Town Manager Perry Ellsworth said the Maine Department of Environment Protection would issue an order prohibiting drilling water wells in the Hooper Sands Road area due to detection of carbon tetrachloroethylene, a known carcinogen, in the aquifer.
Old Mill resident and Town Council candidate Abigail Kemble also raised concerns about elevated arsenic levels in her water supply, according to notices from the South Berwick Water District.
A level of 10.58 ppb is the safe threshold for this heavy metal.
In other business Ellsworth said due to extenuating circumstances it is unlikely a sewer line can be implemented in the Route 236 TIF district.
Specifically, a Maine Department of Transportation right of way would not be large enough to allow access to a sewer line.
Councilors learned a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on a proposed medical marijuana storefront was postponed because the ZBA chairman lives near the proposed store.
The chairman’s absence meant the lack of a quorum to rule on the appeal, which led Council Chairman Jack Kareckas to urge more citizens to serve in town government.
The council later approved residents James Mundy and Maya Bog as new ZBA members.
Both were rejected due to the town’s current moratorium on such establishments.
The council appointed Ellsworth to manage two funds that benefit the town library.

SOUTH BERWICK — Water safety issues and commercial development highlighted Tuesday’s Town Council meeting.
Ellsworth informed councilors that DEP would issue an order prohibiting the drilling of water wells in the area due to contamination of carbon tetrachloroethylene, a known carcinogen, in the underground aquifer.
The contamination issue was addressed by the state agency in the 1990s but, during the Sept. 11 meeting of the council, it was noted that a Hooper Sands Road homeowner discovered the same contaminants in a recently dug well on their property.
Earlier during the meeting, Old Mill resident and Town Council candidate Abigail Kemble raised concerns regarding the discovery of elevated levels of arsenic in her local water supply.
Kemble referred to notices, issued by the South Berwick Water District, notifying homeowners and others of the arsenic concern.
According to the information provided, arsenic levels of 11 parts per billion have been found.
Specifically, a Maine Department of Transportation right of way in the area would not be large enough to allow access to a sewer line.
The town was considering using tax incentive financing funds (TIF), derived from new taxes incurred on Central Maine Power lines along Route 236, to establish sewer service to promote further commercial development in the area.
Also regarding development, councilors learned that a zoning board of appeals hearing on a proposed medical marijuana storefront had to be postponed.
Finally, the council appointed Ellsworth to manage two funds that benefit the South Berwick Public Library.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (Legal Newsline) – Defendant Nestle Waters North America Inc. filed a motion to dismiss an amended complaint on July 30 regarding a lawsuit over its Poland Spring brand of spring water over allegations the water does not meet the “spring water” determinations as defined by the Federal Drug Administration.
“This court should dismiss this action in deference to the primary jurisdiction of the FDA to exercise its expertise and authority in interpreting and applying the FDA Identity Standard and determining whether Poland Spring meets the FDA’s standard,” stated the motion to dismiss, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
According to the defendant, if the court were to accept the plaintiffs’ challenge, “it would endanger the entire bottled water regulatory process…state regulators would be stripped of all regulatory authority if licensing could be vitiated and voided by private lawsuits in federal court.” The lawsuit was filed by plaintiffs Mark J. Patane and others who are described as residents of “nine Northeastern states.” The suit was dismissed without prejudice in May.
According to the motion to dismiss, the plaintiffs’ amended complaint “fails to state any viable claims as a matter of law."
“Returning to the same empty well, plaintiffs allege in their amended complaint the very same claims that were pled in their initial complaint and were dismissed as preempted by federal law,” Nestle stated.
According the filing, each count of the amended complaint was “premised on the allegation that Poland Spring is falsely labeled as ‘spring water’ because it does not comply with FDA Identity Standard."
The plaintiffs, according to the filing, questioned the competency and the integrity of the state regulatory agencies, Maine’s in particular, in their original suit and allegedly questioned compliance determinations that authorized the sale of this brand of water.
In turn, the plaintiffs filed state-law claims and sought to “permanently enjoin and declare unlawful the very conduct authorized by state regulators.” U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut case number 17-cv-01381 Sign-up Next time we write about any of these organizations, we’ll email you a link to the story.
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‘Not one drop’ of Poland Spring bottled water is from a spring, lawsuit claims.
“Not one drop of Poland Spring Water emanates from a water source that complies with the Food and Drug Administration definition of ‘spring water,’” the lawsuit states.
A spokeswoman for Nestlé Waters North America said its water meets all federal and state guidelines for spring water.
“The claims made in the lawsuit are without merit and an obvious attempt to manipulate the legal system for personal gain.” The lawsuit, which comes as Nestle expands its operations in Maine, is the latest in a string of legal actions against bottled water companies.
In 2003, Nestle agreed to pay $10 million to charity to settle a similar class-action lawsuit that alleged it falsely advertised Poland Spring water.
But the company maintained that it had not been deceptive in its practices, and it did not change the way it sources its water.
“Most of Nestle’s waters are pumped from the ground, but the bigger issue that the regulatory definition of what really counts as spring water is really weak,” said Peter Gleick, a scientist and president emeritus of the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit policy research center in Oakland, Calif. “No one is really looking over the shoulders of the bottled water companies.” Bottled water sales have soared to record highs in recent years as Americans cut back on sugary drinks.
Annual sales of bottled water grew 10 percent last year to $16 billion, surpassing sales of carbonated sodas for the first time, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, a New York-based research and consulting firm.
The company, which recently moved its U.S. headquarters to Arlington, Va., oversees a dozen brands of still and sparkling water, including Deer Park, Acqua Panna, Perrier and San Pelligrino.
Poland Spring, its website says, comes from “some pretty incredible springs — eight of them to be exact.” The site includes a map of the appropriately named sites, including Cold Spring, Clear Spring and Evergreen Spring.

The corporation’s intention to build another plant — possibly in the Lincoln area — that could extract another 175 million gallons per year from an aquifer has, predictably, fanned fears that nearby wells or the entire aquifer will be sucked dry.
Could Poland Spring deplete Maine’s groundwater?
That included the 768 million gallons pumped out by bottled water companies, Gordon said.
Last year, Poland Spring bottled around 900 million gallons of water, less than 1 percent of the state’s groundwater, according to Thomas Brennan, Poland Spring’s senior natural resource manager.
Could Poland Spring bottling plants dry out nearby wells and deplete streams?
Gordon, the state hydrologist, said during the drought he checked each of the company’s test wells that measure how the aquifer being tapped is being affected by the bottling operation.
Poland Spring controls water under land it owns.
The Maine DEP typically checks testing wells at a proposed extraction site to see how the surrounding area would be affected, said Mark Margerum, an environmental specialist for the department.
During droughts, the Maine Geological Survey will check the company’s test wells itself.
Nisha Swinton, senior organizer for Food and Water Watch, said she wants stronger regulation of water extraction and says the state ought to have control over all of Maine’s groundwater.