WOODLAND, Maine — Maine agricultural officials are investigating whether a Woodland Select Board member allowed fertilizer to be spread too close to neighboring properties, allegedly tainting residents’ water supplies.
Diane Stubbs and Merton and Sharon Pete allege that Thomas Drew, who owns a dairy farm on Woodland Center Road and serves on the small Aroostook County town’s Select Board, allowed the Washburn-based company Penobscot McCrum to dump potato waste from its processing plant onto Drew’s property on Aug. 18.
Stubbs and the Petes claim that the potato waste crossed over to their properties on Langley Road and got into their well systems, turning the water orange and making it unsafe to drink.
Stubbs has lived in Woodland for 56 years while the Petes have been in town nearly 70 years. Both said they never had water contamination issues until Aug. 18.
“The water in the flush had turned orange, and that’s when I stopped using the water,” Stubbs said. “I didn’t dare drink it because of the smell. It smelled like potatoes rotting.”
Since then, Stubbs and her neighbors, the Petes, have been buying bottled water for drinking and cooking, Stubbs said.
The well systems at both Stubbs and the Petes’ properties later tested positive for harmful substances, including E. coli and manganese, Merton Pete said. Now, the Petes will need to install a $4,000 filtration system to have clean water again. Stubbs is unsure if she will be able to afford that type of solution.
“I’m a widow and a senior citizen on a fixed income,” Stubbs said.
After speaking with local officials with Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection, Stubbs and the Petes were directed to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, which regulates the use of fertilizers, including potato processing waste, on farms.
State agriculture officials declined to comment on the allegations against Drew because an investigation is ongoing, said Jim Britt, the department’s director of communications.
Stubbs and the Petes spoke to the Select Board on Tuesday, hoping to bring up their concerns with Drew for the first time. Drew recused himself from that conversation, citing a potential conflict of interest because the matter involves his farm.
On Thursday, Drew declined to comment on what happened on Aug. 18 but said that he has not spoken with Stubbs or the Petes about their allegations.
“I certainly would not want to be responsible for destroying anyone’s well,” Drew said. “I don’t think I can say more until all the facts come to light.”
