Question 5, Pollution controls Question 5 covers a grab bag of environmental, agricultural issues

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Question 5

Do you favor a $17,000,000 bond issue to provide:

(1) The sum of $6,000,000 to construct and upgrade water pollution control facilities, providing the state match for $12,500,000 in federal funds;

(2) The sum of $1,000,000 to protect the State?s drinking water resources by granting funds to cities and towns for the remediation of their solid waste landfills;

(3) The sum of $1,500,000 to protect public health and safety and the environment by providing funds to remove and replace failing septic systems;

(4) The sum of $1,000,000 to protect public health and safety and the environment by providing funds to remove overboard discharges;

(5) The sum of $500,000 to protect the public health and safety and the environment by providing funds for the cleanup of tire stockpiles;

(6) The sum of $3,000,000 to support drinking water system improvements that address public health threats, providing the state match for $15,760,000 in federal funds;

(7) The sum of $300,000 for grants and loans to municipalities for public infrastructure through the Municipal Investment Trust Fund;

(8) The sum of $2,000,000 to construct new or retrofit existing pollution control structures on Maine farms to protect the environment;

(9) The sum of $700,000 to construct environmentally sound water sources that help avoid drought damage to crops; and

(10) The sum of $1,000,000 to recapitalize the Potato Marketing Improvement Fund?

Question 5 on November’s ballot covers the waterfront when it comes to environmental and agricultural issues that need state funding.

A total of $17 million is sought for 10 types of projects ranging from the clean up of tire stockpiles to the construction of potato storage sheds to drinking water system improvements.

Environmental and agriculture officials shake their heads when asked how many disparate items got lumped together in one bond issue. Blame the Legislature, they say. Initially, there were two separate bond issues, one for agricultural items and one for environmental. Lawmakers lumped the bonds together and then threw in a request for $300,000 for urban renewal planning from the Department of Economic and Community Development.

The result is a long list of items that voters are being asked to approve. In the order they appear on the ballot, they are:

. $6 million for large water pollution control projects which will be matched by up to $12.5 million in federal funds. More than half the total, $3.5 million, will be distributed to communities to build new water pollution control facilities where the current systems are having detrimental impacts on the environment. The biggest beneficiary is likely to be Corinna, which will build a land treatment system to end the phosphorous pollution of Sebasticook Lake. The remaining $2.5 million will be put into the state’s revolving loan fund to be available for communities that are undertaking large projects such as constructing or upgrading treatment plants or building composting facilities.

. $1 million to remove discharge pipes that flow directly from homes and businesses. In coastal areas, the removal of such pipes has allowed the reopening of 11,000 acres of clam flats that were contaminated with waste.

. $1.5 million to replace failing septic systems in residential homes.

. $500,000 to clean up tire stockpiles. Since 1994, more than half the 20 million tires stockpiled in Maine have been removed with funds from prior bond issues. This bond money will be used to continue work in Bowdoin where 8 million tires remain.

. $1 million for making improvements to already-sealed municipal landfills. The money will be used by towns, such as Corinna, Lamoine and Winter Harbor, where now-closed landfills are affecting ground and surface water. In some cases, new water lines will be built to ensure drinking water is not contaminated by runoff.

. $3 million to improve public drinking water supplies to be matched by $15.8 million in federal funds. The money, in the form of loans and grants, would enable communities to better secure their water supplies from possible tampering and to protect drinking water from chemical and bacterial contamination.

. $300,000 for the Municipal Investment Trust Fund, a downtown revitalization program run by the Department of Community and Economic Development.

. $2 million to help farmers construct manure storage facilities. This will enable them to store manure during the winter months rather than spreading it on frozen ground when it is likely to run off and pollute lakes and streams.

. $700,000 to help farmers build water storage ponds, new wells and irrigation systems to water their crops during droughts. Some of the money may go toward blueberry growers, who have been the target of federal government criticism for taking water from rivers that are home to endangered wild Atlantic salmon.

. $1 million for the Potato Marketing Improvement Fund. The money will be lent out to potato farmers so they can build and modernize storage sheds for year-round use. New processing facilities in Aroostook County need potatoes throughout the year. In the past, farmers stored potatoes for only a few months before shipping them to market.

Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Martha Kirkpatrick acknowledged that she is worried about how voters will react to a bond issue with so much in it. She is also concerned that the question’s placement near the end of the list of six bond issues may not bode well for its passage. However, voters have approved every environmental bond issue except one in the mid-1990s.

Many items in Question 5, such as drinking water and sewer system improvements, appear on the ballot almost yearly. Such needs are not likely to go away anytime soon, said Kirkpatrick. In fact, the need for money for such projects far exceeds what is being asked for in this bond issue. For example, $200 million worth of treatment plant upgrades need to be undertaken in the next five years, Kirkpatrick said.

Such projects are typically funded through bond issues rather than the state’s general fund, unless times are really good and budget surpluses are big.