OXFORD — A $50,000 settlement among the Department of Environmental Protection and the Oxford County Agricultural Society, Suzanne and Rupert Grover and McGee Construction of West Gardiner over an environmental violations at the fairgrounds two years ago comes one step closer to conclusion this week.

The required 30-day public commenting period for the administrative consent agreement will conclude on Monday, and the agricultural society filed an after-the-fact stormwater permit application on Friday as part of the administrative consent agreement. Both steps were necessary to move the consent agreement to its final stages.

“It’s been a long time coming, but it shows our process works,” DEP spokeswoman Samantha DePoy-Warren said Friday afternoon of the administrative consent agreement that was signed by several of the named parties on May 23 but not by the DEP commissioner or Attorney General’s Office yet.

OCAS was cited June 28, 2010, for violating the Stormwater Management Law, the Natural Resources Protection Act, the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Law and illegally discharging sediment for work that was done on the fairgrounds to clear a 21-acre site, including a large hillside located in both Oxford and Norway, and failing to obtain a stormwater permit.

DePoy-Warren said once the Monday deadline passes for public comments, the agreement will be passed on to DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho — along with any comments — for a signature before going to the Attorney General’s Office for a final signature and filing. As of Friday no public comments had been received.

Because the agreement involves violations of the federal Clean Water Act, the administrative consent agreement was required to be posted on the DEP website for 30 days for public comment, she said.

According to the agreement, the OCAS, on behalf of all the signed parties (Suzanne and Rupert Grover and McGee Contracting), agreed to pay a $50,000 penalty to the state of Maine with $10,000 of that suspended specifically so they can pursue obtaining an after-the-fact stormwater permit for the horse racing track.

A $40,000 check was submitted to the state with the signed agreement.

“The consent agreement holds the (parties) responsible in a firm and fair way,” DePoy-Warren said.

The after-the-fact permit application was received by the DEP on Friday and the DEP will begin its review as soon as it is accepted as complete, DePoy-Warren said.

“Obtaining an after-the-fact stormwater permit will bring the site into full compliance and will provide a solid baseline for any permitting work to be done in the future,” DePoy-Warren said.

OCAS hired McGee Construction of West Gardiner in the spring of 2010 to clear the site near the racetrack. Some of the site work was intended to clear land for camping during that summer’s Nateva Festival.

The parties failed to apply for the proper stormwater permitting. The lack of a permit is in violation of DEP regulations and a town ordinance that requires the company go before the Planning Board for site plan review if earth is going to be moved under certain conditions.

The violations surfaced when abutters to the fairgrounds saw a nearby pond becoming filled with silt from site work there, and it was determined that the responsible parties had not obtained a permit to do the work.

The violations have since been corrected under the direction of DEP officials.

The consent agreement is a proposal by the DEP to resolve the matter without court action. It is a legally binding document with the state that must be approved by all parties, according to information from the DEP.

“From Day One, the DEP has been dedicated first and foremost to making sure this site was stabilized, restored and brought into complete compliance through reasonable corrective action,” DePoy-Warren said. “We are confident that this consent agreement facilitates that, while holding the responsible parties accountable in a firm, fair way that will prevent further violations and uphold critical environmental protections.”

ldixon@sunjournal.com

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