Staff Writer 

Are 110 heads better than one?

That is the question property owners in the Long Creek watershed, which spans from Westbrook to South Portland, will have to answer. 

Since 2007, the Long Creek Restoration Project has envisioned a revitalized Long Creek, one of the state’s 32 streams deemed “urban impaired” due to high pollutant levels. To succeed in cleaning up the stream, Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District Senior Project Manager Tamara Pinard said property owners within the watershed, including Maine Mall owners General Growth Properties, National Semiconductor and ecomaine, will have to join together. 

“It’s a one-for-all, all-for one,” she said.

In January, 80 of the 110 landowners with more than one acre of impervious surface within the watershed gathered to discuss the formation of a regional, quasi-municipal entity that would coordinate the restoration of Long Creek and help property owners comply with new Department of Environmental Protection standards. Last week, government officials from Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook and Portland wrestled with the details of how the entity would be structured.

“You’re creating a new entity, but not an empire,” said Jim Katsiaficas, an attorney who drafted an initial proposal for the structure of the organization.

According to Katsiaficas’ draft of an “interlocal agreement” between the four municipalities, the 13-member, nonprofit group would consist of two members from Portland, one from Scarborough, three from Westbrook and seven from South Portland, where more than 60 percent of the watershed is located. 

Katsiaficas said the group would have the power to receive federal stimulus money, apply for grants and bond funding to be used for projects within the watershed. For revenue, the group would collect fees – up to $3,00 per acre – from landowners within the watershed who choose to be part of a “general permit” process that would satisfy new upcoming DEP requirements, save landowners money and could ultimately restore the creek much faster.

“There’s every reason to believe that a majority of landowners would want to do this,” Katsiaficas said. “Some of these things you just can’t do with an individual permit.” 

Pinard said approximately 25 percent of the landowners within the watershed were already willing to enroll in the general permit, which is not yet enough to make the project financially feasible.

“I think we will need at least 50 percent [of landowners] onboard to make it viable,” Pinard said.

To enroll in the general permit, Pinard said it could cost landowners between $2,500 and $3,000 per impervious acre. The enrollment fee is a fraction of what it may cost to deal with the DEP standards independently, as Casco Bay Estuary Partnership Director Curtis Bohlen has said compliance would mean installing modern storm water treatment systems that can cost up to $50,000 per impervious acre. 

General Growth Properties is the largest landowner in the watershed with 49.6 acres of impervious surface, and Pinard said they had not yet made a commitment to the general permit plan. By Bohlen’s estimates, enrolling in the general permit could save the company – which filed for bankruptcy last month – more than $2.3 million dollars. 

General Growth Properties Senior Director of Public Affairs Jim Graham did not return calls by the Sentry deadline.

Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Don Witherill said enrolling in the general permit would also allow the Long Creek Restoration Project to operate without regard for property boundaries or access easements, which could expedite restoration of the creek.

“We can only look at the individual land owner and whether or not they’re in compliance,” Witherill said. “This is probably the wave of the future.”

Pinard said the contracts for landowners who choose to participate in the regional effort will be completed today, but several South Portland officials have already expressed concerns about the liability associated with the new entity and its reliance on landowners for revenue. 

“If we accept loans or stimulus money or bond something, someone has to be held accountable for securing that loan,” South Portland Councilor Linda Boudreau said. “If a landowner backs out, are the municipalities on the hook?”

Katsiaficas said municipalities could be protected by the Federal Tort Claims Act, which protects government entities from being legally responsible for debt incurred by a subsidiary body. While city governments may be immune from taking on any outstanding debt, Katsiaficas said the Long Creek Restoration Project’s vision for a 10-year timeline to completion could be extended if landowners begin pulling out of the project.  

“The 10-year goal to get the stream up to standards may have to extend if landowners don’t pay,” Witherill said. “That way financially solid property owners won’t have to shoulder the load for those who don’t pay.”

Witherill also said the DEP could take punitive measures once a landowner failed to make payments toward the general permit process. 

“All landowners with more than one acre of impervious surface need a permit,” he said. “The liability rests with them – the property owners. If they don’t pay in [to the general permit] they’re in default and we would then take enforcement action against the landowner, not the town.”

Pinard said she expected the four municipalities to vote on the interlocal agreement forming the board of directors for the Long Creek Restoration Project later this month. She said the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District had already devoted $750,000 to projects focused on restoring the stream in order to capture more than $2 million in federal stimulus dollars by a June 15 deadline. Once the group is formed, Katsiaficas said the projects and the debt for the stimulus money – available at a zero percent interest rate through the Maine Municipal Bond Bank – would become the responsibility of the Long Creek Restoration Project.

For more information on the Long Creek Restoration Project visit www.restorelongcreek.org.

Staff Writer Nate Jones may be reached at 282-4337 ext. 233.