Sappi Fine Paper is seeking to delay building upstream eel passage at the Eel Weir Hydroelectric Dam in Windham, based on data showing a lack of eels in the northern end of the river.

Sappi owns the Eel Weir dam and a number of dams along the Presumpscot River that flows from Sebago Lake. The dam license was reissued in March 2015 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

As part of its licensing, Sappi is required to establish eel passage at Eel Weir dam, among other measures, “to protect and enhance fisheries resources, water quality, recreation, and cultural resources at the project.” The company’s deadline is March 2017, with a design for the passage, as well as effectiveness testing of the design, done by March 2016.

Sappi is contesting the timelines established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The company’s application for delay was prompted by a 2015 study commissioned by Sappi, which failed to locate eels at the site.

Sappi officials explained the company’s application for delay at a public hearing Tuesday, Dec. 28. Leading the discussion was Brad Goulet, hydro manager at Sappi, who is head of the project. The meeting, held during the first snowstorm of the season, failed to bring out any members of the public with the exception of a Current Publishing reporter.

The company’s application would allow Sappi to delay establishing eel passage until “the presence of eels is established at the Eel Weir Dam,” according to Goulet.

Goulet detailed why Sappi is applying to change these requirements.

In July 2015, Sappi conducted a study to determine the best place to build eel passage along the dam based on where eels congregated. The study, which was designed in consultation with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, failed to locate a single eel along the Eel Weir Dam, he said.

The study was not required by the state or federal government but “is considered crucial to know where eels are trying to pass,” and knowing where the eels are trying to pass is crucial to building effective eel passage, according to Goulet.

Dr. Gail Wippelhauser, an expert in eels at the Maine Department of Marine Resources, consulted with Sappi on the study. In a phone conversation, she said the study was the “standard way to determine where to put eel passage,” and confirmed the results were not due to the study’s methodology.

Wippelhauser said she is “fine” with the application to delay building eel passage. Sappi ran into a similar problem when establishing eel passage at Little Falls Dam in Gorham, a project for which she was also a consultant. She advised that the company should use the same procedure for Eel Weir as used at Little Falls, where they “go out and look again on a cycle.”

In its application, Sappi proposes conducting the study to determine the presence of eels in 2018, and every three years after until eels are found. Wippelhauser said the three-year delay is needed to “give the eels a chance to get upstream.” Before the eels can reach Eel Weir, they must pass over a number of dams, including Gambo and Dundee dams. Given these obstacles, “three years seemed like a reasonable amount of time for the eels to get upstream,” Wippelhauser said.

According to Goulet, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Water Quality Certification rules must be amended before the company can apply to amend the federal license.

The company’s application to delay the eel passage was accepted as complete by the state on Dec. 23. Yet, because “the state hasn’t bound its decision in time,” Goulet said, it is unclear when the state will determine whether the regulations can be changed.

Wippelhauser said because eels only travel upstream to grow, and not to spawn, delaying the building of upstream eel passage should not have major detrimental effects to the eel population.

Goulet was “disappointed” by the turnout for the hearing.

“Usually we have some people from the public who just want to learn about the issues,” he said.

Goulet said the meeting was a forum to show the public that “the state and the company are operating transparently, and give the public an opportunity to weigh in.”

“We want the public to know that we’re not trying to avoid implementing eel passage,” Goulet said.

Doug Watts, a member of Friends of Sebago Lake, said he felt the group did not receive adequate time to respond to the application or prepare for the meeting. He said he would have attended the meeting if the roads had been cleared of snow.

“We just want some more time to look at all of the studies available and talk to the agencies and see what they think before any decision is made,” he said. “From what we can read from [the application] they’re asking for the requirement to be delayed for an indefinite period.”

Sappi Fine Paper, which operates the Eel Weir Dam, above, is seeking a delay from building eel passage at the dam, which is the lone outlet of Sebago Lake.Empty chairs indicate the public turnout – zero – at a Sappi Fine Paper hearing last month on eel passage at the Eel Weir Dam.