BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 31, 2025
Orland-area residents figured that, someday, the scrap metal company that owns dams on Toddy Pond and Alamoosook would want to get rid of them. Then, last summer, the company abruptly petitioned the state for permission to abandon those two dams and a third in Bucksport under an untested state law that some feel unfairly favors mill property owners. If it succeeds, the water will be released and the lake levels will drop, taking millions in tax value and business revenue with it while leaving the dams to crumble. Next came more than a year of work and emergency legislation that allows the towns bordering these two bodies of water to form two quasi-municipal watershed management districts that could take over the dams. Studies have shown ownership will save the towns money compared to abandonment.