Pleasant Point Sipayik | |
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Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation | |
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Tribe | Passamaquoddy |
Country | United States |
State | Maine |
County | Washington |
Government | |
• Type | Tribal Council |
• Chief | Maggie Dana |
• Vice Chief | Ernie Neptune |
• Council Members | Ryan Currier Dylan Francis Pamela Francis Denise Altvater Pos Bassett |
Area | |
• Total | 1.6 km2 (0.6 sq mi) |
Elevation | 16 m (53 ft) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 692 |
• Density | 430/km2 (1,200/sq mi) |
Time zone | EST |
Website | https://www.wabanaki.com |
Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation (Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: Sipayik) is one of two reservations of the federally recognized Passamaquoddy tribe in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 692 as of the 2020 census. [1]
The Passamaquoddy also reside on the Indian Township Reservation.
Sipayik is located near the Canada–United States border in Washington County, Maine on a peninsula with the Little River and Passamaquoddy Bay to the east and Cobscook Bay to the west. [2] It borders Eastport and Perry, and according to the United States Census Bureau, has a total area of 0.6 mi2 (1.6 km2).
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | 307 | — | |
1980 | 549 | 78.8% | |
1990 | 572 | 4.2% | |
2000 | 640 | 11.9% | |
2010 | 749 | 17.0% | |
2020 | 692 | −7.6% | |
U.S. Decennial Census [1] |
The ACS estimates 683 people and 258 households at Sipayik in 2019. [3] Passamaquoddy tribal census rolls report a total of 2,005 tribal members. [4]
According to the ACS, in 2019 11.70% of residents were white; 84.04% Native American; 1.02% from other races, and 3.66% from two or more races. The median income for a household was an estimated $26,429. 35.1% of families and 43.6% of the population had incomes below the poverty line, including 58.3% of those under age 18 and 28.8% of those age 65 or over. [3]
Sipayik's municipal water is provided by the Passamaquoddy Water District (PWD). Despite incorporating the tribe in its name, PWD is not tribally affiliated; it is a state-chartered quasi-municipal corporation created by the Maine Legislature in an emergency act in 1983. PWD is governed by an independent board of trustees and an executive director, and serves slightly over 600 households in Perry, Eastport and Sipayik, Maine. The PWD is responsible for infrastructure at the water source, a water tower at Sipayik, and facilities in Eastport. [5] [6]
PWD water comes from the Boyden Reservoir in Perry, a shallow body that is only 10–11 feet deep at its deepest point. Since it is a shallow, surface-water source, the water contains high amounts of organic matter that are exacerbated by weather events and routine system maintenance procedures. [5] [6] [7] When chlorine is used to treat water containing organic matter, the disinfection by-product trihalomethane (THM) forms. Acute exposure to large doses of THMs can cause liver damage and central nervous system depression in humans, and laboratory animal studies of chronic low-dose exposure suggest that THMs may be carcinogenic. [8] PWD water testing has revealed high levels of THM since testing for disinfection by-products began following the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974. Between 1977 and 1981, THM levels in PWD water were three to four times the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). [5] [9] Levels exceeding the MCL were recorded again in 2005 and 2017, [7] and in both 2018 and 2019 THM concentrations were above the MCL for three out of the four quarters of the year. [6] Boyden Reservoir's water level continues to decrease, causing the levels of organic matter to rise along with the amount of chlorine needed to treat the supply. [5] [6] [7] PWD's treatment facility has seen $14.9 million worth of upgrades since 2000, and state officials reported in August 2020 that the water test results were within federal regulatory limits. This is disputed by tribal documents. [7]
Since 2000, residents of Sipayik have received 49 public notices on water quality, 22 of which warned of unsafe levels of THM and haloacetic acids and stated that these contaminants can lead to "liver, kidney, and central nervous system problems and an increased risk of cancer.” The water is frequently discolored and odorous, [5] [9] and runs black, brown and green when weather events or routine maintenance procedures cause excess turbidity in the reservoir. [5] [6] [7]
Though most Sipayik residents do not drink the PWD tap water, it is commonly used for other needs such as bathing and household cleaning. Because THMs vaporize at room temperature and can be inhaled and absorbed through the skin, [10] it is likely that even the Sipayik residents who avoid drinking the tap water are still subject to chronic THM exposure. [5] [7] [9]
The ability of the Passamaquoddy Tribe to implement solutions to the PWD water crisis is limited because Maine does not grant tribes the ability to regulate and permit water resources independent of the state. A bill was introduced to the 129th Maine legislature to amend Maine's tribal sovereignty law, but the legislature had not taken it up by the time it adjourned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [6] [7] Also, the PWD is the only public water utility in Maine that is not tax-exempt. Due to this and its limited customer base, there has not been adequate funding for infrastructure repairs that could improve drinking water quality. [6]
Efforts to develop wells as alternatives to the PWD system and reservoir have met resistance. In 2014, the Passamaquoddy Tribe drilled a well on a parcel of their land in Perry, Maine. After initial testing of the well negatively impacted other wells in the area, the town of Perry passed an ordinance limiting activity on the new well, and the project was halted. [6] [7] In 2020, state regulations also prevented the tribe from independently testing and permitting a well for the new Sipayik Elementary School. The Passamaquoddy Tribe successfully obtained permits and dug a hand-pumped well from which people in need of clean drinking water can fill storage jugs in the fall of 2020. [6]
In November 2019, the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Pleasant Point received a $30,000 grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency for water studies and testing, community outreach, reporting and action plan development. [11] The EPA has recommended testing in a wider variety of the PWD's service area and is helping to institute more regular testing of the water. [5]
In early 2020, Passamaquoddy leaders assembled a group of stakeholders in the water crisis to began developing short-, middle- and long-term solutions and to increase water testing at Sipayik. [6] [5] The group includes tribal leaders, PWD leaders, state water officials, EPA Region 1 representatives, and individuals from other municipalities. Tribal leaders expressed a desire to understand exactly what is in the water, to have more routine testing of the PWD system take place at Sipayik as opposed to the neighboring towns of Perry or Eastport, and to establish institutional partnerships to study the health impacts of the PWD water. [5]
As of late September 2020, the stakeholder group had held three meetings during which the State of Maine acknowledged an ongoing public health crisis at Sipayik and pledged to aid in solutions. A state grant program has been announced to address imminent public health threats, and PWD will use the first grant for a one-year pilot project: A granular activated carbon water purification system will be installed to treat the water after the existing PWD treatment. Administration of the 2019 EPA grant, focused on feasibility studies for alternative water supplies, continues; and the tribe is waiting on state permits to install a roadside well using funding from the CARES act. [5]
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,095, making it the third-least populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Machias. The county was established on June 25, 1789. It borders the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
Perry is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States, on the Canada–United States border. At the 2020 census, the town had a population of 802.
Passamaquoddy Indian Township Reservation is one of two Indian reservations of the federally recognized Passamaquoddy tribe in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 760 at the 2020 census. Most of the 2,500 members of the tribe in the United States live in other parts of Maine. The reservation is located about 13 miles west-northwest of the city of Calais.
The Passamaquoddy are a Native American/First Nations people who live in northeastern North America. Their traditional homeland, Peskotomuhkatikuk, straddles the Canadian province of New Brunswick and the U.S. state of Maine in a region called Dawnland. They are one of the constituent nations of the Wabanaki Confederacy.
Tribal sovereignty in the United States is the concept of the inherent authority of Indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water suppliers that implement the standards.
Melvin Joseph Francis was the governor of the Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation, one of two reservations in Maine of the Passamaquoddy Indian tribe, from 1980 until 1990 and again from 2002 until his death.
Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) are standards that are set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for drinking water quality. An MCL is the legal threshold limit on the amount of a substance that is allowed in public water systems under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The limit is usually expressed as a concentration in milligrams or micrograms per liter of water.
Haloacetic acids or HAAs are carboxylic acids in which one or more halogen atoms take the place of hydrogen atoms in the methyl group of acetic acid. Those acids have a general chemical formula X1X2X3C−CO2H, where X is hydrogen or halogen, and at least one X is a halogen. In a monohaloacetic acid, a single halogen replaces a hydrogen atom: for example, in bromoacetic acid. Further substitution of hydrogen atoms with halogens can occur, as in dichloroacetic acid and trichloroacetic acid.
Water supply and sanitation in the United States involves a number of issues including water scarcity, pollution, a backlog of investment, concerns about the affordability of water for the poorest, and a rapidly retiring workforce. Increased variability and intensity of rainfall as a result of climate change is expected to produce both more severe droughts and flooding, with potentially serious consequences for water supply and for pollution from combined sewer overflows. Droughts are likely to particularly affect the 66 percent of Americans whose communities depend on surface water. As for drinking water quality, there are concerns about disinfection by-products, lead, perchlorates, PFAS and pharmaceutical substances, but generally drinking water quality in the U.S. is good.
In the United States, public drinking water is governed by the laws and regulations enacted by the federal and state governments. Certain ordinances may also be created at a more local level. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law. The SDWA authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create and enforce regulations to achieve the SDWA goals.
Chloramination is the treatment of drinking water with a chloramine disinfectant. Both chlorine and small amounts of ammonia are added to the water one at a time which react together to form chloramine, a long lasting disinfectant. Chloramine disinfection is used in both small and large water treatment plants.
Disinfection by-products (DBPs) are organic and inorganic compounds resulting from chemical reactions between organic and inorganic substances such as contaminates and chemical treatment disinfection agents, respectively, in water during water disinfection processes.
Drinking water quality in the United States is generally safe. In 2016, over 90 percent of the nation's community water systems were in compliance with all published U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. Over 286 million Americans get their tap water from a community water system. Eight percent of the community water systems—large municipal water systems—provide water to 82 percent of the US population. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires the US EPA to set standards for drinking water quality in public water systems. Enforcement of the standards is mostly carried out by state health agencies. States may set standards that are more stringent than the federal standards.
Water chlorination is the process of adding chlorine or chlorine compounds such as sodium hypochlorite to water. This method is used to kill bacteria, viruses and other microbes in water. In particular, chlorination is used to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid.
Vera J. Francis is a Native American educator, environmental activist, and community planner for the Passamaquoddy people. She resides in Perry, Maine within the Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation (Sipayik). Francis writes and speaks frequently about environmental issues and tribal politics in newspapers, at conferences and on websites.
State Route 190 (SR 190) is a 7.1-mile (11.4 km) state highway that travels from Water Street in Eastport to U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Perry. It serves as the connector route to Eastport from the mainland. Though the road travels in a southeast–northwesterly direction, the road is signed as north–south.
Concouguash, Christian name Francis Joseph Neptune, (1735–1834) was chief of the Passamaquoddy tribe during the American Revolutionary War. He succeeded his father, Bahgulwet, who died in 1778, and was succeeded by his own son, John Francis Neptune, in 1824. The term "chief" later became the word for governor. Becoming chief is passed along through family lineage and requires acceptance from the Passamaquoddies, Penobscots and Maliseet tribes. These three tribes share similar chief induction ceremonies, conducted simultaneously with eyewitnesses from each tribe present.
Rena D. Newell was the Passamaquoddy tribal representative to the Maine House of Representatives during the 129th and 130th legislatures. During her two terms, she was the only tribal representative in the Maine House.
Donald Cotesworth Gellers, also known by his Jewish name Tuvia Ben-Shmuel Yosef, was an American lawyer. In the 1960s he lived in Eastport, Maine, where he represented members of the Passamaquoddy tribe in court and advocated for their civil rights. In 1968 he filed a land claim suit on the tribe's behalf. Immediately after filing the suit he was charged with constructive possession of six marijuana cigarettes. He was convicted on a felony charge and sentenced to prison. After an unsuccessful appeal process, he moved to Israel without serving his sentence. He returned to the United States in 1980 and practiced as a rabbi until his death. In 2020 he was granted a posthumous pardon by the state of Maine.