Portland International Jetport Faces Charges for Unauthorized Tree Removal and Wetland Damage

Apr. 12—SOUTH PORTLAND — The city this week formally charged the Portland International Jetport with wrongfully removing hundreds of trees and damaging protected wetlands along Interstate 295 to clear a runway approach as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The jetport, which is owned by the city of Portland, violated the conditions and limits of a tree-removal plan that was approved by South Portland planning officials in 2019, according to violation notices issued by Code Enforcement Director Nicholaus Richard.

The jetport could be fined or forced to replace the trees and restore the wetlands, said South Portland Planning Director Milan Nevajda. If the jetport decides to dispute the violations, the neighboring cities could wind up in court.

"That's why we took our time drafting these notices," Nevajda said. "We wanted to make sure we got it right so they would stand up in court if they decide to appeal."

The tree work was done in January in a wooded area to the rear of Calvary Cemetery on Broadway and beside a residential neighborhood at the end of Dawson Street. The land is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which allowed the tree work and also received the violation notices.

The city issued a stop-work order Jan. 30 in an effort to halt the tree clearing, but the jetport's contractor continued to remove trees through the following weekend.

"The property has been stripped of a significant number of trees," Richard wrote in the violation notice for 1561 Broadway. He added that the project plan "only referenced the selective removal of trees."

In the violation notice for 36 Dawson St., Richard wrote that "the property has been stripped of most of its vegetation."

The jetport's contractor also removed trees that weren't tall enough to warrant removal under FAA guidelines for maintaining an unobstructed runway approach, which violated the city's tree protection ordinance.

In the process, the contractor damaged wetlands that are protected by laws overseen by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The jetport also failed to meet several stated conditions of the 2019 plan, such as installing erosion controls, staying within project boundaries, selectively cutting trees without stump removal or soil disturbance, and holding a pre-construction meeting with city officials and other regulatory agencies.

Nevajda said the jetport has begun communicating with the city about potential monetary and nonmonetary mitigations, which would include planting trees, paying fines and restoring wetlands.

The jetport also will have to apply for site plan review of work that was done outside the scope of the 2019 project plan but likely would have been permitted.

"Some of the work they did was approvable, but they didn't seek approval for it," Nevajda said.

Airport Director Paul Bradbury said Friday via email that jetport officials have received the violation notices and are reviewing them "in detail before deciding on our next steps."

Bradbury declined to name the jetport's forestry contractor and said the city isn't considering action against them.

The diocese acknowledged receiving the violation notices.

"The diocese had no involvement in that project, but we are encouraging the jetport to resolve this matter as soon as possible," spokesperson Molly DiLorenzo said in an emailed statement. "The diocese recognizes its obligation to cooperate with the jetport on important safety measures."

South Portland officials are still tallying the full number of trees that were cleared.

Nevajda said the count will be completed in the next two weeks, aided by images submitted with preliminary plans for a solar farm that has been proposed on the diocesan property.

The jetport likely will be required to replant trees where massive evergreens were cut down, removing a visual and sound barrier between I-295 and the residential neighborhood at the end of Dawson Street.

"We know the neighbors are really affected by the loss of that barrier," Nevajda said.

Submitted in October, the solar proposal by New Leaf Energy of Lowell, Massachusetts, is still incomplete and likely won't be ready for Planning Board review until July.

New Leaf's proposal also includes a map of wetlands on the property that's more comprehensive than the jetport's 2019 project plan and indicates that the tree clearing may have altered wetlands substantially.

Cassie Moon, a Dawson Street resident who first reported the tree clearing to city officials and is leading an effort to fight the solar proposal, said she was glad the city issued violation notices.

"I feel good about this," Moon said in an emailed statement. "Thanks to everyone who's helped me. I'm still going to fight the solar project, but this can be considered a win."

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