Appointment to state board stalls in Legislature following concerns from mining opponents

AUGUSTA — The nomination of Thomas Dubois to the Land Use Planning Commission stalled in the Maine Legislature on Thursday, days after environmental advocates and an Augusta lawmaker raised concerns before the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry on Monday.

The committee voted 7-5 Monday against endorsing Dubois’ nomination before sending it to the Maine Senate, which took the rare step of sending the nomination back to the committee Thursday.

The view from Mount Chase, near land purchased by Wolfden Resources Corp. Explorations in the 1970s revealed zinc, lead, copper and silver in what was dubbed the “Mount Chase deposit,” but no mining was attempted. Press Herald file photo

The Land Use Planning Commission is a nine-member board with planning and zoning authority in the state’s unorganized and deorganized territories, where there’s no formal municipal government.

It is currently considering an application from the Canadian company Wolfden Chase Mt. LLC to reclassify 374 acres of land to allow for metallic mineral mining.

Wolfden says Pickett Mountain has the country’s largest undeveloped reserves of a type of ore that contains high-grade zinc and smaller but still commercially valuable amounts of copper, lead, silver and gold.

The site is about 20 miles east of Baxter State Park and Mount Katahdin on land considered sacred to the Wabanaki Nation and central to the state’s booming outdoor economy.

The commission may vote at its next regular meeting Feb. 14 on the rezoning proposal, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry said Thursday.

Several people who testified before the committee Monday did not object to Dubois’ nomination to the commission or say that he lacked experience or qualifications. But they said they were concerned about the upcoming vote and that Dubois has missed many meetings, hearings and background information on the mining proposal.

“We do think it’s unfair for him to be able to vote on this highly complex issue,” said Dan Kusnierz, water resources program manager for the Penobscot Indian Nation. “We believe it’s too late for him to join the LUPC now and vote after the record has been closed and LUPC has already deliberated on the application.”

Rep. Bill Bridgeo, D-Augusta, voiced similar sentiments. “He does seem like a fine gentleman and a wonderfully qualified applicant potentially, at the right time,” Bridgeo said.

Bridgeo, who said he has worked hard to oppose the mining proposal because it threatens some of Maine’s most pristine fishing waters, is worried about the extensive background that exists and the complex review that has already taken place and that Dubois was not a part of.

“No candidate, no matter how qualified, should vote on such a complex issue without having been a part of the process like this that has gone on for more than a year,” Bridgeo said. “I would hope Mr. Dubois would recognize this and voluntarily commit to recusal.”

Dubois, who was brought forward by Franklin County commissioners as a nominee for the post, was asked during the committee meeting if he would recuse himself from the upcoming vote and said he does not plan to. He said he has been reviewing the record and working to bring himself up to speed on the rezoning proposal.

“I don’t think it’s a reasonable request to ask me to recuse myself,” he said. “I think if we get to the February meeting and I haven’t done my homework, I will definitely abstain from the vote, but if I’ve managed to review the complete record, I will render an opinion like any other commissioner.”

Monday’s committee vote fell along party lines, with Republicans voting in favor of Dubois’ confirmation. Democrats and independent Bill Pluecker of Warren voted against the nomination. Republican Rep. Dan Costain of Plymouth was absent.

Pluecker, who serves as House chair of the committee, said during the meeting that with thousands of pages and days of testimony from the public already submitted on the proposal, “we have to be really thoughtful as a committee about putting someone on the commission at the last minute and what that impression would be.”

“A lot of times what we’re working on here in politics is appearances and the appearance of doing something like that and the potential impact of the mine on folks up there makes me worried,” he said.

Senators Thursday did not discuss Dubois’ nomination on the floor prior to their decision to send it back to the committee. A spokesperson for Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, said afterward that typically a nomination or bill is sent back to committee when lawmakers believe additional work is needed.

“In this case, I believe there were some concerns with the committee process,” said Christine Kirby. “A number of lawmakers believed the nominee to be qualified and worthy of the committee’s reconsideration.”