Gorham residents urge DEP to slow down assessment of proposed Amazon site
A resident brought a sign to the DEP's public meeting on the Amazon facility proposed for Gorham protesting the project, which would be built on a site where residents claim to have seen the Upland sandpiper, an endangered bird species. (Madeleine Kaptein / Staff Writer).
GORHAM — The Maine Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday hosted a rare public meeting to hear comments on Amazon’s application for its proposed warehouse and distribution facility near Gorham’s town center. In addition to town and Department of Transportation approval, Amazon would need a permit from the DEP to move forward with the project.
The two-hour meeting, which had to be moved at its start from a conference room in the Gorham Municipal Center to the larger council chambers to accommodate the approximately 65 attendees, was the second public meeting concerning the project this week. It followed a public hearing on the most recent plan before the town Planning Board on Monday, where residents largely opposed the project. Amazon’s plans have drawn scrutiny and pushback since it submitted its first site plan in March.
DEP Licensing Division Director Jessica Damon said that the department will review proposed impacts to protected natural resources under the Natural Resources Protection Act. The 146,280-square-foot Amazon facility would impact 34,918 square feet of freshwater wetlands on the 94-acre parcel on Route 25.
“The department will consider the applicant’s effort to avoid, minimize, and compensate for wetland impacts, and will assess the reasonableness of the proposed impact,” Damon said.
She added that the DEP recently asked Amazon for additional information on a few factors, including potential noise, air quality and lighting impacts. The DEP intends to review public comments at the end of the summer and make a decision on the application by Sept. 21, but Damon said that date can be pushed back if necessary.
Damon and three other DEP representatives heard comments from 26 residents at the meeting. All but two speakers discussed environmental concerns over the project, citing objections to noise and light pollution and impacts on wetlands and wildlife. They asked the DEP to deny or significantly slow its review of Amazon’s application.
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Representatives from Bluewater Property Group, the developer for the project, and Flycatcher, the land-use consulting firm that conducted environmental studies for Amazon’s permit application, also attended the meeting.
Residents said they are losing hope that town officials will thoroughly scrutinize the negative environmental impacts of the project that it has already invested $4 million in, and that the state is in a better position to prevent longer-term negative impacts of the facility.
“I’m hopeful that the Department of Environmental Protection will be an impartial judge here,” Josh Trombley said.
Several called for the DEP to conduct or fund an independent environmental study not provided by Amazon, and expressed worries that DEP regulations would not be enforced in the long-term if the project moves forward.
“I respect Flycatcher, I think they’re very reputable,” said Katharine Atwood. “But relying solely on the applicant’s paid consultant in a proceeding where the town has a financial conflict of interest is not sufficient.”
Atwood claimed that wildlife surveys cited by Flycatcher in its application are out of date, the vernal pool delineations were conducted outside of breeding season, and that the alternatives analysis did not properly ask whether the facility could be built somewhere else in southern Maine. She also cited a local geologist who claims that a large facility on that land could cause a landslide similar to one that occurred 2 miles away in 1983, and described her experiences observing wild animals on the property.
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“We need to consider that this is a thriving habitat with a lot of wildlife out there,” Atwood said.
Several residents who live in the houses directly abutting the property echoed these statements. At least two residents described having spotted the endangered upland sandpipers on the property, urging the DEP to ensure the data they rely on to make assessments about wildlife habitats is current and reliable.
Damon said the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will provide input on the application regarding endangered species.
Others worried about the air pollution from the carbon emissions of the over 3,000 vehicles that would arrive at and depart the site daily, and some brought up the stormwater runoff that they said could impact on surrounding homes.
“Many of those protections depend upon proper implementation during construction and long-term compliance,” said Andrea Chadburn. “I encourage the department to clearly address how those measures will be verified and enforced throughout construction.”
Three members of the Gorham Town Council — Lou Simmons, Charlie Hamblen and Seven Siegel — spoke at the meeting as residents, asking the DEP representatives to slow, stop or push Amazon to downsize the project.
When the speakers finished, meeting attendees called out questions to the DEP representatives about their process for reviewing the findings of the applicant and what standard of public comment would trigger additional investigations.
“(The process) is in depth,” Damon said. “We understand it is a large development and there’s a lot of impact, there’s a lot of public interest. We’re not rushing through this.”
Damon said the best way for the public to see DEP action based on their concerns is to send in comment. She noted that Amazon’s application to the DEP and all public comments are publicly available on its Maine Enterprise Licensing System website, and that all comments should be sent to Jaime Taylor at [email protected].
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Tagged: amazon, Department of Environmental Protection, environment
Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's. More by Madeleine Kaptein
