MAINE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION SUPPORTS MAINE FARMERS

Washington, DC – Today Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and Congressmen Tom Allen (D-ME) and Michael Michaud (D-ME) sent a letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New England District Commander and District Engineer Colonel Thomas L. Koning urging him to follow recommendations by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on the permitting process for construction of irrigation ponds.

"We are confident that working together, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Maine DEP can protect Maine's surface water resources without placing an undue regulatory burden on Maine farmers," the delegation said in a joint statement. "Putting in place a consistent, reasonable permitting process will ensure our farmers are free to produce the crops on which we all depend." The state has recently engaged stakeholders to collect information on consumptive use of state waters. This process will ultimately lead to new laws and regulations governing the use of state waters. The state has worked to limit the effects of new regulations on some of the largest users of surface waters – the agricultural industry. As part of this process, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has developed a general permit for agricultural irrigation ponds. Past federal and state cooperation in issuing cranberry general permits and state programmatic general permits has already demonstrated the success of this type of permitting procedure.

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