NORWAY – The president of the Nateva Music and Camping Festival said Thursday that the three-day concert expected to attract 15,000 people from around the world will not be compromised by the shutdown of a 15-acre hillside at the Oxford Fairgrounds.

“I have camping with or without the hillside,” Frank Chandler said. “If we don’t get that hill, we will not use that hill.”

Construction work on the hillside at the Pottle Road fairgrounds, which Nateva leased several months ago to use for the July 2-4 festival, may be too unstable for use because of erosion problems, officials said earlier this week.

The hillside overlooks the racetrack, where well-known bands such as Further, Jakob Dylan, Zappa Plays Zappa, Flaming Lips and George Clinton will perform. In all, nearly 50 bands will play on four stages, according to the festival website.

State and local officials allege the stability of the hillside, which has been leased by Chandler for “low-impact” use during the festival, has been compromised by work the fairground owners — the 18-member Oxford County Agricultural Society — have been doing to clear the area.

Michael Mullen of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection said the agency intends to pursue enforcement action against the landowners for environmental issues, including violation of the storm-water management law.

Local Planning Board Chairman Dennis Gray has halted review of the agricultural society’s request for a change in land use until it presents a stabilization plan for the hillside, which he called “a muddy mess,” and an “ecological disaster waiting to happen.”

“In my world, it’s an outrageous situation,” said Chandler, who had hoped to use the hillside for low-impact activities, such as walking or sitting to watch the concert, and extra room for campsites if it was needed.

While Chandler said the issue of leasing allegedly unusable land may become a legal issue for him, it will have no effect on the festival because organizers did their planning for campsites without the hillside. Chandler said everyone who has a ticket for on-site camping is assured an on-site campsite and that the hill did not factor into those ticketed sites.

“Until they started clearing (the hillside), it was not even a part of the plan,” Chandler said.

He said sometime last winter he became aware of negotiations between another show promoter and the Oxford County Agricultural Society members, and work that being done in that area for that deal. When the new land suddenly became available, Chandler said he saw “a great space” that could be used for the Nateva festival.

He thought at the time, “If you can grow grass, it would be a nice place to hang out,” he said. “It’s a big, open space.”

Chandler and the society members came to an undisclosed agreement to lease the hillside.

DEP: Site is in violation

Lance Bean of the Oxford County Agricultural Society said in an e-mail Thursday that McGee Construction, which was hired to do the clearing, and the society were “operating under the assumption that they were exempt” from the permitting process.

Bean said once it was discovered that a permit was needed, immediate action was taken with DEP to remedy the problem.

Bean said DEP has approved the remedial plan and permits are ready to be issued. “The only thing holding up the process is money,” Bean said. “The additional costs to the nonprofit are very significant and were not budgeted.”

However, the DEP contends that despite many weeks of trying to get the society members to file an application for a proper permit, they have seen nothing.

“The site is in violation,” said Colin Clark, DEP enforcement specialist, who has been to the site on Pottle Road off Route 26 numerous times.

Clark said the society has not applied for a permit, despite repeated requests from the DEP.

According to Clark, the work done at the site included 15,000 square feet of wetland disturbance, where the wetland was “dug up and isn’t there anymore,” and 52,000 square feet of tree removal and earth-moving.

Clark said the hillside grade has been compromised by work to remove stumps and then refill the holes.

“There is a large area of disturbance,” he said, describing it as “the hillside being pushed around.”

“They got a lot ahead of themselves,” Clark said. “Now they’ve got themselves into trouble.”

Mullen of the DEP said the department is alleging that the landowner violated the storm-water management law, the Natural Resources Protection Act by filling a freshwater wetland, and the erosion and sedimentation control law. They also discharged soil, “causing top soil to run off into a nearby stream,” he said.

“We’re pursuing all this stuff and trying to get more facts about various aspects of the development before we pursue with enforcement action,” Mullen said.

If the landowner is cited for the violations, it could face financial penalties. Clark said it was unclear what the penalty might be. It would depend in part on whether the group shows a “good-faith effort” by applying for the permits sooner rather than later.

Although the DEP does not have “stop work” authority, it “strongly” suggested to the contractor and landowners last month that they remedy the problem before the land is used for an event.

The land is owned by the nonprofit Oxford County Agricultural Society and not Black Bear Realty LLC as previously believed by local officials. Norway Town Assessor Jodi Keniston said Thursday that she made a mistake and has since fixed the ownership issue. Black Bear Realty LLC owns the racetrack and about an acre of abutting land in Norway, Keniston said.

Chandler said that regardless of the problems encountered by the fairgrounds association, he intends to put on a “first-class experience” for ticket holders. Weekend passes with on-site camping have sold out, but there will be free camping at a number of other sites the festival has secured.

There will be four or five camping sites on the Oxford Fairgrounds, free campsites and shuttle service at the nearby Oxford Plains Speedway on Route 26 and a 12- to 13-acre parcel owned by the town of Oxford adjacent to the fairgrounds that can be used for campsites, Chandler said.

The fairgrounds covers 100 acres, according to the society’s website, www.oxfordcountyfair.com. Most of it is in Oxford.

[email protected]