WESTBROOK – A year after Sappi Fine Paper North America announced it had begun working with Westbrook city officials and environmental groups to study the removal of the hydroelectric dams at Saccarappa Falls, recent developments suggest that an agreement finally may be closer.

Last week, as representatives from Sappi and Friends of the Presumpscot River continued to draft a proposal with the city on dam removal and fish passage at Saccarappa Falls, the Westbrook City Council considered approving an additional $22,000 for an engineering firm that is studying details of the project.

The money, which is funded through the Westbrook Environmental Improvement Corp., will go toward engineering and design work for the removal of the dams.

The goal is to implement “nature-like” fish passage and possible recreational opportunities.

The Westbrook Environmental Improvement Corp. and the council had previously approved funds for the firm, Pennsylvania-based Princeton Hydro, not to exceed $30,000.

The money also is the city’s way of bridging the negotiating gap between Sappi and Friends of the Presumpscot.

Last May, just a few months after the announcement concerning Saccarappa Falls, Sappi completed its $4.8 million Cumberland Mills fishway project, which now allows river herring, shad and other types of fish to pass up the Presumpscot River for the first time in more than 150 years.

After a series of hearings in 2009, state regulations required Sappi to install fish passage at its Cumberland Mills dam. Sappi’s licenses through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which will now require passage on the upstream dams, were contingent on fish passage at Cumberland Mills.

The Cumberland Mills project allows natural fish movement up a “denil ladder,” which is a structure built on artificial barriers that allows fish to swim or leap up the barriers. As part of the project, Sappi also reconstructed a 150-year-old river gate that now directs fish to the natural passage by eliminating excess water flow to other river channels.

According to City Administrator Jerre Bryant, the future work by Princeton Hydro is necessary in order to explore the feasibility of “nature-like” fish passage at Saccarappa.

“They have to design and test a design to show that this type of fish passage can be constructed at that site,” he said. “If so, that will have to be submitted for approval.”

Bryant said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as other state agencies, must approve any project. Following approval, a new deadline for fish passage would be established. Currently, Sappi’s deadline is May of next year.

For Friends of the Presumpscot, established in 1992, the Cumberland Mills fishway was a landmark achievement, and the fish passage through Saccarappa Falls is the next major goal. Following the Cumberland Mills project, fish can pass through the bridge, but can’t move much farther upstream until passage at Saccarappa Falls is completed.

Originally, Sappi looked to retain the dams at Saccarappa Falls, and construct the same fish ladder structure established at Cumberland Mills.

Joanna Rieke, corporate communications manager for Sappi Fine Paper North America, declined to comment specifically Monday on where the company is on an agreement with Friends of the Presumpscot, but said the company “will have details to share within the next few weeks.”

Dusti Faucher, a board member of Friends of the Presumpscot, said Tuesday that the group also hopes to have another update in coming weeks, signaling that both groups feel close to an agreement.

“We’re talking with the city, Sappi and the state and federal resource agencies about the best way to get effective fish passage there,” she said.

Faucher said the work done by Princeton Hydro will decide what type of fish passage will work at the falls. “We want to do what’s best,” she said. “We want to make sure what we get is the best solution for the river, for the city and for the fish.”

She added that the group is hopeful the project works toward the benefit of the river, but that the process takes time.

“In the near future we will know how this project will work,” she said. “However, there will be a ton of details to be worked out. It is a step-by-step process.”

According to council agenda details, city administration has been working with all sides to agree on a “collective goal of achieving a fish-passage option that maximizes the economic, recreational and aesthetic benefits for the river as it passes through downtown Westbrook.”

Bill Baker, assistant city administrator for business and community relations, said Monday that the three parties are “close” to an agreement but that they are at a “delicate juncture.”

According to City Council documents, the parties are exploring a possible two-year extension of Sappi’s fish passage deadline to May of 2017. In a February email to fellow city officials, Baker said “the impasse is between Sappi and Friends of the Presumpscot and involves at least one legal or technical issue relating to fish counts and an effort by Friends of the Presumpscot to move the total cap on extra engineering costs from $150,000 to $200,000.”

As part of the negotiations, city officials requested that the Westbrook Environmental Improvement Corp. consider funding the $50,000 gap.

Although the additional funding will receive a second reading at the next City Council meeting, Baker’s email also said the new “authorization for $50,000 would be null and void if Sappi and Friends of the Presumpscot fail to reach an agreement on the legal-technical issues.”

A key portion of the city’s interest in establishing “nature-like” fish passage is possible recreational opportunities for Westbrook residents. Baker, who has been a vocal proponent of utilizing the river for recreation, said Tuesday that he hopes the agreement leads to amenities that make the river a recreational destination.

“Our hope is that an agreement with Sappi and (Friends of the Presumpscot) would yield an opportunity to place two features in the river – one above the falls and one below the falls near the proposed pedestrian bridge – that would make this stretch of river a paddling destination and help us with economic activity in the downtown,” he said. “We remain hopeful and optimistic.”