The head of the geological sciences department at the University of Maine in Orono said he believes a federal plan to fix the century-old erosion problem at Camp Ellis is flawed and a waste of taxpayer money.

Professor Joe Kelley, who studied erosion at Camp Ellis for over a decade while working as Maine's state geologist, will deliver his views at a meeting of the National Geological Society of America in Colorado on Sunday. His speech is titled "A Small Beach Community With a Large Problem."

Kelley said he believes the plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which involves building new breakwaters parallel to the beach in the vicinity of the existing breakwater, will displace erosion farther north along the beach. He said A planner with the Army Corps said the agency's plan is backed up by years of study and a cost-benefit analysis.