Friends Adopt Fish Ladders
Water Quality Monitoring Report 1993-1999
Water Quality Testing 1993-1995
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Friends of the Royal River News
Royal Friends Open Fishways in Yarmouth
At right: From bottom of photo, Jed Wright, Bob Harradon, Bob Houston and Dana Trask install baffles in Yarmouth after removing the old ones.
Contacts:
Chris Ayres, President
Friends of the Royal River
207-688-4480
Jeff McEvoy, Board Member
Friends of the Royal River
207-926-5598 h
207-622-3101 x 218 w
On April 27, volunteers for Friends of the Royal River and staff from the Maine Department of Marine Resources gathered at the Bridge Street Dam owned by the Town of Yarmouth for the annual opening of the fishway. The fishway, which consists of a long concrete ramp with multiple wooden baffles, allows for several species of fish to travel upstream past the dam to spawn.
"The fishways for the Bridge Street dam and the Elm Street dam were built in 1974 and 1979 respectively as part of an anadromous fish restoration program initiated by the Department of Marine Resources" says Jeff McEvoy, New Gloucester resident and Friend of the Royal River. " The Friends have been maintaining the fishways with DMR for the past ten years, but it appears that very few fish are using them. The restoration efforts of the late 70šs were halted for various reasons, but the Friends of the Royal River are very interested bringing it back to life."
Chris Ayres, President of the Friends of the Royal River states, "We are very interested in pursuing an appropriate species restoration program with DMR. Shad and blue backed herring are two species of interest to the Friends and both are ecologically important species for Casco Bay and the Gulf of Maine. In addition shad could offer some great recreational opportunities for anglers in the river."
Both American shad and blue backed herring are anadromous fish, meaning they spawn in fresh water and live their adult lives in the ocean. Blueback herring will travel along the coast in large schools, feeding on plankton for most of the year. In the spring, they will run up coastal streams to spawn. Unlike alewives, a similar, slightly larger cousin, bluebacks will spawn in moving water, making them a likely candidate for restoration in the Royal River.
American Shad are commonly known as the "poor manšs tarpon" and they are highly sought after as a sportfish because of their feisty nature and their ability to leap. The most popular time of year to fish for shad is in the spring when they are returning to coastal rivers and streams to spawn. Adult shad average 2-5 pounds and the world record is better than 11 pounds.
"Historically, the Royal was most likely home to numerous species of anadromous fish including herring, shad, alewives, smelt as well as Atlantic salmon" says Pat Keliher of the Coastal Conservation Association, "although it has been challenging to find any historical references. We do know that there are currently some alewives and shad returning to the river along with American eels and the occasional sea run brook trout and brown trout, but the herring will probably need to be reintroduced."
As the fish begin to return to the river in May to spawn, Friends of the Royal River is very interested in knowing what local residents and anglers see in the river below the Bridge Street dam. If you see flashes of silver in the river or see fish entering the fishway, please contact Jeff McEvoy at 926-5598.
The Friends of the Royal River is a not-for-profit organization that works to conserve the natural, historic, scenic and recreational values of the Royal River Watershed. Upcoming events include a spring warbler birding canoe paddle on May 18 and a morning of striper fishing on the tidal flats near the mouth of the river on June 15. Both events are free and open to the public. For more information and to register contact Jeff McEvoy at 926-5598.
####The Friends take on the McKin Hazardous Waste Site - 1997
When cleanup efforts at the McKin Superfund Site were halted in the fall of 1995, there were plenty of questions about what would happen next. Friends of the Royal River were concerned about what would happen to the Site and what effect it would have on both Collyer Brook and the Royal River. The Friends organized a public meeting at the Westcustogo Grange Hall, North Yarmouth, in January to answer why the groundwater treatment efforts were halted. This meeting, planned two months in advance with plenty of announcement to the public, drew 48 citizens and Friends of the Royal River.Representatives of the PRP's (official lingo for `Potentially Responsible Parties' for causing the Superfund Site), the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave presentations explaining the history and status of cleanup at the McKin Site. The Mckin Site originally operated as a waste collection and transfer station (called the Mckin Company) from 1964 to 1977, handling oil and chemical wastes from many businesses, schools, and government agencies. Complaints from nearby residents alerted officials as early as 1973 of groundwater contamination. The contaminants, one of which was trichloroethylene (TCE), were not identified until 1977, at which time the Mckin Company operation was shut down and local residents were warned not to use the groundwater for drinking or cooking purposes. Cleanup of the site started in 1979 by DEP. By 1983, 33,500 gallons of liquid wastes, 169 drums and one 3,000 gallon tank were removed. During this time the DEP and EPA were conducting studies to determine the nature and extent of contamination. Although the toxic chemicals were cleaned up from the surface, it was too late to keep the soil and the groundwater from being contaminated. In 1983, the EPA placed the McKin Site on the National Priorities List of the Superfund Program and ranked it thirty-third out of 419 sites nationwide. In 1985 the DEP designated the site an Uncontrolled Hazardous Substance Site. The McKin Site was obviously a problem of local, state, and national significance.
In 1985 a cleanup remedy was selected and documented in a Record of Decision. The remedy included cleanup of site soils through extraction and on-site aeration. It also included the restoration of off-site groundwater through a Groundwater Extraction and Treatment System (GETS). Soil aeration was completed in 1987 after 11,456 cubic yards of contaminated soil was processed. Operation of GETS began in 1991 and continued until the Fall of 1995. During this time, two plumes of TCE contaminated groundwater were located that reached both the Royal River and Collyer Brook.
Currently, a portion of the Royal River exceeds water quality standards set by EPA which are 2.7 parts per billion (ppb). At some sites on the river, downhill from McKin, concentrations over 35 ppb have been measured. Measurements of over 500 ppb are present at a spring close to the river's edge. And concentrations of over 2,000 ppb have been estimated for the river bottom where many invertebrates live that fish feed on! These measurements are 10 to over 740 times the concentration allowed by Ambient Water Quality Criteria set by EPA!
The PRP's submitted a report (after they `temporarily' shut down GETS last Fall) to EPA and DEP to gain approval for stopping water purification activities at the Site. They stated that in the past 4.5 years, only 25 gallons of an estimated 1,500 had been removed from the groundwater. The PRP's claim it is technically impracticable to remove the rest of the TCE from the groundwater and want approval to stop the cleanup.
The Friends are Watching
The Friends are working to ensure that the ecological health of the river and it's users (including human, wildlife and plants) are not adversely affected by actions of the PRP's, DEP and EPA. Following the January public meeting, the Friends formed a McKin Site Committee to respond to the Draft Technical Impracticability Report (DTIR) submitted to DEP and EPA by the PRP's.Several Committee members with a wide range of engineering and technical backgrounds, volunteered their time to analyze the DTIR. Our `second opinion' review of specific technical data was contrary to the DTIR, raising many questions. In early March, the Friends sent a letter addressing these questions to the DEP and EPA who then forwarded it to the PRP's.
The Friends feel that not enough is known at this time to support the decision to "walk away from the site." An investigation of alternative techniques or of a different approach to the existing remedial system (such as moving groundwater extraction wells to the areas of high TCE concentration) does not appear to have been performed to support the PRP's position. The letter went on to address many technical questions the Friends had in regards to the data (or lack thereof) used to support the PRP's desire to cease cleaning up the Site.
The Potentially Responsible Parties of the McKin Site are in the process of revising their DTIR after receiving comments from the DEP and EPA. The DEP anticipates a revised report will be available for public review in June. The existing drafts and the future reports will all be available at local libraries, some town halls, and Seevy & Mahar Consultants in Yarmouth.
Public hearings on the final report will begin in August and currently DEP and EPA are scheduled to come to a decision in December of this year. Meanwhile, cleanup at the Mckin Site has ceased and TCE continues to leak into the Royal River and possibly Collyer Brook. The Friends are keeping a sharp eye on the McKin Site situation. We will make sure the public knows of any future public meetings and you can be sure we will be attending. We continue to review reports from the PRP's and submit comments to the appropriate agencies.
The Friends are also meeting with the PRP's directly to discuss these reports and the future of the Royal River, it's tributaries, and the living organisms that depend on it. If you are interested in helping out with the McKin Site Committee of the Friends of the Royal River, or if you want more information please contact Pam Levere at 781-5819 or Bob Houston 829-4198. -Bob Houston, Bob Moore, & Pam Levere