By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

Kennebunk Selectmen declined to consider a 180 day moratorium on water extraction proposed by residents, similar to the one Wells residents will vote on in November, even after many residents expressed their interest Sept. 9.

“A moratorium would cover anything in town, whether it is town owned or company owned. It stops all activity and under state law, it is a very severe step to take,” Selectmen Chairman Wayne Berry said. “It requires crisis legislation to be put forth, and while the presence of a large water company is still there, I’m not sure there is really a crisis at hand.”

Kennebunk resident Bill Craven said residents do not feel sufficiently protected in light of negotiations between Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water District and Nestlé water subsidiary Poland Spring.

The proposed contract, which was tabled by water district trustees July 17, would have allowed Poland Spring to begin the permitting process to pump water from the Barrens, part of the Branch Brook watershed, originating near the Sanford Airport and along the Kennebunk and Wells town line.

“If there hadn’t been protest from citizens, we could be locked in with a 30 year contract with Poland Spring,” said Kennebunk resident Robert Wuerthner. “There was not adequate opportunity for public input.”

Water District Superintendent Norm Labbe said he had not planned to speak during Tuesday’s meeting, but said he needed to clarify some facts for the residents. Labbe said the water district sent a newsletter in January 2008 with a notice of the plans with Poland Spring and second notification came in the form of a June press release to inform water district customers about the pending vote. Since tabling the contract, the district met several times and has no intention of revisiting the negotiations for at least six months, even a year, Labbe said. 

Craven said other towns such as Parsonsfield and Palmyra have taken up to one year to write a water extraction ordinance, and said a moratorium in Kennebunk would give the residents half a year to begin writing an ordinance. 

Selectmen recommended citizens request the water district promise not to start new negotiations for at least 180 days and to create an ordinance using existing ones as a guideline, however, Wells resident Joe Hardy said the nature of the water district, which covers three towns, makes creating an ordinance more complicated. 

“Talking to all communities in the district is going to take up to half of a year,” Hardy said. 

“We would like to develop some type of ordinance, but it has to be a collaborative effort because the aquifer does not stop at our town line,” Kennebunk resident and Save Our Water organizer Jamilla El-Shafei said.

Selectmen agreed the aquifer is a shared entity between the towns, but it was not necessary for all three towns to enact the same ordinances. Berry said Kennebunk previously passed a restrictive ordinance on Branch Brook that Wells did not even consider, and he does not see how this proposal is different. 

Aside from water extraction, El-Shafei said she was concerned about the contract because Poland Springs asked the water district to support the company’s interest rather than the town’s in case of legal action. 

“We know Nestle is actively seeking water,” El-Shafei said. “We have great water and we want to protect it. We lose democratic control of our water when we’d sign their contract.”

 “We’re not here because of a water sustainability issue. The issue here is an anti-bottled water issue,” Labbe said. “Bottled water is what the market is. We would not do anything to jeopardize our water resources.”

“If the superintendent of the district is saying they are not doing anything for six months to a year, why should I doubt that?” said Selectman Bob Higgins. “That should give your group the time to work on an ordinance.”

Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said residents can either present changes to the planning board, or conduct a citizen’s petition to write the ordinance themselves.