“The majority of industrial plants contributing to stream pollution in this area are potato starch factories, of which there are two in both Limestone and Fort Fairfield and one each in Woodland, Presque Isle, Washburn and Ashland. These plants cause a considerable amount of pollution in their respective localities by the discharge of so-called protein water and potato pumice. A potato alcohol plant and a yarn mill in Caribou also contribute industrial wastes.”
The report mentioned another issue. “A stream pollution problem of maximum proportions has occurred frequently during the last few years, occasioned by the dumping of surplus potatoes on the banks of, or into streams and brooks in Aroostook County during the years of excess potato production. The decomposition of the potatoes caused offensive odors, and dark colored liquids leached from large dumps caused extensive pollution of the nearby brooks and streams.
Possibly the most serious pollution was caused in the spring of 1947 when over 73 dumps were found on river and stream banks. Effective April 3rd of that year, the legislature passed a law prohibiting the dumping of potatoes into any stream, pond, lake or other body of water or watercourse, or on the ice thereof, or on the banks of the same, where such potatoes or any part thereof may pollute such waters. About 4 million barrels had already been dumped, many of them in watercourses, and although little further dumping was practiced, that spring many streams were heavily polluted and much damage to fish life resulted.
Another large surplus of potatoes was grown in 1949. As a result of the government [price-support] purchases during the fall and winter, many of these were released for dumping and were dumped in a way contrary to the potato dumping law. Six court cases were held because of the violations, four of which resulted in convictions.
In 1951, the legislature created the Water Improvement Commission (WIC), replacing the Sanitary Water Board. The WIC was composed of the Commissioner of Health and Welfare, with two representatives each from the manufacturing interests, municipalities and the “public at large.”
In 1952, Maine’s legislature passed a law limiting bulldozing of streams in unorganized townships (for pulpwood transportation) to 1,000 feet in any one mile. In 1954, the legal limit of bulldozing was lowered to 500 feet per mile.
In 1953, Maine’s first surface water classifications were enacted into statutes. In the Aroostook basin, only presumably pristine stream segments (and their tributaries) were assigned Class A: the Little Madawaska river (and Madawaska Lake) above the Route 161 bridge in Stockholm; Pattee Brook at Fort Fairfield above the dam upstream of the Route 167 bridge; Presque Isle Stream above its confluence with its North Branch; Little Machias River; the Machias River above the Garfield plantation/Ashland town line; Squapan Stream above the railroad bridge; and the Aroostook River and its branches including St. Croix Stream above the junction with St. Croix stream. All other stream segments in the Aroostook basin would remain unclassified until 1957.
In 1954, the WIC collected statewide water quality data, including locations in the Aroostook basin. This time, the survey included bacterial sampling. In general, most stream sections were suitable for recreational boating and brook trout fishing, but much of the Aroostook from Washburn to Fort Fairfield had a high degree of bacterial pollution that prevented good swimming conditions and use as potable water.
Steve Sutter is a retired agricultural and resource economist living on a Presque Isle riverfront property that has been in his family since April 12, 1854. This is the fourth installment of his series on the history of the Aroostook River.
