CANTON — Emergency measures taken when the temporary dam on Whitney Brook washed out June 19 after heavy rains filled Lake Anasagunticook, has caused the Department of Environmental Protection to issue violations to the town citing lack of permit among other things.

Dam Core Committee Chairman Malcolm Ray said a permit is not required for emergency repairs, citing law Maine law. DEP has said that rock material from the bottom of the stream was moved to the area behind the dam.

Ray said that silt fences and erosion mats were installed on both sides of the temporary dam as requested by DEP. He is trying to set up a meeting with DEP and town officials as soon as possible, he said. The committee has been discussing asking for a permit to make the temporary dam a permanent dam.

Ray commented Monday night that there seemed to be a lot of activity on the lake now that the water level is acceptable for swimming and boating. The consensus was that most people are happy with the dam.

One complaint was that all the fish washed out of the lake when the dam gates were open for more than a year. Ray appointed members of the committee to request the selectmen of Canton and Hartford to contact the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife about restocking the lake.

The town took ownership of the dilapidated dam after the previous owner failed to make repairs ordered by the state. The committee was charged with making recommendations on its restoration. The lake is part of Canton and Hartford.

There is not an adequate boat launch on the lake, but a work day in September will be designed to clear the sides of the lake upstream in the millpond where a possible launch site could be built.

Ray asked that the snowmobile club be contacted to see if they would be interested in building a bridge across the dam on the old bridge pillars.

The committee will also be investigating grant money for the dam from the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments. Canton selectmen have just approved applying for membership in AVCOG. Hartford is already a member.

Ray announced a workshop with Sue Gammon on Aug. 28 to tour the area along Whitney Brook and discuss the dam’s effect. “A well managed dam is good for the brook,” Ray said.

Gammon has spearheaded creating trails all along the brook and has concerns which the Core Committee hope to address in the workshop.