Dispute in Maine over Tainted Water

Selectmen in Windsor, Maine, have put an automobile graveyard license application on hold while they investigate a claim that the business has tainted nearby drinking water.

Charles and Audrey Cogswell, who live near Coombs' Auto Salvage, said activity at the business has contaminated their well with MTBE, a fuel additive.

At a recently held selectmen's meeting, the couple pleaded with selectmen to deny David Coombs' operating license application, saying they cannot sell their home because the substance has made their drinking and shower water unusable.

Coombs denied the couple's claim, saying the reason for the drinking water problem at the Cogswell home is that the previous owners mistakenly drilled a well too close to a pre-existing dump.

In an effort to determine whether the automobile yard is safe, selectmen said they will visit the business and talk to the Department of Environmental Protection before awarding Coombs a license.

"Anything else that could shed some light on this thing would be great," Selectman F. Gerard Nault said.

At issue was whether the automobile graveyard or the previous owners of the Cogswells' home should be held responsible for the MTBE in the Cogswells' water.

The maximum MTBE contaminant level in drinking water allowed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency is 35 parts per billion.

Coombs said the Department of Environmental Protection checked his site several times over the past few years and found no violations.

He said his business cannot contaminate area ground water because he has a base of clay underneath the gravel in his lot, which he said prevents toxins from being absorbed. Kennebec (Maine) Journal