AUGUSTA – A legislative committee declined Thursday to step into a heated dispute over a polluted well between a Holden couple and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

By unanimous vote, the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee voted to recommend against a bill that would have forced the DEP to either find the source of pollution contaminating Norris and Linda Nickerson’s well or buy the property from the couple.

The vote was the latest twist in a relatively common pollution case that has morphed into a costly and time-consuming nightmare involving lawyers, several state agencies and even Gov. John Baldacci.

The Nickersons have been battling with the DEP since shortly after the couple first noticed a strong smell of gasoline in their well water back in May 2004. Water tests revealed MTBE, a toxic gasoline additive and other gas-related substances in the water.

The DEP responded with more water tests and soil samples on their property. However, the couple’s relationship with the department staff quickly deteriorated.

The Nickersons have accused DEP staff of lying, slander and failing to conduct adequate tests on areas they believe could be responsible for the contamination. The couple said they have been unable to eat, shower or wash clothes in their home for nearly three years.

“We’re not asking for anything abnormal,” Linda Nickerson told committee members. “The only thing we’re asking for is for our lives to be returned to a state of normalcy.”

DEP officials contend that their staff has gone above and beyond the department’s procedures on MTBE pollution, occasionally at the behest of Baldacci, a friend of the couple.

The DEP staff has conducted 70-plus soil tests to detect the source and spent more than $30,000 on the case so far – double or triple the cost of a typical MTBE case.

But department officials say the Nickersons have thwarted their efforts by barring agency staff their property and refusing any other assistance.

The department has repeatedly offered to install a filter on the couple’s well or to dig a new well, all on the state’s tab. The Nickersons have steadfastly refused, arguing that neither option will restore the market value to their home.

At the request of Baldacci, staff from the state Department of Conservation got involved to attempt to mediate. A team of geologists reviewed the case but ultimately endorsed the DEP’s actions.

“I certainly think a new well will solve the problem,” Robert Marvinney, the state geologist, told the committee.

Lawmakers expressed heartfelt sympathy for the Nickersons’ situation but clearly struggled with the prospect of the state buying a house because of a spill not caused by the DEP.

At one point, a committee member asked if the couple would sit down with another third-party mediator.

Both Norris and Linda Nickerson said their trust was so shattered that they could not work with the DEP again.

In the end, the committee declined to intervene and urged the parties to continue working together.

“I’m not sure we are going to find a legislative solution to this relationship problem,” said Rep. Bob Duchesne, a Hudson Democrat.

The Nickersons declined to comment after the meeting. However, the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Benjamin Pratt, an Eddington Democrat, said he hoped he could continue to help work to resolve the stalemate.