A dam broke and these Mainers can’t get their lake back unless a judge lets them
Release Date:
September 5, 2017
From the Bangor Daily News: When a privately owned dam at one end of Clary Lake was breached, nearly half the water drained, and the lake level dropped by more than four feet. The Maine DEP has tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the dam owner, and enforcement action is tied up in an ongoing legal dispute.
Malcolm Burson, president of the Clary Lake Association, said if there’s one thing that’s clear it’s that, so far, the law hasn’t been on their side.
“To me, it still comes down to the fact that under Maine law an individual can control the level in a water body that’s used by hundreds of other of people and not be accountable to them at all,” he said.