Birch Stream Meeting

From the time parents at Griffin Park in Bangor began wondering whether the awful smell in nearby Birch Stream could be related to the unusually high number of illnesses among their children, all they have requested is for someone in the city to take responsibility for helping them figure out whether there is a connection or if some other environmental source is making their children sick. The response has been notable for the level of frustration it has caused the parents.

That may change tomorrow, when at 7 p.m. at City Hall, the public is invited to discuss the situation with officials from the city, the state and the National Guard, which is involved because the de-icer it uses for its planes had been running into Birch Stream. Bangor state Rep. Pat Blanchette helped organize the meeting, she said, to help all sides understand the nature of the problems and what might be done about them.

This is an encouraging beginning and it is happening at a crucial time – de-icing season for the nearby Bangor International Airport and the National Guard is not far off, and while the city has promised a new drainage system will keep the de-icer from reaching the stream, residents are understandably concerned about this pollutant and its effects on their health. Further, they are asking that the residue of other pollutants found in the stream – heavy metals, jet fuel, gasoline, oil – be removed.

If the meeting goes well Friday, Bangor residents will present their concerns and expectations and the attending officials will be prepared with responses describing what has been done, what is being planned and how the residents can get answers in the future. Mostly because the question of whether the state or the city was responsible for the polluted stream, a serious but manageable neighborhood problem has become much more complex than necessary. Tomorrow it may get simpler.