EPA ruling supports restoring St. Croix alewife population

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a ruling that could help restore the alewife population in the St. Croix River. On July 9 the EPA wrote to Maine Attorney General William Schneider that state legislation that prevents passage at Grand Falls Dam by alewives does not meet Maine's water quality standards "developed and pursuant to Section 303 of the federal Clean Water Act."
The legislation in question revised Maine's surface water quality standards, the letter states, and therefore is subject to EPA review and approval. Maine law specifies that, in Class AA and A waters, under which the St. Croix River falls, "the aquatic life shall be as naturally occurs." The letter states that, when the Maine Legislature first enacted the relevant fish‑passage closure laws in 1995, "the alteration of the naturally occurring aquatic population has caused the habitat to be degraded by the artificial exclusion of the fish species that would be present if the habitat were natural."
The letter states, "The EPA is not aware of any sound scientific rationale for excluding indigenous river herring (or any other migratory species) from the St. Croix River that could support a criteria for revision of this kind. In fact, the Maine DMR [Department of Marine Resources] has described the integral function of alewives, in particular, as a critical component to Maine ecosystems and fisheries."
The EPA closes by saying, "Maine should take appropriate action to authorize passage of river herring to the portions of the St. Croix River above the Grand Falls Dam."
In response to the letter, Conservation Law Foundation Vice President and Director Sean Mahoney, said, "The EPA's letter is a gratifying sign that we're finally making substantive progress in restoring this important fish to the St. Croix River watershed. As EPA now agrees, this law is scientifically and legally unsupportable. We hope that further litigation is unnecessary to ensure that the state follows the directive of EPA in allowing alewives to return to their native waters." The Conservation Law Foundation had filed a lawsuit against the EPA to ensure that the agency would review and overrule Maine's laws restricting alewife access to the St. Croix River.
The EPA's letter is the latest in a series of steps that are placing pressure on the state government to allow free passage of alewives throughout the St. Croix watershed. In June, Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Tribal Chief Clayton Cleaves, Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township Chief Joseph Socobasin, Penobscot Indian Nation Chief Kirk Francis, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Chief Brenda Commander and Aroostook Band of Micmacs Chief Richard Getchall jointly signed a letter written to Governor LePage urging his support of legislation that would allow passage of alewives at the Grand Falls Dam. Chief Hugh Akagi, St. Croix Schoodic Band of the Passamaquoddy, voiced his support of alewife passage on the St. Croix at the annual meeting of the International St. Croix River Watershed Board of the International Joint Commission annual meeting held in June.
The commission works to solve disputes over shared waters between the United States and Canada, and board members are from both nations. It has created a management plan for the gradual reintroduction of the alewife to the St. Croix, but the plan has been met with resistance by both members of the recreational fishing and guiding community of the Grand Lake Stream area who seek to preserve the introduced small‑mouth bass population, and those who believe that alewives, as the indigenous species to the area, should be allowed free access.
In addition to the Conservation Law Foundation lawsuit against the EPA, the National Marine Fisheries Service is considering a petition to list the alewife and the blueback herring under the Endangered Species Act. An Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission study has found that a stock assessment showed the alewife and blueback herring populations were in decline in 23 out of 25 rivers studied.