ISLESBORO In a Jan. 8 joint announcement, the chair of the Islesboro Select Board,Gabe Pendleton, and the executive director of the Islesboro Islands Trust, Steve Miller, expressed dismay about the recent spill of baled mostly plastic trash into waters of Penobscot Bay, and demanded action by the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection.

The Select Board and land trust are urging, serious sanctions for the accidental but preventable discharge of more than two tons of plastic waste at Mack Point, Searsport, according to Miller, in a news release.

The DEP said in early December that it was investigating thecompacted trash from Ireland that spilled into Penobscot Bay waters while being unloaded from a ocean freighter. A report or enforcement action has yet to be issued.

The Islesboro Select Board also strongly recommended enactment of policies to prevent plastics discharge to all Maine waters, including Penobscot Bay, in the future, he said.

On Jan. 3, the Islesboro Islands Trust sent a letter to Brian Kavanah, who is the director of the DEPs Bureau of Water Quality, advising zero tolerance, for this kind of preventable dumping into the marine waters.

Additionally, the Select Board is also submitting a letter to the DEP, which said, in part,"We are especially concerned about this serious water quality threat to our local economy."

(Read the attached PDF for the entire two letters)

Sprague Operating Resources must be sanctioned for not immediately reporting the above cited plastics discharge; protocols must be developed that ensure thorough, rapid and effective clean-up of any such waste spill in future; and waste transportation regulations must be imposed that represent zero tolerance for discharge of plastics into Maine waters, the IIT letter said. (See below for full letter)

Pendleton agreed to send the Islesboro Select Board letter, with copies of the IIT letter, to other municipalities in the Penobscot Bay region and apprise them of their concerns.

"Please undertake all steps necessary to discipline the responsible parties and establish zero tolerance for discharging plastic waste into the marine waters of Maine," the Select Board wrote.

Islesboro Islands Trust listed 12 specific concerns related to the discharge of waste plastics in Penobscot Bay.

The IIT letter reminded the Maine DEP that, Plastics in our bay are unacceptable in all cases but this was preventable, should have been reported immediately, should have been attended to more thoroughly and effectively and should cause officials to take steps to prevent this from happening again.

Miller said an increasing body of research clearly demonstrates that microplastics pose a serious health risk to marine life and humans who eat seafood.

Maine DEP needs to send an unambiguous message that discharges of waste plastics into marine waters is an unacceptable health hazard, Miller said.

Islesboro Islands Trust letter

Dear Mr. Kavanah:

Islesboro Islands Trust (IIT) advances land conservation, ecosystem education and environmental advocacy in the Penobscot Watershed. For more than 30 years, IITs education, advocacy, water quality monitoring, and research demonstrate particular interest in the quality and integrity of water throughout the watershed. IIT advocates for the extremely important Penobscot Bay marine economy. Sprague Operating Resources at Mack Point, Searsport, must be held accountable for the accidental but preventable discharge of more than 2 tons of plastic waste into Penobscot Bay and a policy of zero tolerance for plastic discharge into Maine waters must be adopted.

Plastics in our bay are unacceptable in all cases but this was preventable, should have been reported immediately, should have been attended to more thoroughly and effectively and should cause officials to take steps to prevent this from happening again.

Concerns include:

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Islesboro Select Board, Land Trust send strong message to state over two-ton trash spill in Penobscot Bay - PenBayPilot.com