Chester Building Site Leach Field Location
In all the pictures below where there is water that connects to both the Chester leach field and my families land. The source is Silver Lake. The area is never full of water unless lake levels are high and water has flowed into the site down from the lake. The permits for this project included elevations but all were from sea level, not lake level. It is not localized runoff. It has been doing this all of my life and through that of my eldest (82) relative (now deceased). Some of the wetlands which connect to this water system are on an 1893 map and marked as being a cranberry bog. Thats 116 years running. When this project was permitted there was a drought going on. When Phippsburg Board of Appeeals did there site visit, the developer's lawyer kept them, by using up their time allotted from viewing the site surrounded by water. The comments of the Phippsburg Codes Enforcement officer are included below. It is clear to me that he has NO idea what his duties are regarding wetlands and shoreland zone measurements, yet the Maine DEP allowed his and the Board of Appeal's "technically flawed" assessments to stand. See a pdf of their letter to the town here .
I took this up with Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that oversees welfare and septic systems. Please see their response here. they maintain that its okay to put leach fields IN ponds, as long as it isn't a wetland of special significance. The last letter to the Stimsons asking them to comply with the conditions of their permit regarding a culvert that was supposed to be installed with their driveway (but was the last thing they installed-no enforcement action by MDEP for the LIFE of the project) stated that this WAS in fact a wetland of special significance, a detail that should have required a different setback of 75 feet from the resource. My last letter to them yielded NO response.
Looking east from Kondak cottage (west of Chester house site) over driveway. Leach field is marked by stake mid right this side of erosion fencing, and is partially covered with water which connects to my family'ss property in the background just on the far side of the erosion fencing in the middle of the photo. Red and green in upper right hand corner is my and my brothers house. Property owned in common by other members of my family, my cousins and Aunt and Uncle is located just behind fencing.
Chester driveway in foreground from west- Leach field is partially under water in right side of photo. Water winds back towards Norris Cottage in background. Extended Norris family property begins just about at center of photo in middle of water and is on right 20 feet behind erosion fencing.
Water From Chester site to Norris property- Area drying up mid July 2005. Delineated wetlands up next to driveway; leach field is now dry in this picture, to left of water behind brush middle left of photo
Before Construction Spring 2004-leach field location to left of center of photo
After Construction Began Spring 2005
Before Construction Spring 2003- leach field location just past foreground dune on slope downward
Above: Chester 2003 leach field located in foreground at present. this is the dune that was somewhat flattened to accommodate the field.
Leach Field 2005
Water North (Lakeside) connected to Leach field 2005
Driveway partially covered May 2005
January 2006 from next to Norris house-leach field in background under left hand branch of tree
May 2005 - water almost to top of driveway. Leach field is to left out of picture
Spring 2004 - Water flowing into area of leach field from area behind Norris Cottage (and lake)
Phippsburg CEO Testimony at Board of Appeals hearing on his and the BOA task to find the "high water mark" on which the Phippsburg shore land zoning ordinance relies for the beginning of 250 foot setbacks:
"Then you get into the interpretation of the setback and it states very clearly that a setback is measured from the high-water mark. So, we have a near impossible task to go down there with a tape measure and find the normal high water-line. Therefore when I issued this permit, its out of the Shore Land Zone, in my opinion." Next paragraph - " A setback is measured from the normal high water line. When they (? ) are talking about wetlands, they are talking about salt water marsh that is typically, normally two times a day that is inundated with water and it is a very distinct line ...Nobody denies that there are wetlands there, but they are outside my purview. I have nothing to do with them."
He then goes on state that he has relied on his own (mis) interpretation of an earlier DEP letter which says a different wetland is not contiguous to Silver Lake in making his interpretation of the relationship of the wetlands to the west of the Chester building site and Silver Lake (and from which the setbacks would start). Therefore DEP has stated that the wetlands in front (east) of the building site are not contiguous with Silver Lake, but the letter does not state that the wetlands to the west are not contiguous. A later DEP letter clearly does state that the western wetlands (and hence the upland edge and line from which setbacks should be measured) are contiguous (connected). Read that testimony here