The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is poised to levy a $250,000 fine against the company responsible for Worcester Wreath and the Flagpole of Freedom Project as a result of unpermitted development and failure to implement proper “erosion and sedimentation control measures.”
The company — Worcester Holdings LLC — may also be required to file for an “after-the-fact permit” by March 1, 2024 for any “unpermitted activities” in which they have engaged.
According to a DEP memo sent to the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) and the Attorney General’s Office by the DEP, Wocester Holdings constructed “the first 20 cabins in the Flagpole View Cabins Development” in 2019. Thirty-two additional cabins were built over the next three years.
The company is also described as having “built new roads on the site and expanded existing access roads” during this period.
These cabins were originally intended to be part of the Flagpole of Freedom Park — a proposed 2,500-acre development that would feature an immersive history exhibit that told American history through the eyes of a veteran, as well as a monument listing the names of every deceased veteran since the American Revolution.
The park’s focal point was set to be a 1,461 foot tall flagpole – a height surpassing that of the Empire State Building, which is 1,454 feet tall – flying an American flag that was larger than a football field. Sitting atop a 315 foot tall hill, the flag would have flown 1,776 feet above sea level.
After a moratorium on the flagpole’s construction was extended an additional six months this past summer, the Worcester family’s lawyer announced that they were no longer pursuing the project.
The DEP’s February memo explains that on July 13, 2022, the Department conducted an inspection of the Flagpole View Cabins Development after receiving “a complaint about an unpermitted development.”
This investigation found that the development “encompassed more than three acres that had been stripped, graded, and not revegetated, and that there were no erosion and sedimentation controls in place at the site.”
A Notice of Violation was issued to Worcester Holdings on July 15, 2022, and a “pre-application meeting” was held with the consulting firm representing the company to “discuss permitting issues associated with” the development on September 14, 2022.
Roughly a year later — on August 17, 2023 — DEP staff “observed a sign outside of the property advertising the site’s continuing unpermitted operation.”
According to the memo, Worcester Holdings’ actions were in violation of the Site Location of Development Act, as well as the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Law.
As a result of these alleged violations, the DEP is asking the BEP to approve an Administrative Consent Agreement imposing a $250,000 fine on Worcester Holdings, as well as a requirement that the company “file an after-the-fact permit for the unpermitted activities” by March 1, 2024.
Click Here to Read the Full DEP Memo
The Administrative Consent Agreement itself indicates that should any part of Worcester’s “after-the-fact” application be denied, a “restoration plan” must be submitted to the DEP detailing the removal of “all unapproved development.”
This document also contains a payment schedule for the $250,000 civil monetary penalty.
The final page of the document indicates that Morrill Worcester — a managing member of Worcester Holdings LLC – signed the Agreement on January 26, 2024.
In doing so, the company “knowingly, intentionally, permanently, and irrevocably waives any and all defenses it has or may have with respect to the enforcement of this Agreement, including the enforcement of this Agreement as a final administrative order.”
Click Here to Read the Full Administrative Consent Agreement
Based on the available documentation, it appears that neither the BEP nor the Attorney General has given final approvement to the Agreement.
The Maine BEP has scheduled consideration of the Agreement as one of the first items on its agenda for their February 28 meeting, which will take place at 9AM in the Augusta Civic Center.
Bet there would be no fine if this was a democrat group building there.
The next chapter in Janet Mills and the August Demoncrats war on conservatives and American values.
Where is this park?