State of Maine Board of Environmental Protection
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1 1 STATE OF MAINE 2 BOARD OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 3 4 PUBLIC HEARING 5 6 Maine Turnpike Authority 7 Natural Resources Protection Act Permit Application 8 York, York County, Maine 9 10 11 PRESIDING OFFICER: MARYBETH RICHARDSON 12 13 14 This hearing was held pursuant to Notice at the 15 Kittery Community Center's Star Theater, 120 Rogers 16 Road, Kittery, Maine, on May 22, 2017, beginning at 17 9:00 a.m., reported by Robin J. Dostie, a Notary 18 Public and court reporter in and for the State of 19 Maine. 20 21 22 23 24 25 Dostie Reporting 7 Morrissette Lane Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 621-2857 2 1 I N D E X 2 PAGE 3 Opening Statement 4 By Ms. Richardson 3 5 6 TESTIMONY REDIRECT CROSS-EXAM BOARD 7 MTA: 8 Peter Mills 13 52 25 56 9 Gary Quinlan 63 134 92,137 167 10 Richard Gobeille 78 -- -- -- 11 Elizabeth Roberts 84 -- 158 175 12 Roland Lavallee 86 156 144,156 -- 13 Douglas Davidson 177 198 188 199 14 15 Coalition: 16 Marshall Jarvis 200 -- 222 -- 17 Peter Smith 207 -- 222 -- 18 John Adams 218 -- -- -- 19 David Sullivan 214 -- 224 235 20 21 22 23 24 25 Dostie Reporting 7 Morrissette Lane Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 621-2857 3 1 EVENING SESSION 2 I N D E X 3 PAGE 4 Opening Statement 5 By Ms. Richardson 240 6 7 Public Comments 246 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Dostie Reporting 7 Morrissette Lane Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 621-2857 4 1 PROCEEDINGS 2 MS. RICHARDSON: Good morning. I now call 3 to order this public hearing of the Maine Department 4 of Environmental Protection on the Natural Resources 5 Protection Act permit application submitted to the 6 Department by the Maine Turnpike Authority. The 7 permit application is for the construction of a toll 8 plaza facility located in York, Maine. The purpose 9 of the public hearing is to receive testimony from 10 the parties and the general public on whether the 11 proposed project meets the requirements of the 12 Natural Resources Protection Act, 38 M.R.S.A. Section 13 480-A to 480-JJ, the Department's Wetlands and 14 Waterbodies Protection Rules (Chapter 310), and the 15 Department's Rules Concerning Significant Wildlife 16 Habitat (Chapter 335). 17 My name is Marybeth Richardson. I am an 18 employee of the Department and the Department's 19 Deputy Commissioner, Melanie Loyzim, designated me 20 presiding officer for this matter. This designation 21 is limited in its scope to the authority necessary to 22 conduct the hearing and administer governing 23 procedural statutes and regulations in the 24 development of the administrative record. My role 25 does not include the ultimate decision-making Dostie Reporting 7 Morrissette Lane Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 621-2857 5 1 authority on the merits of the application, which the 2 Commissioner expressly retained. 3 Now, I'd like to introduce other members 4 present here today from the Department. We have Paul 5 Mercer, the Commissioner of the Maine Department of 6 Environmental Protection; we have Peggy Bensinger, to 7 my right, Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to 8 the Department; we have Kate Tierney, also Assistant 9 Attorney General and Counsel to the Department seated 10 to Peggy's right; to my left is Bob Green, the 11 Project Manager of the DEP's Land Division, Bureau of 12 Land Resources; and to his left is Mark Bergeron, the 13 Director of DEP Bureau of Land Resources; and also 14 Alison Sirois, who is currently missing from her 15 chair, she is the Regional Licensing and Compliance 16 Manager of the DEP Southern Maine office. 17 I will note that this public hearing is 18 being transcribed. Copies of the transcript will be 19 available upon request. Our Court Reporter today is 20 Robin Dostie of Dostie Reporting sitting over there. 21 Prior to presenting your summary of your direct 22 testimony and/or cross-examining a witness, please 23 state your name clearly and with whom you are 24 affiliated. 25 I would like to also acknowledge some of the Dostie Reporting 7 Morrissette Lane Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 621-2857 6 1 Department staff with us today in the audience. We 2 have David Madore, who is our Communications 3 Director, and Kevin Martin, who works in our policy 4 division. 5 At this time, please silence or turn off 6 your electronic devices, including cell phones so 7 that there are no interruptions. The emergency exits 8 to this room are located on both sides. The 9 restrooms are located at the double doors and to the 10 left. 11 This hearing is being held by the Department 12 pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, 13 Title 5, Sections 9051 through 9064 and Chapter 3 of 14 the Department's Rules-Rules Governing the Conduct of 15 Licensing Hearings. On March 2, 2017, the Department 16 held a pre-hearing conference during which the 17 hearing procedures were discussed. I won't go into 18 the same level of detail today as I did at the 19 pre-hearing conference. The procedures are also 20 contained in the Second Procedural Order dated March 21 14, 2017. 22 Notice of this public hearing was published 23 in the Portland Press Herald on April 19 and in York 24 County Coast Star/Seacoast Online on April 20. A 25 second notice was published in each of those Dostie Reporting 7 Morrissette Lane Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 621-2857 7 1 newspapers on May 11. Notice was also sent to the 2 parties as well as those persons and/or entities set 3 forth in Chapter 3 and all those specifically 4 requesting notification. 5 During the daytime portion of the hearing, 6 the Department will receive evidence from the 7 applicant and the Intervenor Group. Two petitions 8 for Intervenor Status were granted and, for the sake 9 of efficiency, the two Intervenors were consolidated 10 into one, known as the Coalition for Responsible Toll 11 Collection, or Coalition. 12 Testimony of the parties was pre-filed in 13 advance of the public hearing. That testimony is 14 part of the record and all the parties have received 15 copies. 16 Today's hearing will begin with testimony 17 from the applicant's first witness, followed by 18 cross-examination of that witness. Please note that 19 counsel to the Department and Department staff may 20 ask clarifying questions at any time; although the 21 Department will generally hold its questions until 22 the completion of the cross-examination. 23 The direct testimony of the witnesses and 24 cross-examinations will generally follow the sequence 25 outlined in the Third Procedural Order, allowing for Dostie Reporting 7 Morrissette Lane Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 621-2857 8 1 minor adjustments as needed during the course of the 2 proceedings. The Department will hear testimony from 3 the general public tonight beginning at approximately 4 6:00 p.m. 5 All witnesses at this hearing will be sworn, 6 and all evidence already entered into the record will 7 be available during the course of the public hearing 8 for inspection by anyone who wishes to do so. Please 9 talk to Bob Green, the project manager, during a 10 break if you wish to look at the project file. After 11 the hearing, the project file will be available for 12 public review by arrangement during regular business 13 hours at the Department's Southern Maine Regional 14 Office in Portland. At the conclusion of the public 15 hearing today, I will entertain requests from the 16 parties on the issue of post-hearing briefs or 17 written closing arguments. 18 All participants in the public hearing are 19 expected to conduct themselves professionally, both 20 in their dealings with the Department, with each 21 other, and with the general public throughout the 22 proceedings. If a party or a member of the general 23 public is unable to conduct him or herself 24 professionally, I will take appropriate action, which 25 may include excluding the individual from further Dostie Reporting 7 Morrissette Lane Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 621-2857 9 1 participation in the hearing. 2 In closing, our goal for today is to conduct 3 a fair and productive hearing. Please be aware of 4 time constraints and try to adhere to the time 5 allotted to you. Please keep testimony relevant to 6 the licensing criteria set forth in the Natural 7 Resources Protection Act and Chapters 310 and 335. 8 Department staff have read the pre-filed direct and 9 rebuttal testimony. The Department is here to listen 10 and consider all of the evidence. The purpose of 11 this public hearing is to collect information as part 12 of the license application process, for the 13 Department to be able to make an informed decision 14 based on the facts, the statutory requirements, and 15 the administrative record as a whole. Thank you all 16 for your participation and cooperation. 17 For your information, we plan to break at 18 approximately 1 o'clock for lunch and allow a little 19 bit of extra time as we agreed earlier for the 20 morning session so the lunch will be later than 21 what's stated on the schedule right now, so I assume 22 around 1 o'clock and at approximately 5:00 o'clock 23 for dinner.