The sudden closure of the Downeast Correctional Facility has stopped plans to install a new pipeline providing a clean water supply in Bucks Harbor.
The pipeline was intended to remediate chemical contamination discovered at the jail site, which was formerly occupied by the U.S. Air Force.
The prison closed abruptly on Feb. 9 in a unilateral decision by Gov.
Paul LePage.
A judge’s ruling has since reopened it, but at minimal capacity, with official closure still set for June 2018 unless additional funding is approved by the Legislature.
Longstanding contamination problems According to a 2003 report on borehole studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey during the 1990s, the Federal Aviation Administration discovered numerous occurrences of ground-water contamination at the former Air Force Radar Tracking Station.
Because residential wells were contaminated with fuel and TCE, in 1997 the Maine Department of Environmental Protection ordered the Army Corps to clean up the site and provide an alternative water supply for local residents.
The plan made the Army Corps responsible for maintaining the water line from the Downeast Correctional Facility water supply.
In July 2017, the Army Corps awarded the design-build construction contract to install the water line, and the water line was anticipated to be installed this month.
However, the March report notes, due to the Downeast Correctional Facility’s closure, the design-build contract was suspended in February, "as the state of Maine determines the disposition of the Downeast Correctional Facility’s property."