BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2023
A Patten man has sued Versant Power in Penobscot County Superior Court alleging that company employees trespassed on his land in September and cut down Christmas trees valued at more than $20,000. Ervin B. Tower purchased his farm in 1981, according to court documents. Four years later, he signed an easement with Maine Public Service Co. to allow utility poles and power lines to cross his land. That easement says that Tower can grow Christmas trees on the land over which the lines are located. It also says that if power company employees damage the land or remove trees, the firm will pay damages. On Sept.16, Versant workers cut down 973 trees that were between 3 and 12 feet tall valued at $22 each. Maine Public Service merged in 2014 with Bangor Hydro to create Emera Maine. Versant’s Canadian parent company acquired Emera Maine in 2020.