A company that owned a Masardis sawmill until January could pay $240,000 in fines for violating state environmental regulations, including improper handling of wastewater.
Daaquam Lumber, owned by Groupe Lebel and Bois Daaquam of Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec, has been accused of multiple violations in a consent agreement issued by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
The company allegedly discharged pollutants into local waters and failed to collect samples to monitor wastewater, among other violations, according to the DEP. Under the agreement, Daaquam will pay a $99,000 civil penalty and contribute $141,000 to enhance fish habitat in a nearby waterway.
Commonly known by the name of its longtime former owners, J. Paul Levesque and Sons, the sawmill operation has a history of Canadian owners since its founder died in 2013. Maibec, also of Quebec, bought it in 2015. Daaquam acquired it from Maibec in 2018 and owned it for about seven years. Irving Forest Products acquired it on Jan. 5.
Daaquam was cited for numerous violations at the mill in 2022, including missing repair and training documentation, having incomplete and unsigned records of corrective actions, ditch maintenance failures, uncontrolled windblown particles, illicit wastewater discharge and improper storage of sand and salt, the consent agreement states.
Though Daaquam addressed some of the violations, it did not take adequate steps to stop the discharge of pollutants and raw materials into waterways, according to DEP. The company also failed to train employees to minimize pollution and did not collect wastewater samples at the proper times.
Groupe Lebel officials did not immediately return a request for comment.
The agreement specifies that Daaqam’s $141,000 payment will go to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for use in a $306,000 habitat enhancement project at Scopan Stream in Masardis.
“There is currently no holding pool habitat (with the exception of the pool in the tail race of the dam) in the stream that supports adult landlocked salmon or brook trout,” the project summary stated. “This project seeks to create pools to provide the needed habitat to allow adult fish to remain in Scopan Stream.”
The stream flows into nearby Scopan Lake, which also does not support brook trout or salmon populations, according to a 2018 state study.
Organizers said the project entails building two low dams, or weirs, that would raise water levels where needed to hold fish, growing their populations and benefiting local anglers. Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has received $165,000 so far to fund the project, and Daaquam’s contribution will cover the rest.
The consent agreement is open for comments until June 13.
