JAY — Selectmen are expected to make a decision Monday on whether to ask voters if they want to amend a town ordinance to suspend the portion that deals with monitoring the environment.

The Environmental Control and Improvement Ordinance provides oversight of industries including a paper mill,
a power plant and a chemical plant among other businesses. It was enacted May 21, 1988, and been amended 22 times. The last amendment was on April 27, 2009.

Jay voters agreed in the last amendment to lower the town’s environmental reserve fund cap by $200,000 from $1 million. Verso Paper Corp. requested that change and the select board and Planning Board agreed with it. That means that annual permit fees are suspended until the balance of the environmental account drops below $800,000.

This time around, Verso Paper has requested that the town’s environmental monitoring and permit system be suspended because it duplicates what the state and federal permits already require.

There was mixed reaction to that idea with some saying that portion of the ordinance deters businesses from coming to town, while others said it gives the town more control over pollution.

Jay’s ordinance has some regulations that are the same as the state’s, some that are more stringent, and others that are less restrictive.

The ordinance also has other sections that include oversight of subdivisions, junkyards, floodplain and shoreland zoning.

The Board of Selectmen’s meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 1 in the library at Jay High School.

Roughly $269,000 in fees are collected each year, Environmental Control Enforcement Officer Shiloh Ring said Tuesday. Verso’s portion is about $253,000.

Permit fees run between $15,000 and $253,000. Permits include those for water and air quality and solid waste.
Operation expenses are about $200,000 annually and include the Code Enforcement Office, Planning Board, consultant fees, legal expenses and others.

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