Project advancing, but pipeline issue could be a stopper

KINGFIELD – If things go as Poland Spring representatives have planned, they’ll be breaking ground on a multimillion-dollar bottling plant here while leaves are still on the trees.

It’s so close, they can probably taste it.

They’ve got hurdles to jump through before it’s done: A public hearing, then the thorough review of their application, before the Planning Board can make a decision one way or the other.

But right now, the project’s fate rests squarely on the shoulders of a small group of people appointed to serve on the town’s water district.

Before the Planning Board can even think about approving the project, Poland Spring needs permission to build an 8,000-foot-long pipeline along Route 142, between a water source and its proposed plant, off Route 27.

Originally, the company had thought the state Department of Transportation would give the go-ahead to build the water conduit. But earlier this summer, the DOT ruled that, as a private company, Poland Spring cannot build a pipeline along a state right of way, the company’s natural resources manager, Tom Brennan, explained in July.

As an integral part of the $60 million to $80 million bottling plant plan, Brennan said then that the project could not move forward until a solution was found. He asked the water district to help the company find one by building the pipeline then letting Poland Spring use it for a fee.

Since that early July meeting, the issue has been bandied about in letters and during closed-door meetings, Brennan said Tuesday. The sticking point on both sides is compensation. How much would Poland Spring be willing to pay for the privilege of using the pipeline?

Tuesday night, the two parties met again for a discussion about the possibility of a deal. This time, water district consultant Jack McKee said Tuesday night, Brennan made it clear.

“Basically, he said there are three options,” McKee said. They could come to an agreement, they could look for another solution for the pipeline, or they could back off the project all together.

McKee said Tuesday that Brennan suggested there was a distinct possibility, if no agreement with the water district could be reached, the project would be scrapped all together. Trying to find another option would mean holding off building another year, and cost the company more money, McKee said.

“I don’t know if it was a threat,” he said, “but… “

Brennan sounded optimistic walking out of the meeting. “But maybe you should talk to someone who’s not as optimistic as I am,” he laughed.

District trustees want the company to help rebuild the district’s infrastructure in exchange for the pipeline, Brennan said. Poland Spring is prepared to help the district, but there are limits, he said.

“I mean, this is a pipe in the ground, it shouldn’t be hard,” he said. He’d just given district trustees the company’s best offer – $20,000 per year for the pipeline, $250,000 in a lump sum to put toward infrastructure, and the promise of years of collaboration and help in the future.

“If we build a factory here, we’re not going anywhere,” Brennan said. “We’ll be here 8, 10 years down the road.”

Meanwhile, Tuesday night, water district trustees sat behind closed doors with lawyers, discussing their course.

It’s all up to them now.