Alna residents discussed concerns about potential geologic disturbance and the importance of regulating explosive use in town during a public hearing over a proposed blasting ordinance on Thursday, Jan. 23.

About 30 residents gathered at the town’s fire station in person and via Zoom to discuss the ordinance. Pending final review and approval by the select board, the ordinance is slated to appear on the warrant for Alna’s annual town meeting Saturday, March 15.

The stated purposes of the draft ordinance include minimizing the potential side effects of blasting, including potential effects of blast shockwaves on local groundwater, wildlife, ecosystems, and the homes and wells of Alna residents. It includes permitting requirements and performance standards for different types of blasting.

“I am invested in this issue to the extent that I took on the job of moderating this committee, and I have some affection for these people and some respect for the work they did. I would like to see the document get passed at town meeting,” said Chris Cooper, moderator of Alna’s ad hoc Mining and Blasting Committee.

The committee formed after a previous version of a blasting and mining ordinance was voted down at last year’s annual town meeting. The version of the ordinance voted down in 2024 attempted to regulate mining as well as blasting and included sunset provisions on some mining, quarrying, and rock crushing operations.

While proponents cited environmental concerns, critics said the ordinance was targeted and could open the town to possible expensive litigation. At the time, Ian Messier, chief engineer at Crooker Construction LLC, which operates a gravel pit in Alna, said Crooker’s pit would close if the ordinance passed as proposed.

Messier was a nonvoting member on the ad hoc committee that formed in the wake of that ordinance’s defeat. The rest of the committee, in Cooper’s estimation, contained a “balanced” group of residents with diverse views on the subject, he said.

The committee met throughout the past year to develop the amended version of the ordinance, deciding to take up the issue of blasting exclusively to simplify the task, Cooper said. He added discussions were often contentious, comparing some meetings to “dog fights.”

In Cooper’s opinion, this made it all the more impressive that the committee ultimately voted unanimously to accept the new version of the ordinance as workable. This included approval from Messier, according to Cooper.

In a phone interview Monday, Jan. 27, Messier confirmed he had considered the draft version of the ordinance, as prepared by the ad hoc committee, workable. However, based on feedback from the Alna Planning Board and residents, the Alna Select Board may still opt to alter the ordinance from the version submitted by the ad hoc committee before approving it for the town meeting warrant.

As written, the version of the ordinance prepared by the ad hoc committee sets performance standards and permitting requirements for various types of blasting operations. It also references and builds off of state requirements for blasting operations, as laid out in Title 38: Waters and Navigation statute 490-Z: “performance standards for quarries.” The statute includes provisions relating to groundwater and wildlife protection, erosion and pollution control, and more.

If voters ultimately enact the ordinance proposed by the ad hoc committee, a planning board permit would be required for production blasting operations with a blasting area half an acre or larger and for non-production blasting operations with blasting areas of one acre or larger. Additionally, a permit would be required for any blasting operation of any size or purpose if it is planned for a location within 250 feet of a structure on an adjacent lot not owned by individual conducting the blasting operations.

The permit process would include a public hearing, a fee determined by the select board, confirmation of the individual’s licensing and adequate liability insurance, and the requirement that the person must notify nearby residents when blasting is set to occur.

The planning board may also establish other conditions, such as the requirement that anyone proposing to conduct blasting operations put forward a bond.

Blasting operations requiring a planning board permit would also be required to constrain blasting to certain periods during normal working hours on weekdays; refrain from blasting and drilling on certain national holidays; and adhere to protection and conservation criteria for both wildlife and groundwater.

Regarding wildlife, blasting operations must demonstrate that their proposed action does not disturb, impair, or displace certain imperiled species by providing confirmation from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Groundwater protection standards in the draft ordinance include pre- and post-blast groundwater testing in a nearby well and as required at the discretion of the Alna Planning Board.

Under the proposed ordinance, individuals seeking a new permit may not blast within 5 feet of the seasonal high groundwater table. Anyone who already has permission to operate in Alna would be permitted to blast to 2 feet from the seasonal high groundwater table.

“The most important thing in this ordinance is to prevent them from going below (the high water table),” said resident Jeff Philbrick.

Groundwater concerns were among those that led the community to initially pursue developing a blasting ordinance more than a year ago, according to previous reporting by The Lincoln County News.

Alna resident Mary Kromhout said she was concerned not only about the quality of water but about potential changes to the availability and amount of groundwater.

“What happens if it suddenly goes dry?” she asked.

State statute requires the operator of a mining activity restore or replace an affected drinking water supply if it is interrupted, contaminated, or diminished in the course of blasting. Resident Helen Rasmussen read that portion of the statute aloud and added many areas in which Alna’s ordinance may seem to lack guidance are accounted for in state law.

Cathy Johnson, chair of the Alna Planning Board, recommended that the state requirements be appended to the ordinance, if enacted, to make it easier for both individuals and the planning board to understand the rules at play.

Johnson also described some other amendments or clarifications she said the planning board would suggest for the ordinance.

First, Johnson suggested that all blasting operations – not just large-scale and production blasting projects – be limited to blasting within certain times on weekdays. She also recommended expanding the window for the planning board to act on an application to 90 days rather than 60, which she said would be more “realistic” according to the planning board’s current schedule of once-monthly meetings.

“Even though the planning board meets once a month, there are times in the year when 60 days would only include one planning board meeting. So we are suggesting 90 days, not just because of that but also because the ordinance requires a public hearing,” she said.

As proposed, the ordinance requires operators of mining activities to record and retain information about each blast. Because the Maine Department of Environmental Protection also requires such a log with more information, Johnson recommended that Alna request the same report so that individuals would not have to create two separate reports for the town and DEP.

She also recommended some language changes for clarity.

As enforcing some of the ordinance’s requirements may call for assistance from a consultant or other expert, the planning board also recommended allowing the town to request a “review fee” from applicants to cover those costs, Johnson said.

The ordinance, as written, includes a six-month grace period for operations already in place in Alna to come into compliance. The draft ordinance also includes a provision that the select board reassess the ordinance after a year has elapsed.

Alna Select Board members will take residents’ and officials’ comments into account as they review the proposed ordinance, including written comments and emails, said Third Alna Select Board member Coreysha Stone. They will discuss the ordinance and potential amendments at their next meeting, which is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30 in the town office.

If the select board approves a final version of the proposed ordinance, residents will vote on whether to adopt it at their annual town meeting, which is set for Saturday, March 29. To read the complete draft ordinance or for more information, go to alna.maine.gov or call 586-5313.

This article has been made available to this newspaper through an agreement with the Lincoln County News.