After numerous court hearings, Samost had turned to the DEP for permission to decommission the dam. His lawyers had argued that he should not be strapped with the cost of reconstructing the dam and maintaining it. The homeowners who live on two bumpy dirt roads on either side of the lake fought the request, saying they should not be deprived of the lake that was there so long. Representatives of the homeowners who live along the upstream Sturbridge Lake and those who live adjacent to the downstream Union Mill Lake also opposed the move.