Regulators reject Canadian company’s plan to mine Maine mountain

By Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli, Houlton Pioneer Times Staff

The Maine Land Use Planning Commission denied a Canadian mining company’s rezoning application for a proposed mine on Pickett Mountain in northern Penobscot County.

In a 5-to-2 vote on Feb. 14, the eight-member commission stopped Wolfden’s attempt to build a metallic mineral mine at the Pickett Mountain site. Rezoning of 374 acres from limited use to industrial use was the first step before the company could apply for a mining permit from the state. 

Commissioners Peter Pray and Everett Worcester cast the dissenting votes. Commissioner Leo Trudell, who was online, attempted to cast a vote in favor of the denial but his connection would not allow his voice to be heard and the vote was not counted. 

Wolfden cannot move forward with the mining project without rezoning approval. The decision apparently ends Wolfden’s stab at opening a mine in Maine after years of attempting to do so. 

The commission was charged with determining if the Wolfden project was financially sound as well as examining the mine’s effect on the region’s socioeconomics, wildlife resources and habitats, natural character, historical and cultural resources and tribal impact, and water and fish resources and aquatic habitat. 

On Feb. 14, commissioners agreed with their staff’s draft decision recommending the application’s denial. 

The commission found that the Wolfden project is not well-planned and of high value and that it has not demonstrated that the project would be financially practicable and technically feasible. 

The commission’s staff said that there was substantial evidence the project would have an undue adverse impact on existing water resources. 

Wolfden did not meet its burden of proof, staff said. 

In January, Wolfden requested that the commission delay a final decision until the Franklin County vacant seat on the commission be filled. The commission denied Wolfden’s request.

“I recommend we deny the request; it would be a mistake for the LUPC to get involved in politics,” Commissioner Gwen Hilton said. 

Additionally, Commissioner Perry Ellsworth, appointed by the governor, lives in Franklin County and he said that he feels he can adequately represent the county.

In 2021, the first time the mining company sought rezoning approval of the site, Wolfden withdrew its application after the commission’s staff pointed to multiple errors and inconsistencies in it. 

Last January, Wolfden filed its second rezoning application with the land use commission. And following nearly a year of extensive document gathering, staff review, public comment and four days of contentious public hearings, the commission deliberated on the issue in December. 

The deliberations were held to provide guidance to the commission’s staff before drafting the recommendation to either approve or deny the application.

During the December deliberations, several commissioners expressed concerns about Wolfden’s ability to responsibly move forward with the Pickett Mountain mining project. 

Hilton said that she had seen no evidence or examples that Wolfden mines are high quality developments and not detrimental to the environment. 

“I don’t think that they have shown that this is financially practicable at this location. It’s really about this location and the resources that are there,” she said in December. “This particular location is really very sensitive and we have to be really careful. I don’t want to see any kind of pollution there.”

On Feb. 14, the commission concluded that the proposed mining operation would not result in responsible mining of the metallic mineral resource at Pickett Mountain and that Wolfden has not demonstrated that the project could represent environmentally responsible exploration and mining.