DON'T WASTE MAINE!
Author Archives: Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine
About Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine
Watching over Penobscot Bay, from marine habitat to marine microbes to marine algae to marine mammals and their animal kin, since 1992.Commentary: Maine should demand accountability from its solid waste monopolist
By Sen. Rick Bennett March 9, 2023 Full commentary click here
There have been several alarming stories in recent days about how Juniper Ridge Landfill,
owned by the state and managed by Casella Waste Systems, is refusing to accept sludge
from several wastewater treatment facilities, putting our municipalities in an untenable
situation.
The cause, according to Casella, is that the company is no longer allowed to use
bulky waste from out of state to stabilize the landfill. Instead of coming up with solutions,
Casella has decided to hold our communities hostage in the name of profit. FULL COMMENTARY
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on March 18, 2023 in Current Events
BDN EDITORIAL: Independent assessment could help sort out mess with Hampden trash facility.
More than a decade after it was first proposed, what was billed as a revolutionary trash and recycling facility in Hampden remains surrounded by controversy and uncertainty. Despite nearly $100 million – some of it taxpayer money – having been spent and the brief operation of the plant, serious questions about its viability remain unanswered
Read Full March 17, 2023 Editorial
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on March 18, 2023 in Current Events
Dump Documents Dispatches! So Many Documents, So Little Time!
These are core documents related to the community struggle over the West Old Town (Maine) Landfill Project between 2003 and 2004. That landfill is now known as the Juniper Ridge State Landfill
This is a collection of webpages that were posted in 2004 and 2005. It is a historic document; the links are no longer active.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on March 16, 2023 in Current Events
Hampden plant closure is an opportunity to remake waste management in Maine.
Bill Lippincott and Ed Spencer are co-chairs of Don’t Waste ME. Published here 2/27/23 by the Bangor Daily News
The Municipal Review Committee, the group that oversees solid waste management for 115 towns throughout Maine, has a historic chance to improve Maine’s failing recycling system. It should take advantage of that opportunity.
This opportunity arose from the difficulties the committee is having in restarting the fraught Coastal Resources of Maine facility, which was supposed to revolutionize waste management for the state. It was recently announced that needed financing was not forthcoming, so the Hampden plant will continue to sit idle. An exclusivity arrangement for a potential partnership with Revere Capital Advisors ended Jan. 31 without a purchase contract or timeline for reopening the facility.
Here’s how we got here. In 1991, 180 Maine member towns came together in an association, called the Municipal Review Committee, to manage their waste and to give communities leverage with the then-new PERC waste-to-energy incinerator in Orrington. But with the end of federal subsidies for waste energy electricity in 2018, the committee decided to go in a different direction. A new affiliation was formed with Coastal Resources of Maine to process waste at its Hampden plant with technology that has yet to perform successfully anywhere to the scale required by the represented towns.
Operations with Coastal Resources commenced in April 2019 but equipment failures and rising costs shuttered the facility in May 2020. Since that time, waste from the Municipal Review Committee’s communities has been diverted primarily to Juniper Ridge and Crossroads landfills and the PERC incinerator when not faced with down time due to maintenance and repair.
This has put a strain on the state’s waste management hierarchy, which prioritizes waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and volume reduction with landfilling being the option of last resort. The committee’s situation was cited in the recent Department of Environmental Protection report for calendar years 2020-2021 on municipal waste generation and disposal capacity.
The committee acquired ownership of the Hampden waste processing facility in July 2022. At that time, Municipal Waste Solutions LLC was formed to operate the plant.
As the committee looks for a new operator of the Hampden facility, this is an opportunity to move forward with increased participation from member communities and their residents with a focus on genuine recycling that reclaims valuable resources to produce marketable commodities to create a profitable system. The U.S. recycling end markets are starting to form. The Municipal Review Committee should find a way to use the existing sorting processes at the Hampden plant to separate recyclables so they can be sold at profit. In Vermont, the Chittenden Solid Waste District made more than $3 million in 2021 — a 115 percent increase.
Conceivably investors can be found to reopen the plant who are willing to join with Municipal Review Committee members and be involved with proven waste processing methods. A properly run facility that focuses on recycling, with reduction and diversion of waste from disposal, would give incentives for members to remain and should encourage increased membership and investment.
The Municipal Review Committee and new owner of the plant can assist members in developing infrastructure to create a minimum of waste for disposal: separating organics, recyclables and trash. Clean, unpackaged organics and yard debris can be processed in the existing anaerobic digester allowing the digestate to be used as a valuable soil amendment without contamination from heavy metals, PFAS and other chemicals of concern. This would provide another revenue stream. We believe the priority should be initially to use the current digester to cut down on costs. Once employing source separated organics and determining the total volume, it may make sense to explore composting.
We’ve learned difficult lessons about how not to process waste over the last 20 years, but there are common-sense solutions that we can bring to Maine resulting in less waste to landfills and incinerators — a win for our health and our planet
Don’t Waste ME is a citizen group working for waste policy that gives communities increased local control, incorporates zero waste goals and protects the health and environment of communities most affected by waste facilities. The group is asking the Municipal Review Committee’s board and member towns to see this as an opportunity to move forward in a new direction for managing how waste is processed and disposed. The committee and potential new owners should take advantage of this opportunity to move forward successfully and sustainably with increased participation from member communities and their residents.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 28, 2023 in Current Events
Tags: MAINE
March 7th! Hosting an Active Landfill: what could it mean for Bucksporters? at 630pm
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 12, 2023 in Current Events
Don’t Waste ME’s YES for MRC Communities
“Zero waste is a philosophy and a design principle for the 21st Century; it is not
simply about putting an end to landfilling. Aiming for zero waste is not an
end-of-pipe solution. That is why it heralds fundamental change. Aiming for zero
waste means designing products and packaging with reuse and recycling in mind. It
means ending subsidies for wasting. It means closing the gap between landfill prices
and their true costs. It means making manufacturers take responsibility for the
entire lifecycle of their products and packaging. Zero waste efforts, just like recycling
efforts before, will change the face of solid waste management in the future. Instead
of managing wastes, we will manage resources and strive to eliminate waste.”
Institute for Local Self Reliance
GIVE MRC COMMUNITIES MEANINGFUL CONTROL
● Remove the waste quotas and guaranteed tonnage language from the contracts. Towns
should not be penalized for reducing amounts of waste requiring disposal.
● Require that contracts be clear and comprehensible.
● Member towns have come together in association to manage their waste production. A
properly run facility that focuses on legitimate recycling, reduction and diversion of
waste from disposal would be an incentive to continue that relationship and invite
investment.
● Institute a clear, transparent and verifiable reporting system that identifies and accounts
for what is going into the facility, what is coming out, and where it is going.
● Provide real-time reporting when the facility is operating and when the waste is being
bypassed to JRL, Crossroads or other landfills and/or incinerators.
● Investigate the use of a well-managed PAYT system to encourage recycling and reduce
disposal requirements.
MOVE TOWARDS ZERO WASTE GOALS AND PRACTICE
● Abandon the all-in-one system. Assist communities to develop infrastructure for source
separating for three waste streams at a minimum: organics, recyclables, and trash.
Recyclables should be source-sorted into cardboard and paper, cans, and glass to retain
and reclaim the most value from resources and provide ability to produce marketable
commodities that can make the system profitable.
● Remove organics from the waste stream! Explore capabilities of the existing digester.
○ In Vermont, the Chittenden Solid Waste District made $3,363,064 from the sale of
processed recyclables in 2021. This was a 115% increase from the previous years.
The U.S. recycling end markets are starting to form. MRC should find a way to use
the existing sorting processes at the facility to separate recyclables so they can be
sold. https://cswd.net/
END FURTHER CONTAMINATION OF OUR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
● Phase out production, use, and sale of fuel briquettes.
● Properly manage process water.
● Prohibit sludge from being processed in the anaerobic digester. The digestor must be
kept free of contaminants utilizing only clean yard waste and unpackaged organics.
Using the digester to only process clean organics means the digestate can be used as a
valuable soil amendment as it should be free of heavy metals, PFAS, and other
chemicals of concern. This would provide another revenue stream.
○ NOTE: There may not be enough organic material for both composting and
anaerobic digestion. The priority should be initially using the current digester
to cut down on costs. Once employing source separated organics and
determining the total volume it may make sense to explore composting.
● Investigate the use of pulp wastewater as a source for generating usable methane.
○ Recognize that would prohibit use of digestate for land application or other uses.
A MYTH AND NOTHING MORE
● The plastic industry’s quest to solve the problem of plastic waste through so-called
“advanced recycling” using chemical additives and/or extremely high heat to turn waste
back into new plastic is a costly false solution that comes with significant environmental
impacts.
● “Advanced recycling,” “chemical recycling,” and “molecular recycling,” don’t refer to one
process or technology. These umbrella terms, invented by the fossil fuel industry, refer
to several different technologies that use heat and/or solvents to break down plastics.
The industry uses these made-up phrases because they sound a lot rosier than
“incineration,” “plastic-to-fuel,” or “high-heat plastics disposal.”
● In theory, these technologies are supposed to break plastic waste down into monomers,
which are then processed back into new plastic products. However, in reality the story is
very different. Every single commercial-scale “advanced recycling” facility in the U.S.
uses either gasification or pyrolysis as part of a two-step plastic-burning process where
plastic is melted down into fuel and burned, releasing harmful pollutants.
● Advanced recycling operations are “limited, unsustainable, and don’t recycle plastics.
Even if the industry’s promises came to pass and advanced recycling could produce new
plastic products at commercial scale, it would still be a toxic, climate-damaging process
that only serves to increase plastics production.”
● Advanced Recycling is not recycling. This false solution “undermines the foundational
principles of environmental justice drafted and adopted in 1991 by delegates to the
First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit.
● In particular, manufacturing loopholes violate “the fundamental right to political,
economic, cultural and environmental self-determination,” and “the right to participate
as equal partners at every level of decision-making.”
– Loopholes, injustice & the “Advanced Recycling Myth: The Fossil Fuel Industry
Campaign to Keep Us Hooked on Plastics, Budris, Kevin,
Just-Zero https://just-zero.org/
Click Here for pdf of this document * * * The Zero Waste Hierarchy (image)
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 12, 2023 in Current Events
ENR committee 10/3/22 got updated on new ME law ending imports of demolition & construction debris. Audio MP3s
On October 3, 2022 the Maine Legislature’s Environment & Natural Resources Committee (ENR) got an update by Maine DEP chief of Remediation and Waste Management Susanne Miller, (audio mp3) regarding implementation of LD 1639 An Act To Protect the Health and Welfare of Maine Communities and Reduce Harmful Solid Waste The bill was approved by Governor Mills and is now Public Law 1639 .
AUDIO of the October 3, 2022 briefing . (more to come)
Introduction 1. Committee members and staff 2min21sec
Introduction 2. Committee cochairs plan for this as a briefing, not a public hearing.
DEP Susanne Miller, chief, Bureau of Remediation & Waste Mgmt, including Q&A 29min30sec
MORE TO COME
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on October 4, 2022 in Current Events
BDN 9/21/22: Union public drinking water system takes well offline after testing high for PFAS
A well serving Union residents connected to the public drinking water system has been taken offline after tests showed high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often called forever chemicals.
The well operated for a total of 19 days in 2022, and was not used in 2021 or 2020, according to Maine Water Co., which provides water to towns across Maine, including the 100 connections in Union. The well served residents prior to 2020.
Maine Water does not know the source of the PFAS contamination for the groundwater well on Depot Street, which is one of several wells that serve the community in Knox County, spokesperson Dan Meaney said. It is used during peak demand in the summer and was in service between July 22 and Aug. 9 this year.
On Aug. 17, samples collected from the Depot Street well and three other wells that supply the water system showed that only the Depot Street well had detectable levels of PFAS.
At 154 parts per trillion, the results far exceeded the state’s interim standard of 20 parts per trillion for PFAS in drinking water. As of Aug. 9, public water in Union is only coming from sources that had no detectable levels of PFAS, Meaney said.
The contaminated well provided about 21 percent of the water to the system when it was operating this summer. FULL ARTICLE
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on September 23, 2022 in Current Events
Maine History: January 2020. The Beginning of the End of the Out of the State Wasting of Maine.
On January 13, 2020, long time waste activists Bill Lippincott of Hamden, Hillary Lister of Augusta, Ed Spencer of Old Town, and Penobscot Tribal Ambassador Maulian Dana delivered petitions with over 250 signatures to the Department of Environmental Protection, setting Maine on the course that led, in 2022, to clamping down on the flow of waste into Maine. More below the link…
The changes sought by they and hundreds of their supporters under the moniker Don’t Waste ME included (1) closing a loophole in the definition of “Maine-generated waste ” and (2) amending a separate part of the waste landfill rules to require the consideration of environmental justice when determining the benefit of licensing landfills.
As of May 2022, both these legislative objectives appear to have been achieved!
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on May 2, 2022 in Current Events
Tags: MAINE, out of state waste
To all Maine’s Legislators, and to Governor Mills, who supported and passed LD 1639 to stop out of state waste from entering our state owned landfill:
Don’t Waste ME constituents from all over the state send you our heartfelt gratitude.
As we connect with thousands of constituents through our network groups, and as we have celebrated Earth Day throughout Maine, we acknowledge your hard work and the choices you make that have power to protect our environment and all of us as well.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on April 27, 2022 in Current Events
Media Coverage the Maine Beacon illuminates the end to Maine importing waste!
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on April 20, 2022 in Current Events
Gov. Mills signs out of state waste-barring bill into LAW!!!
The people have spoken & Maine lawmakers and Governor have listened. Maine now closes a loophole that has allowed hundreds of thousands of tons of waste from across New England into the state-owned Juniper Ridge landfill in Old Town.
First, Maine Senate unanimously approved LD 1639 last week. Then Maine’s House of Representatives approved the bill in a 102-25 vote on Monday. That very evening Governor Mills signed it.
Listen to LD 1639 supporters and opponents at the bills May 18, 2021 public hearing.
Read public written testimony on LD 1639
How did it happen? It was the determination of those who decided the absurd practice must end. That Maine was never meant to become the Northeast’s dumping ground and that the practice must stop. They fought and fought and fought, every defeat a learning experience. Never retreating.
Advancing, instead, in another direction. Then another. Every success another brick in the wall against the Trash Lords.
Rejecting the waste industry’s truckloads of tricks, of compromises.
Patient and strong as the tide sweeping the flats,
And finally as irresistable.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on April 19, 2022 in Current Events
Op-Ed: We need to change Maine’s waste laws to stop PFAS contamination. BDN 3/4/2022
By Bill Lippincott of Hampden, chair of Don’t Waste ME, a coalition of impacted community members and tribal leaders.
In a recent OpEd, Wayne Boyd, Casella Waste Systems’ general manager at Juniper Ridge Landfill, highlighted the issue of “forever chemicals” found in the leachate produced by our state-owned landfill. Don’t Waste ME, a citizens action group that supports waste policies that strengthen communities and protect the environment, is deeply concerned about this class of toxic, man-made chemicals. Only a few are regulated, however, they can be harmful to human health in even small amounts. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds — also known as PFAS — are used in a multitude of everyday products and are now ubiquitous in the environment, even found in human blood.
Boyd makes a distinction between the “producers” and the “managers” and “receivers” of PFAS, in an apparent effort to distance Casella from the PFAS problem. However, Casella has contributed to this crisis, and continues to profit from exacerbating it.
Casella disposes of millions of gallons of leachate into the Penobscot River every year. Tests showed that some of this leachate contains PFAS at levels 20 times higher than Maine’s drinking water standard. The river is a source of traditional sustenance fishing important to the Penobscot Nation. While fishing is a vital cultural practice, it now poses a risk to human health.
One way PFAS gets into the landfill leachate is through the increased importation of oversized bulky wastes. Casella continues to seek permit revisions for increased amounts of oversized bulky wastes with claims it needs it to stabilize growing quantities of landfilled sludges coming to Juniper Ridge. However, landfill experts dismiss the use of oversized bulky wastes for sludge stabilization. Bulky waste provides areas where landfill gas can collect adding to the risk of fire and explosion.
We see the increased importation of bulky waste at Juniper Ridge as a means for Casella to further profit from the tipping fees received from disposing of this waste at the landfill, and a way in which it contributes to the PFAS problem in Maine. Much of the bulky waste buried at Juniper Ridge comes from out of state because of a loophole in the law. Our bill, LD 1639, will close this loophole.
Boyd goes on to throw up his hands in defeat and makes the misguided assertion that landfilling and composting sludge are the safe options we have for dealing with PFAS. What he fails to mention is that Casella has also profited from selling PFAS-contaminated compost at their Hawk Ridge facility in Unity.
Using sludge in compost is unsafe. Careful landfilling of sludge offers a stop gap. Sludge must be dried and stabilized, protected from water infiltration, and contained in appropriately lined and sited facilities. Leachate must be pretreated on site for removal of PFAS before any discharges can be released.
Taxpayers should not be paying the brunt of remediation costs. The chemical companies that make PFAS must pay their share of the costs for remediation and infrastructure, as should Casella, which is contractually obligated for all pollution control at the Juniper Ridge Landfill.
The toxic liability cannot be shunted off by one state onto another. Industry officials warn that moving forward proactively will cost too much. The truth is it is already costing us too much. PFAS remediation is enormously expensive. If we don’t make the hard choices now, we’ll pay much more down the road.
Courtesy Bangor Daily News
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on March 5, 2022 in Current Events
LD 1639 to resurface in coming Legislative session.
The incoming legislative session brings back LD 1639 An Act To Protect the Health and Welfare of Maine Communities and Reduce Harmful Solid Waste The bill could easily put an end to the disgraceful use of Maine as Permanent Dumpland of the Northeast. But will state legislative leaders stand up to the blandishments and threats of Big Waste? Below, read what the people told the Maine legislature back in May 2021, when the Environment and Natural Resources Committee last considered the bill Bill history and related documents
Public Hearing Testimony, 66 items
| Barrett, Ed | Lewiston | (41 KB) |
| Blair, Peter | Conservation Law Foundation | (243 KB) |
| Blanchette, Leonard | Brunswick Sewer District | (93 KB) |
| Blows, James | Saco | (41 KB) |
| Boulos, Rebecca | Maine Public Health Association | (210 KB) |
| Boyd, Wayne | Holden | (41 KB) |
| Bradford, Abigail | Environmental Priorities Coalition | (99 KB) |
| Bullard, Sam | Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine | (57 KB) |
| Cayer, Mark | Mayor of Lewiston | (47 KB) |
| Chase, Crystal | Chase Trucking | (188 KB) |
| Clark, Paula | Maine DEP | (230 KB) |
| Colihan, Dana | Portland | (1003 KB) |
| Couillard, Troy | TRC Trucking | (57 KB) |
| Curley, Patricia | Edgecomb | (47 KB) |
| Dana, Maulian | Penobscot Nation | (12 KB) |
| Dearborn, Melissa | Waldoboro | (75 KB) |
| Deming, Adam | Gray | (12 KB) |
| Eaton, Chuck | Greenbush | (227 KB) |
| Elliott, Jacquelyn | Waterboro | (84 KB) |
| Eshoo, Amy | 350 Maine | (164 KB) |
| Exchange, Mitchell | Exchange Trucking LLC | (59 KB) |
| Filion, Nichole | Complete Staffing Solutions | (57 KB) |
| Firmin, Scott | Portland Water District | (158 KB) |
| Gendron, Todd | Easy Rent-All Corp. | (32 KB) |
| Gilman, Ben | Maine State Chamber of Commerce | (127 KB) |
| Goldberg, Neal | MMA | (312 KB) |
| Green, Zeb | Skowhegan | (51 KB) |
| Grenfell, Trevanion | Unity | (41 KB) |
| Haskell, Timothy | York Sewer District | (111 KB) |
| Haynes, Mary | Norway, Maine | (41 KB) |
| Jackson, Anthony | Brewer | (13 KB) |
| Jeffers, Lincoln | Lewiston | (181 KB) |
| Leahey, Gregory | ReSource Waste Services | (486 KB) |
| Leithiser, Charles | Old Town | (157 KB) |
| Leslie, John | Orrington | (41 KB) |
| Lippincott, Bill | Hampden | (70 KB) |
| Lister, Hillary | Athens | (122 KB) |
| MacDonald, Amber | Holden | (41 KB) |
| Martinez-Alfonzo, Stephanie | Unity | (38 KB) |
| Mason, Garrett | Associated Builders and Contractors of Maine | (70 KB) |
| Merrill, Kelly | Skowhegan | (57 KB) |
| Mosley, Michael | Waterville | (56 KB) |
| Nichols, Sarah | Bangor | (594 KB) |
| Obomsawin, Mali | Sunlight Media Collective | (64 KB) |
| Oltarzewski, Diane | Belfast | (57 KB) |
| Peaslee, Travis | Lewiston – Auburn | (201 KB) |
| Peters, Ryan | Newport | (41 KB) |
| Robertson, Cheryl | Orono | (61 KB) |
| Roger & Family Doucette, Sarah | Whitefield, NH | (12 KB) |
| Sack, Kerry | Old Town | (55 KB) |
| sanborn, Lokotah | indian island | (141 KB) |
| Smith, Hunter | Sierra Club Maine | (101 KB) |
| Spencer, Ed | Don’t Waste Maine | (42 KB) |
| Staples, Barry | Staples Trucking | (360 KB) |
| Stone, Bonnie | Pittsfield | (41 KB) |
| Swan, Jon | Save Forest Lake | (54 KB) |
| Tipping, Mike | Orono | (58 KB) |
| Townsend, Eliza | Appalachian Mountain Club | (447 KB) |
| Troiano, TJ | Troiano Waste Services, Inc | (210 KB) |
| Wade, Tim | Maine Water Environment Association | (116 KB) |
| Walker, Leroy | Auburn | (287 KB) |
| Ward, Mark | Bristol | (73 KB) |
| Warming, Betty-Jo | Limington | (41 KB) |
| Willett, Shane | Willett Trucking | (56 KB) |
| Woodbury, Sarah | South Portland | (111 KB) |
| WRIGHT, SHELBY | Casella | (337 KB) |
Work Sessions
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on September 16, 2021 in Current Events
Tags: Casella, Juniper Ridge, MAINE
Maine Waste History 2006: SAPPI seeks CDD incineration in Westbrook
By Hillary Lister, for Maine Indymedia November 17, 2006
Over 1 Million Pounds a Day of Toxic Construction & Demolition Waste Planned to be Burned in Westbrook
On Thursday, November 17, about a dozen people spoke out at a Public Hearing against plans for over a million pounds a day of toxic construction and demolition waste to be burned at the SAPPI mill in Westbrook.On Thursday, November 17, about a dozen people spoke out at a Public Hearing against plans for over a million pounds a day of toxic construction and demolition waste to be burned at the SAPPI mill in Westbrook. (Continued below_photo)
SAPPI also plans to build a massive construction and demolition waste processing facility to take in this waste, most of which would likely be shipped in from out of state.
The waste that would be burned in Westbrook, in Maine’s most populated region, only miles from Portland, would be allowed to include over 10,000 pounds a day each of plastics and asbestos, over 15,000 pounds a day of Arsenic treated wood, over 500 pounds a day of Lead, and unknown amounts of Mercury.
According to Department of Environmental Protection representatives speaking at the meeting, the highly toxic ash that results from incinerating this waste would be run through the SAPPI water treatment plant for disposal.
Maine is the only state in New England that has so-called “biomass boilers” incinerating this waste. It is illegal to landfill this waste in Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, where there is a moratorium on burning this waste, Governor Lynch stated, “The burning of construction and demolition debris poses serious risks to the health of our citizens and the health of the environment. …80% of the debris burned in Maine comes from out of state. We must not let New Hampshire become the new dumping ground for this material.”
The plans to incinerate this waste in Westbrook is only one of many plans for dumping and burning this waste in Maine. This practice has gained strength following state legislation passed at the last minute and without a needed Public Hearing this Spring that encourages the importating and burning of this waste in Maine.
There is also significant public funding for corporations incinerating this waste, thanks to Bush’s Energy Bill which provides ever growing amounts of taxpayer money for “renewable energy” sources. Thanks to waste industry lobbying pressure, incinerating toxic waste is considered to be an eligible form of “renewable energy”.
The town of Athens, Maine has a year-long moratorium that stops the incineration of this waste. This moratorium was passed with major public support. It allows the people to develop local ordinances that give the community the power to decide whether it wants to allow burning this waste in the town. Other communities can use this same process to protect themselves from the dangers of burning this waste.
There are better ways to deal with construction and demolition debris so it does not become dangerous waste. Burning these materials results in the creation of new and more concentrated poisons. Deconstruction of buildings and reuse of materials is standard practice throughout the world – why not in Maine?
The state DEP and legislature have said quite clearly that they consider incineration of this toxic waste to be safe. While it is important to send comments to the DEP, attend Public Hearings, and appeal their rulings in favor of this dangerous practice, local organizing will be necessary for folks to effectively protect the health of their families and communities from this threat.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The DEP is accepting written testimony on the Air Emissions application for this project through Tuesday, November 21, 2006. Comments can be sent to Randy.L.McMullin (at) maine.gov.
For more info on opposition to burning this waste in Westbrook, email westbrookforcleanair (at) yahoo.com .
For more information on the Athens moratorium and ordinance, email sterren (at) brandeis.edu.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on July 30, 2021 in Current Events
Global Assessment: Urgent steps must be taken to reduce methane emissions this decade.
The United Nations Environmental Program has issued a stark warning/clarion call for humanity to drastically drop the amount of methane gas we released into our atmosphere.
UNEP describes itself as “The leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
The assessment integrates the climate and air pollution costs and benefits from methane mitigation.
“Cutting methane is the strongest lever we have to slow climate change over the next 25 years and complements necessary efforts to reduce carbon dioxide.” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “The benefits to society, economies, and the environment are numerous and far outweigh the cost. We need international cooperation to urgently reduce methane emissions as much as possible this decade,”
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on July 14, 2021 in Current Events
Tags: Juniper Ridge, landfills, MAINE, methane
BDN: With Hampden waste plant’s reopening in the works, Orrington rival sees chance to collaborate
As a shuttered waste processing plant in Hampden looks to reopen under new ownership later this year, the Orrington incinerator that’s been handling most of the Bangor area’s waste in the interim sees a chance for collaboration with the waste plant across the river rather than continued rivalry.
“I think two facilities can survive,” said Henry Lang, plant manager at Orrington’s Penobscot Energy Recovery Co., or PERC, which has generated electricity by burning trash since the 1980s. “If the two facilities work together, they actually come out ahead.”
PERC has struggled to stay profitable and find new sources of waste since more than 100 towns and cities stopped sending their household trash there in 2018 in favor of the Coastal Resources of Maine plant in Hampden that was supposed to open that year. The Orrington plant has since upgraded its equipment to reduce processing costs and incinerate a larger portion of the waste it takes in. But a few other ventures — including one to prepare Maine wood chips for export to Europe, and another to import shredded plastic waste from Northern Ireland — haven’t panned out.
full article CLICK HERE
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 16, 2021 in Current Events
Company trying to purchase Hampden plant wants to mix trash with sewage sludge – BDN 2/8/21
FXCERPT FROM THE BDN STORY:
“The Pennsylvania-based company working to purchase a shuttered waste processing plant in Hampden specializes in mixing wastewater sludge with household trash, then burning the mixture to produce electricity.
“Delta Thermo Energy has tried out the technology in small-scale test projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the process is based on the company’s work at facilities in Germany, South Korea and elsewhere overseas.
“But if the company closes on the Hampden plant as intended next month, it would be its first time running a full-scale waste processing plant in the U.S. after a number of other attempts to build plants in the mid-Atlantic fell through.
“The Coastal Resources of Maine plant in Hampden has been closed since last May after it ran out of money to pay its bills and fund a series of performance upgrades. Delta Thermo was one of seven companies that expressed interest in taking over the shuttered operation, and it signed an agreement to negotiate its purchase of the plant late last year.
“Delta Thermo Energy CEO Rob Van Naarden expects the deal with the Coastal Resources of Maine plant’s bondholders to close by the end of March and the plant to restart four to six weeks after that.
“The company plans to run the plant with its existing technology to start, but the goal is to deploy Delta Thermo’s own technology there in the future, Van Naarden said in a meeting with the Municipal Review Committee on Jan. 19. The Municipal Review Committee represents the 115 towns and cities that send their waste to the Hampden plant. They’ve been sending it to the PERC incinerator in Orrington and the Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock since the Hampden facility has been idled.
END EXCERPT
Full story at the link
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 8, 2021 in Current Events
MRC announces candidate buyer for plant
On January 19m 2021 the Delta Thermo Company CEO Rob Van Naarden made this zoom presentation to the Municipal Review Committee
Delta Thermo Energy proposes to reopen the Coastal Resources of Maine recycling plant within the next four months, according to CEO Rob Van Naarden.
Van Naarden was questioned by John Banks of the Penobscot Nation (1) whether the new operation they proposed, with no landfilling and no incineration would start out that way or was it a long term goal? The company rep said they would try their hardest .(2) What specific actions would you take to get to no incineration or landfilling? He didn’t explain but pointed to the company’s operations in Europe and Japan that it said neither incinerate nor landfill the municipal waste that enters them
A reporter for News Center TV asked the CEO about the fate of the former employees. Would they be hired back? The answer: only groundworkers, that do first stage processing. How many employees . Answer: around 30
Cary Donovan asked if tipping fees would differ for towns that used single sort waste vs those that recycle on the town end. Answer Would keep it as it was before. Dave asked Since the first goal is get it running is the state playing along? Answer Yes they can transfer existing permits. “Someone” asked for details of the special waste process the company uses. She said she understood it d to be be first stage is recycling extraction and the second stage is organics extraction Others raised questions but the company CEO remained very general about its plans.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on January 21, 2021 in Current Events
BDN: Pennsylvania company hopes to reopen Hampden trash plant this spring
“The Hampden waste facility that shut down last spring after just six months could soon reopen under the management of a Pennsylvania company that converts trash to electricity.
The company, Delta Thermo Energy, hopes to close the deal and reopen the Coastal Resources of Maine plant within the next four months, CEO Rob Van Naarden said Tuesday afternoon.”
“The Hampden plant, which converted household trash into a mix of fuels and other materials, closed last May after its owners ran out of money amid a number of construction and startup delays. That forced 115 Maine towns and cities to instead send their trash to landfills in Norridgewock and Old Town and to an Orrington plant that burns trash to generate electricity”. Full January 21, 2021 BDN article
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on January 21, 2021 in Current Events
Tags: MRC
MRC to announce their new buyer on Tuesday January 19 at 1:00 PM
Finally a buyer has been selected to restart and operate the Fiberight waste recycling facility in Hampden Maine The identity of the new buyer will be announced on January 19th Watch and listen to the presentation Jan 19th at this zoom link : https://zoom.us/j/94724611326
The Municipal Review committee is a group of 115 municipalities organized originally to collectively negotiate agreements with the PERC waste-to-energy facility in Orrington, Maine to burn their Municipal Solid Waste.
Then in 2018 the new Fiberight plant, AKA Coastal Resources of Maine, a competing trash recycling / waste to energy facility in Hampden, started up. But then it had to shut down in May of 2020, as they were never able to fully operate as promised, and ran out of money. Since then the solid waste of the MRC towns and cities has been sent to Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town and the PERC trash to energy incinerator in Orrington This should end once the Fiberight plant restarts. Time will tell…
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on January 15, 2021 in Current Events
At Jan 7, 2021 BEP mtg: DEP & Big Waste agree: keep Out Of State Waste flowing into Maine!
On January 7, 2021, Maine Board of Environmental Protection held a zoom meeting that included waste rule changes brought forward by citizens group Don’t Waste ME, Penobscot Nation, and others. Listen to participants below. Fact Sheet (PDF) :: Draft Rule Chapter (PDF) :: Citizen Petition :: Adoption Packet The BEP declined to adopt nearly all the requested rule changes See Maine Public Radio News story
The changes would’ve (1)defined waste as “Maine Waste” only if it originated in Maine. This to end a recycling loophole that lets thousands of truckloads of waste to be brought to Maine every year from other states and landfilled as “Maine waste”. (2) they would have instituted Environmental Justice as a regulatory criterion for state siting or expansion of landfills or their discharging waste.
PART 1 INTRODUCTION; AGENCY ON THE PETITION
2 Acting DEP Commissioner Melani Loyzim updates 93sec
3 Review December 15 2020 minutes. 50sec
4 Chapter 100 Air Licencing issues 2min
5 Chapter 400 Rulemaking petition intro 39sec
6 DEP Paul Clark overview of Chapter 400 issues 11min
PART 2 PUBLIC SPEAKERS
9 Ed Spencer reads Hillary Lister comments
11 Procedural question 6min 35sec
12 Dan Thornton, Thornton Construction 3min37sec
13 Kat Taylor, Argyle Maine 10 min
14 Bill Lippincott Don’t Waste ME 4min 15sec
15 Greg Leahy Reenergy 5min42sec
16 Brian Rayback NewsMe Landfill and QA 11min30sec
17 Closing Paula Clark remarks to break 2min 53 sec
Bill Lippincott 4min 14sec (see 14)
PART 3 BEP deliberates on DWM’s rulemaking petition Full 30 minute audio
D1 Intro to deliberations 2min10sec
D9 Pelletier and Clark 1min 28sec
D12 Draper and Clark 3min24sec
D13 Draper to vote to end 1min 34sec
End
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on January 8, 2021 in Current Events
Tags: Maine BEP
DEP recommends against rule changes to end imports of out of state solid waste
With one exception, Maine DEP is recommending Maine Board of Environmental Protection reject the changes in Chapter 400 solid waste rules proposed in Don’t Waste ME’s citizen initiated -proposed rule changes submitted January 13, 2020 **** Video (5min) of Hillary Lister, Bill Lippincott & Ed Spencer speaking at DEP before presenting the petition signatures to the agency
Read DEP’s January 7, 2021 draft memo to the board
On September 17, 2020 (audio) the BEP held a virtual public hearing on the proposed rule change . Documents presented for the meeting: * DEP 9/17/20 cover letter * DEP’s Basis statement for opposing most of draft rule & DEP’s Responses to comments 14pg pdf * Existing Chapter 400 Rules *
* Chapter 400 with Environmental justice additions “Environmental Justice” added on Pages 10 & 51, DEP supports the board adopting the term into DEP rules. DEP recommends against the rest of the proposed rule changes.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on December 30, 2020 in Current Events
Maine becoming Global Waste Dump?
The recent offloading spill into Penobscot Bay of plastic and textile waste, part of the 10,000 ton shipload of euro-trash shipped from Warrenport Northern Ireland into Searsport, bodes ill for Maine’s future. See media coverage: Bangor Daily News Penobscot Bay Pilot WCSH TV Newscenter WABI TV /
The high winds that blew tons of shredded plastics and cloth waste from torn bales of the material into the water as it was offloaded from the cargo ship London Sider at last week, have also lain bare the Mills Administration’s expansion of waste importation into Maine beyond North America – by adding the tiny nation of Northern Ireland to the stable of American states that Maine accepts waste from.
Why arrange waste agreements with a nation 10,000 square miles smaller than Maine, and 2,700 miles away?Because a deal reached this week in the finalizing Brexit process allows Northern Ireland to remain economically open-borders with the rest of the European Union. With its well protected harbor of Warrenport, the tiny nation w is well positioned to be a veritable firehose of Euro-waste to Maine, ensuring Cassella and its trashy cousins plentiful supplies to further their moundbuilding waste empire in what we formerly called the Dawn State but in the future bay more accurately be termed the Dump State.
That is, if whatever expenses ensue to Sprague Energy and the state of Maine from this initial flubbed Eurowaste importation effort are seen as acceptable losses. If they are, then pragmatic European waste managers will happily send their plastic & textile trash across the pond , and Maine trash moundbuilders will continue to grow their ersatz mountain ranges .
Maine’s new State Motto? “Nugas tuas, nostra nugas. ” Your trash is our trash
to
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on December 11, 2020 in Current Events
Tags: MAINE
Crossroads landfill “expansion”? 3 critics call it a new landfill – and a bad idea.
Below read comments on Waste Management Disposal Services of Maine’s application for Landfill Expansion, Crossroads Landfill, Norridgewock, Maine (Somerset County), #S-010735-WD-YB-N
Hillary Lister of Don’t Waste ME comments on Crossroads Landfill expansion plan Excerpts “According to Waste Management’s application, it appears that all of the out-of-state waste going into the Crossroads facility is Special waste. The application fails to state how much of that Special waste contains asbestos, sludge, or medical waste. Much of what is classified as “special waste” in Maine is prohibited from landfill disposal in other states.”
“Two acres of the northeast corner of the Crossroads landfill set on fire in the summer of 2018. Construction and demolition debris chips used as cover on a portion of the Crossroads landfill spontaneously combusted, requiring response from multiple departments and State helicopters, resulting in the injury of several local firefighters, and a plume of toxic smoke that issued from the smoldering landfill for weeks.”
Sean Mahoney Conservation Law Foundation Comments on Crossroads Landfill expansion plan. Excerpts : “Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF”) strongly opposes the Solid Waste Permit Application for Phase 14 Landfill (“Application”) by Waste Management Disposal Services of Maine (“WMDSM”)…..”While the Application is titled as an expansion of the existing Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock, Maine”,……..”the Application is more accurately described as one for a new landfill, albeit located one half mile from1 the existing, operating, landfill.”, WMDSM has not demonstrated that the new landfill,… meets the requirements set forth in Chapters 400 and 401 of the Maine Solid Waste Management Rules
“Under the terms stated by WMDSM in the Application, WMDSM would not provide a public benefit to the State of Maine.”
Kat Taylor comments on Crossroads landfill expansion plan Excerpts The municipalities are looking for a cheap way to dispose of their Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and Construction Demolition Debris (CDD) and the for-profit industries make money off these two products and need somewhere to dump their bypass or residue.”
“The sad fact of the matter is that there is a lot of money in waste management. Until we finally reach a point where Maine is no longer the dumping ground of New England waste facilities will lobby for expansion and argue the Interstate Commerce Clause gives them the right to do so.”
“If Maine, through cooperation of various agencies like the DEP, IFW, ACF and the forest products industry, the hunting and fishing industries, the tourism industries, can unite to finally put an end to the seemingly limitless volume of waste coming into our state by just saying “no more”, then we can finally put to rest this issue of waste management excesses which do so
much harm to our beautiful state and its people.”
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on October 14, 2020 in Current Events
Press-Herald 10/5/20: Group pushes to close loophole in Maine’s ban on out-of-state waste
Environmentalists and grassroots activists say regulations let hundreds of thousands of tons of waste from other states go into Maine’s largest landfill.
By Edward D. Murphy Staff Writer PPH story Link
Environmentalists and grassroots activists are pushing to tighten Maine laws in order to reduce or eliminate hundreds of thousands of tons of out-of-state waste going into the state’s largest landfill.
Maine nominally outlawed the dumping of trash generated in other states in 1989 by banning commercial landfills from operating. That allowed the state to manage the source of waste dumped at the landfills, but a loophole allows mountains of waste from elsewhere to still be disposed of in Maine.
Under the rules, Maine still accepts out-of-state waste for recycling. But the regulations say that if part of a shipment of waste is recycled in Maine, the rest of the shipment is reclassified as in-state waste and can be dumped at Maine’s state-owned landfill.
The loophole allows hundreds of thousands of tons of out-of-state waste to be disposed of in Maine, mostly at the Juniper Ridge landfill in Old Town, the only landfill owned by the state that’s still operating. It is run by Casella Waste under a management contract.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine and others are pushing for changes in the rules to close the loophole, but it may need to wait until the Legislature convenes next year, said Sarah Nichols, sustainable Maine director at the organization.
“This issue is not going to go away, and it’s going to get worse,” Nichols said. “It seems like it’s more ripe than ever.”
Ed Spencer, who lives about 1.5 miles from the Juniper Ridge landfill, says Nichols’ choice of the word “ripe” is appropriate.
On days when his house is downwind from the landfill, a growing mountain of trash, “you can’t breathe,” Spencer said. “It’s impossible to go out.”
Spencer is one of nearly 300 Mainers who are petitioning the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to change the rules and eliminate out-of-state waste from going into the landfill.
Nichols said proponents of changes in the regulations had hoped to use petitions to force the Board of Environmental Protection, which oversees the DEP, to draft changes. But, she said, state rules no longer force regulators to respond directly to petitions, so any change will likely require the Legislature to act next year.
The Natural Resources Council and other advocates might simply draft a bill for lawmakers to consider, Nichols said, but she believes it’s an issue that needs to be dealt with soon. With other states tightening rules on what can be dumped in their landfills, particularly construction and demolition debris, more out-of-staters are likely to be looking for places to take the waste. If Maine’s rules remain the same, she said, the state will remain an attractive destination.
She said about 800,000 tons of waste was dumped at Juniper Ridge last year, and about 220,000 tons came from ReEnergy, a recycler in Lewiston. Nichols said ReEnergy’s figures suggest that 90 percent or more of its waste actually was generated outside of Maine.
That means about one-quarter of the rapidly growing mound of waste at Juniper Ridge likely comes from outside the state, Nichols said.
Much of that waste comes from Massachusetts, according to figures in ReEnergy’s 2019 annual report. It said the facility sent 176,700 tons of mixed construction debris to Juniper Ridge in 2019 that originally came from Massachusetts, and 37,044 tons from New Hampshire. Maine-sourced debris was far behind those two states, with less than 22,000 tons coming from in-state.
Massachusetts has banned the dumping of construction and demolition debris at landfills in that state, and in the search for places to dispose of the material, Maine has become a convenient destination, those backing the change in regulations say.
The numbers for out-of-state waste going to Juniper Ridge show how much the state’s ban on out-of-state waste has been weakened and abused, said Hilary Lister, the lead signer on the petition sent to the DEP.
She said the biggest concern over the material being dumped at Juniper Ridge is construction and demolition debris and, to a lesser extent, some medical waste. Lister said she thinks the DEP’s board should take action, rather than make those pushing for changes wait for the Legislature to act in 2021.
Spencer said he agrees and worries that Casella Waste’s lobbyists might succeed in watering down any changes to the regulations. He said the company has a strong incentive to continue accepting out-of-state waste to increase the fees it earns from operating the landfill.
END
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on October 5, 2020 in Current Events
Big Waste now seeks expansion of “Special Waste” landfill in Maine. Public hearing on Oct 1st
Maine at another Waste Crossroad? Big Waste to seek OK from MDEP on Thursday Oct 1st to expand its “Special Waste” landfill by 57 acres. This will allow for dumping additional out of state “special wastes” in Norridgewock Maine. Leachate goes into Kennebec River!
Want to put your two cents in? Attend DEP’s virtual public hearing! It starts 6pm Thursday Oct 1st How: Contact DEP before 1pm Wednesday Sept 30th – that’s tomorrow! Let Ruth Ann Burke know you wish to speak virtually at the meeting. ruth.a.burke@maine.gov or phone 207-287-2811
MEETING AGENDA: http://penbay.org/…/specwaste_%20hrng_092120_agenda_final.p…
BACKGROUND Special Waste was formerly termed “hazardous waste” (Doesn’t special waste” sound so much .. cleaner!) It includes incinerator ash, sludge, oil and solvent contaminated soils, asbestos, dredge spoils, coal ashes, coal gasification wastewater, medical waste and a variety of industrial process wastes from lead processing, bauxite refining, fertilizer production, acid production, and wastes from many other refining processes.
AT ISSUE: To approve a landfill expansion, MDEP must find that the facility
(1) will provide substantial “public benefit”, and
(2) will NOT pollute any water of the State, contaminate the ambient air, create a nuisance, or constitute a hazard to health or welfare
The DEP asks that Public Hearing comments be limited to the following areas relating to licensing criteria:
Visibility of the Landfill Fitting the Solid Waste Facility Harmoniously into the Natural Environment. No Unreasonable Adverse Effect on Existing Uses and Scenic Character
Noise Effect on Existing Uses and Scenic Character
Odors No Unreasonable Adverse Effect on Air Quality
Ground Water Aquifer Protection No Unreasonable Risk That a Discharge to a Significant Ground Water Aquifer Will Occur.
Solid Waste Management Hierarchy
Recycling and source reduction determination
QUESTIONS:
* What can be the public benefit to Maine of permanently storing other state’s “special” wastes in Maine?
* How much of which special wastes noted above does the state believe will be brought here? Shockingly, the application doesn’t say! Isn’t there a difference between, for example, medical waste and lead refining waste?
* How can storing unknown amounts of specified and unspecified wastes for thousands of years NOT risk polluting our waters and those of our descendants and the descendants of today’s fish and wildlife? How can it not pose a health hazard to them as well?
* Shouldn’t we look ahead 7 generations? How the future will despise us if we keep mounding up the wastes of other states here for permanent waste storage?
What could possibly go wrong? Isn’t Maine an official American Dump State?
No? Then why do state officials act as if we are?
On October 1st press this issue. Save Future Maine!
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on September 29, 2020 in Current Events
VIDEO: Juniper Ridge Landfill Megadump: Part 1
From the Sunlight Media Collective:
Juniper Ridge Landfill Megadump: Part 1 See how Maine has become the designated waste dump state for the Northeast United States – and how the people have risen to put an end to this unholy practice, at the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill waste mound in Old Town.
Watch & Learn. Then take action right away: deadline Monday September 28 5pm : Send comments on the “Petition to Modify Maine’s Solid Waste Management Rules” by email to paula.m.clark@maine.gov and ruth.a.burke@maine.gov (include in Subject “Chapter 400 Rule Petition Comments”)
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on September 27, 2020 in Current Events
Maine BEP hears from Landfill reform advocates and anti-reform advocates
On September 17,2020, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection held its hearing on NGO Don’t Waste Maine’s petition to end importation of construction & demolition waste from other states. Listen below to links to the speakers at the hearing – both those who testified and those who listened and asked questions
The meeting started at 10am, when the Board first reviewed a number of other agenda items including the status of hazardous waste storage at the Portsmouth Naval shipyard and, what point the BEP’s review of Nordic Aquafarms land based salmon facility is at. But we’ll focus on the controversy over Maine’s importation of out of state waste and reasons for ending it.
Speakers at 9/17/20 Maine BEP Hearing on citizen initiated rule changes to DEP Rules Chapter 400.
BEP meeting’s other issues before CH 400 hearing 47min
0 CH 400 Opening introduction 8min15sec
2. Ed Spencer, Don’t Waste Me 22min33sec
3. Paul Clark Maine DEP 13min 4seconds
4 Brian Rayback, Pierce Atwood 7min44sec
7 Greg Leahy Reenergy Lewiston13min35sec
8. Rhonda Forester , Sevee and Mahan 9min25sec
END OF MORNING SESSION
Part 2
11. Charles Eaton Me Logistics Solutions trucking) 2min 5sec
12. Sarah Nichols NRCM & QA 10min 33sec
13. Kirstie_Pecci CLF & QA 15min
14.Peter Crockett DWM 7min11sec
16. Abigail Bradford 3min55sec
17. Mark St Germaine & QA 10min2sec
18. TJ Troiano waste trucking 9min5sec
19 Antonio Blasi Hancock Cty Commissioner 44sec
20. Ben Worcester SW Harbor 4min 4sec to hearing end
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on September 17, 2020 in Current Events
Maine Board Of Environmental Protection to Consider Environmental Justice and Importation of Out of State Waste at Public Hearing on Thursday
| From: Sunlight Media Collective, September 2020 What is the definition of “out-of state” waste vs “Maine-generated” waste? Will private waste companies be able to continue to exploit a loophole allowing them to import trash for profit, despite it being illegal to dispose of out-of-state waste in Maine owned landfills? Will local communities negatively impacted by state licensed landfills finally receive legal equal protection? Will Maine now consider environmental justice impacts when citing waste facilities, as other states do? These are the outstanding issues front and center regarding the waste disposal system in Maine. On Thursday, September 17, at 10am, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection will hold a public hearing to consider exactly these questions in a citizen proposed “Petition to Modify Maine’s Solid Waste Management Rules.” Written comments are accepted until September 28th. (Information at end of this update on how to testify at or view the hearing via Zoom and how to submit written comments) Over the years, the lack of definitions and protections in Maine’s solid waste management rules have made local communities increasingly vulnerable to the possibilities of groundwater and river pollution, including those surrounding the state owned Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. Waste leachate from the landfill is dumped into the Penobscot River just below the Penobscot Indian Nation, who have restrictive fish consumption advisories for Tribal members. This while recent dam removals on the River have dramatically increased the number of sea run species. Community members across Maine have tried repeatedly to show that state waste rules are not protective of environmental and human health , curtail the public’s participation and the consideration of impacts on affected communities, and have not only allowed, but encouraged a proliferation of out-of-state waste into Maine, resulting in a growing for -profit business using Maine’s publicly owned landfills, and taking advantage of renewable energy credits. Concurrently, other surrounding states have increased restrictions on the burning and land filling of trash, including toxic Construction and Demolition Debris (CDD), increasing the profitability for businesses importing trash into Maine for incineration and land filling. A 2018 regulation change has made way for a 33% increase in the amount of arsenic -treated CDD used as fuel in Maine’s biomass boilers, who then receive Class 1 Renewable Energy Credits. Citizen efforts for reform have continually been successfully opposed in Maine’s legislature by the waste industry’s powerful lobby. The Juniper Ridge Landfill (JRL) in Old Town is owned by the state of Maine, but operated privately by Casella Waste Systems. It was recently approved for a 54 acre expansion, doubling it’s size. Currently, at least 210 tons of out of state CDD is dumped at JRL. An estimated many tens of thousands more tons of other forms of out of state waste, including sludge, also are land filled at JRL. Legally, publicly owned landfills can not take out-of-state waste, but for years, the waste industry has side stepped this with a loop hole that allows for waste from outside the state to be minimally processed once imported and then re-classified as “in-state” waste. This can be done through a number of ways including recycle processing or incineration, or by being used as a “alternative daily cover” on landfills. Juniper Ridge Landfill (JRL) has raised the ire and scrutiny of local landfill opponents and community members for nearly two decades. It is situated between Pushaw Stream and Birch Stream in the Penobscot River Watershed. Communities directly endangered include Old Town, Alton, Argyle, and the Penobscot Nation located directly downstream from the landfill and directly upstream from where leachate is being dumped into the river. Leachate, the liquid landfill refuse, is transported from the Juniper Ridge Landfill for waste water processing at the recently re-opened Old Town paper mill, now owned by Nine Dragons Paper. The effluent is then discharged into the Penobscot River in a process reportedly less rigorous then municipal waste water plants. Currently the company self reports the chemical contents of the discharges Area residents, including the Penobscot Nation, have underscored the lack of water quality testing of the effluent that is piped into the Penobscot River. In 2012, a roll back of regulation increased the allowable limits for arsenic and decreases testing requirements for mercury. Landfill leachate is not treated for arsenic, PFAS/PFOS, and a number of other chemicals. In 2016, numbers show Juniper Ridge Landfill producing ten million gallons of leachate a year. With the landfill expansion those numbers will go up. The “Petition to Modify Maine’s Solid Waste Management Rules,” that will be discussed at the September 17 hearing, was created with direct input from those most affected by the State’s current dumping practices. It is considered the best proposed solution to curbing the environmental injustice that has been allowed to occur for far too long. Hillary Lister is longtime community organizer and public educator on Maine waste issues. We share her clear and informative written testimony here. She details the history out of state waste policies in Maine, the disparity with surrounding state policies, the health and environmental impacts of leachate contamination on communities, including the Penobscot Nation, and efforts to have environmental justice considered when determining “public benefit” when waste facilities are cited or expanded in Maine. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XVWpurMnZDapF5QrAuGLwbhtPCJN633j9S5x8fZZ61s/edit?usp=sharing Information on hearing, how to view, testify and submit written comments: Public Hearing: Thursday, September 17, 2020, 10:00 AM Public hearing on the citizen petition to initiate rule making to amend the Chapter 400: Maine Solid Waste Management Rules. The petition calls on the DEP to: “clarify requirements for Public Benefit Determinations relating to approval of waste facilities, by ensuring that the definition of “waste that is generated within the State” accurately describes the sources of waste materials disposed in the State, and by requiring Public Benefit Determinations to include consideration of the impacts on health and welfare, environmental justice and equal protections for communities where waste facilities operate.” The Department is requesting that anyone interested in testifying at the hearing add their name to a testimony signup list prior to the start of the hearing by emailing their name by close of business on Monday, September 14th to ruth.a.burke@maine.gov Written comments on the rule change petition can be emailed to paula.m.clark@maine.gov and ruth.a.burke@maine.gov (include in Subject line “Ch 400 Rule Petition Comments)Written comments are due by 5pm on September 28, 2020. Even if you don’t plan to testify at the hearing, you can watch the meeting via Zoom .Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/6928501126?pwd=blBEMDBlUTFKb3ZIbFN0NFVEaTl0dz09 Meeting ID: 692 850 1126 Passcode: 4gWhZz Dial In:877-853-5247 Meeting ID: 692 850 1126 Passcode: 110856 If having trouble calling in, please contact Ruth Ann Burke at ruth.a.burke@maine.gov BEP Meeting Agenda and more info available here: https://www.maine.gov/dep/rules/index.html Comments sent to DEP on Chapter 400 Rule Petition can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/dep/ftp/projects/ch400/comments2020-09-10/ |
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Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on September 14, 2020 in Current Events
Add your voice to Maine landfill reform on Sept 17th
At their Sept 17th meeting Maine Board of Environmental Protection members will consider a petition requesting state environmental rules change to limit all future Maine landfill space to Maine-originated waste. Your email and or participation as a zoom speaker on the 17th can make a big difference in their decisionmaking.
Here’s how to email BEP
To rulecomments.dep@maine.gov
(this goes to : Ruth Burke BEP Administrative Assistant <ruth.a.burke@maine.gov>, which is what her return email will be from.
Subject Chapter 400 BEP hearing 9/17/20 Add me to signup list
Dear BEP
I plan on speaking by zoom at the public hearing on September 17th regarding the Petition to Amend Chapter 400 of the Maine Solid Waste Management Rules. Please sign me up to the speakers & notifications list
Name
Afilliation (if any)
Email
Address or other info as desired.
BACKSTORY At Issue: Unlike all other North Atlantic states Maine presently accepts thousands of tons of crushed remains of demolished New York, Boston, Hartford and other cities’ and towns’ buildings – and the leftover debris of new construction projects every year, vastly reducing capacity for present and future Maine landfill needs. The Proposed change reserves present and future Maine landfills only to originally-discarded-in-Maine wastes.
The Petition also calls for Maine waste decisions to made only after consideration whether the requested decision provides Equal Environmental Justice for All.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on September 7, 2020 in Current Events
On September 17th, help Maine put an end to the ongoing wasting of our state with megatons of out of state demolition and construction debris!
On Thursday, September 17, 2020, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection will hold a virtual public hearing on citizen-initiated state environmental rule changes that will put an end to the senseless current practice of importing and permanently stockpiling thousands of tons annually of greater New England’s and New York’s construction and demolition wastes – on YOUR public land! DETAILS OF RULE CHANGE CLICK HERE (Maine BEP webpage) (Scroll down to “Chapter 400: Maine Solid Waste Rules”)
WHAT’S NEW? The rule change would specifically:
1) Clarify the definition of Maine generated waste in order to control the disposal of out-of-state waste in Maine’s publicly-owned landfills, and
2) Provide standing, justice, and equal protection to people in communities who are directly impacted by the State’s landfill licensing and permitting decisions.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Send an email to Maine BEP expressing your support for these changes (detailed below) to Maine Board of Environmental Protection Send it to rulecomments.dep@maine.gov On the subject line write “Comment on Chapter 400: Maine Solid Waste Rules”
DETAILS OF PROPOSED RULE CHANGES DEFINITIONS. The petition replaces the confusing definition of “Waste generated in the State,” as currently included in the rules governing Public Benefit Determination. The state’s current definition of “waste that is generated within the State” is “Residue and bypass generated by incineration, processing and recycling facilities within the State; waste whether generated within the State or outside of the State used for daily cover, frost protection or stability in accordance with all applicable rules and licenses; and waste generated within 30 miles of the solid waste disposal facility.”
The petition strikes that convoluted wording – which allows nearly anything to be dumped in Maine provided a few hoops are jumped through and replaces the definition of “Waste that is generated within the State” with “Waste materials for which the original point of discard is located within the State of Maine. “
The definition goes on to continue allowing the “residue and
bypass generated by incineration, processing and recycling facilities within the State to be landfilled BUT, “Only if the materials creating the residue and bypass had an original point of discard within the State of Maine.“
Maine DEP will also have to show that Environmental Justice is being served by requiring proof that: “The facility operation is not inconsistent with protecting the health and welfare of local communities and is not inconsistent with ensuring equal protection and environmental justice for communities where the waste facility is proposed or operating.”
Finally the rule change requires “Equal Protection under the law ” when it comes to waste management decisions. This term’s definition is “protection of all groups of people, regardless of ancestry, class, disability, ethnicity, income, national origin, or religion, from an unfair burden of environmental hazards resulting from waste facility operations.
THAT’S IT! (1)Waste dumped in Maine must have been originally discarded IN Maine; (2) it must not harm the health and welfare of communities where it is being dumped or processed, and (3) DEP must protect all people in Maine, no matter what their race, class, disability, income, national origin or religion from the toxics and other pollutants by emanate from the state landfill.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on August 28, 2020 in Current Events
Ed Spencer on stopping out of state commercial waste imports to Maine. Audio of his July 17th WRFR radio talk.
On July 17th, Ed Spencer of Don’t Waste Maine detailed the struggle to put an end to the importation of wastes from NYC Massachusetts and Connecticut into Maine for landfilling at the state landfill in Old Town,.
LISTEN TO THE RECORDING HERE (34 minute mp3)
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on July 18, 2020 in Current Events
Advocacy group: Maine crisis in solid waste: Unsorted trash, garbage being sent to state owned landfill, against state policies. TV Coverage
Activists from Don’t Waste Maine spoke on the state’s garbage and trash crisis in Hampden Maine Media Coverage Here and Here and Here
Statement from Don’t Waste Maine
Trash Turmoil: A Crisis in Solid Waste
The financing of Coastal Resources of Maine (CRM), which runs the Fiberight Waste Processing Facility in Hampden, has fallen through.
CRM has defaulted on its 1.5 million dollar loan to the Municipal Review Committee (MRC), a nonprofit group of 115 Maine cities and towns that have joined together to manage their municipal solid waste (MSW) issues.
There was an emergency meeting of the MRC on June 5th – mostly in executive session.
The Fiberight facility is closed down for the month of June, possibly for longer.
CRM’s Fiberight plant was supposed to be a state of the art facility to deal with the processing of Maine’s solid waste. But they’ve been unable to sell their three main products processed from waste: briquettes, pulp and bio-gas. Until recently, these products failed to meet DEP standards. (None of these products meet the definition of recycling which is what Fiberight claimed it would excel in; they are all waste to energy products….. or: a waste of energy).
All 115 municipalities with contracts to send their waste to CRM are now dumping their waste at the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill (JRL) in West Old Town or at the Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock
This runs counter to the Governor’s Executive Order to dispose of waste in a more biologically safe way during the pandemic, and it runs counter to the statutory regulation to dispose of waste according to the solid waste hierarchy, with landfilling at the bottom of the hierarchy. Sending the waste to PERC waste to energy plant in Orrington for incineration would more closely follow the EO and the solid waste hierarchy.
JRL recently raised its sludge tipping fee from $35 to $55 a ton, and it will go up again in January another 3%. As CRM and PERC struggle, Casella is increasing its hold on handling solid waste in our region, raising rates at our state owned (but Casella run) landfill
NOTE The MRC will be having a virtual town hall meeting open to the public on June 17, 2020, at 10:00 A.M, where questions can be asked about the Fiberight facility.
Zoom Virtual Town Hall Meeting You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: Jun 17, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: MRC Virtual Town Hall Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-EVe2xIwRky2XYLYn6ZbDw
Don’t Waste Maine is a coalition of people across Maine advocating for responsible policies that protect the health of communities most at risk from negative impacts of landfill, incinerator, leachate and sludge disposal operations. dontwasteme.org
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on June 11, 2020 in Current Events
Maine: Stop importing waste
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on May 12, 2020 in Current Events
Tags: Juniper Ridge, Landfill, MAINE
Boston & New York’s waste dump: Juniper Ridge, Maine.
The innocuous entrance to Maine’s growing stockpile of Massachusetts,
Connecticut & New York wastes .
The JRL landfill is a massive landHILL.
View from 1 & 1/4 mile away.
Trucks atop this mountain of Awastes look small as barnacles on a boulder 
The cutting edge.,where fresh wastes are added. Sometimes to cover other wastes. 
Waste never sleeps 
Nearly half of this waste mound came from New England Connecticut and Massachusetts
Click these for full sized photos
IT IS A SORRY STATE OF AFFAIRS for the people of the state of Maine when one sees the remnants of our traditional industries wasting away in the looming shadow of this mountain of refuse.
Already 280 feet high (taller than Mount Megunticook in Camden) as much as 40 % of that 35 ACRE “land fill” originated well beyond the borders of the State of Maine”: Boston. Hartford. New York City.
Like Mount Megunticook, Juniper Ridge is state-owned. But unlike that Camden Hill, The Juniper Ridge waste mound continues to expand. A permit’s already been granted to to double the footprint of this MONSTER-LANDFILL to 70 ACREs.
At present one out-of-state truckload of waste arrives and is dumped here every half hour. 8 hours a day, Monday through Friday. Ditto for the number of truckfulls of Maine-originated debris and waste arriving here daily
Around three dozen of these 50-foot box trucks travel 200 miles from the border to Juniper Ridge daily – and back for more. That makes 7600 miles of truck travel / truck exhaust EVERY DAY, from MONDAY TO FRIDAY, YEAR ROUND
Maine’s Juniper Ridge landfill has become a disgraceful monument to both the unwillingness of southern New England and New York to take care of their own construction and demolition waste, and to the shortsighted willingness of the People of Maine to import it and deface their state with it.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on May 6, 2020 in Current Events
Tags: Casella, Juniper Ridge, Landfill, MAINE
LD 401 On Hold – Rules Change Will Have a Hearing
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee of Maine’s legislature voted unanimously in support of an amendment to LD 401, An Act To Preserve State Landfill Capacity and Promote Recycling on February 5th.
At that work session, two amendments to LD 401 were introduced, one by Committee Chair Representative Tucker and one from LD 401 Sponsor Representative Tipping.
As the language of the first amendment was being distributed, ENR Chair Representative Tucker made an Ought to Pass as Amended motion in support of the amendment language. This amendment replaced the bill with language developed from meetings between the Department of Environmental Protection and representatives of ReEnergy and Casella.
A second amendment was introduced by Representative Ryan Tipping, the bill sponsor, which included language developed through meetings with community stakeholders to implement the original goals of the bill.
The original version of LD 401 proposed to enact measures to ensure accurate tracking of the origin and type of waste materials disposed of in Maine, to discourage landfilling of recyclable materials, to preserve landfill capacity at state-owned facilities for Maine-generated materials, and to ensure the rights of host communities and abutters of waste disposal facilities.
The amended version of LD 401 adopted by the ENR committee effectively keeps the status quo and fails to address the goals of the original bill, though it would place some minor restrictions on how much waste a processing facility may send to a landfill.
Current law does not have a clear definition of “waste generated within the State,” but includes a provision in Title 28, Section 1310-N that states, “For purposes of this subsection, ‘waste generated within the State’ includes residue and bypass generated by incineration, processing and recycling facilities within the State or waste, whether generated within the State or outside of the State, if it is used for daily cover, frost protection or stability or is generated within 30 miles of the solid waste disposal facililty.”
The amendment removes the Section 1310-N description of Maine-generated waste, and adds a new definition to Title 38, section 1303-C, specifying that waste generated within the State means:
1. Waste initially generated within the State of Maine; and
2. Waste generated by an incineration or recycling facility located within the State, regardless of whether the waste processed by the facility was generated within Maine; and
3. Waste generated by a processing facility located within the State, regardless of whether the waste was initially generated within Maine, if the waste is used for at landfills for daily cover, frost protection, shaping and grading, and other operational or engineering related purposes approved by the DEP; and
4. Waste generated by a processing facility located within the State, regardless of whether the waste was initially generated within Maine, if the waste generated by the facility is only an ancillary results of the processing operations; and
5. Waste residue generated by a processing facility located in the State, regardless of whether the waste processed by the facility was initially generated in Maine, as long as the facility “recycles” at least 50% of the waste materials accepted at the facility through use as boiler fuel, recovery of metals, use in construction, or use in landfills for daily cover, frost protection, shaping and grading, and other operational or engineering related purposes approved by the DEP.
The amendment includes an exception designed for ReEnergy’s Lewiston construction & demolition debris processing facility, reducing from 50% to 15% the amount of material that ReEnergy must “recycle.”
BUT it also includes an escape clause allowing ReEnergy to get a waiver from the DEP if the company can demonstrate an “unreasonable adverse impact” from complying with the recycling requirements, making the bill almost meaningless in terms of reigning in ReEnergy’s abuse of the current system
We no longer support this bill in the present form. But since the legislature is now out of session, the bill has not come up for a vote, nor is it likely to be voted on if the legislature does reconvene; they will be doing only essential bills.
Most of the provisions of the bill are also part of our petition for rule changes which we submitted to the DEP on January 13th. We passed in our petitions to DEP for these rule changes on January 13th. We were required to have 150 signatures; we had over 250. On March 5th the BEP discussed and approved scheduling our petition for a Public Hearing. However, with the outbreak of Covid-19, that hearing has been delayed. As soon as we hear when BEP plans to reschedule the hearing, we will post that date here on our website.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on April 22, 2020 in Current Events
BEP’s 4/16/20 meeting agenda & March 5 minutes.
A description of our rule petition, from the BEP’s March 5. 2020 minutes, which is attached to their April 16, 2020 agenda
2. Chapter 400 Maine Solid Waste Management Rules, General Provisions / Petition
for Rulemaking (post for public hearing).
Staff: Paula Clark, Director, Division of Solid Waste Management
Ms. Clark introduced the petition for rulemaking which was submitted by Hillary
Lister of Maine Matters pursuant to 5 M.R.S. section 8055. The petition was
signed by 257 persons thereby requiring the Department to initiate rulemaking on
the petition.
The stated purpose of the petition is:
“clarify requirements for Public Benefit Determinations relating to
approval of waste facilities, by ensuring that the definition of “waste
that is generated within the State” accurately describes the sources of
waste materials disposed in the State, and by requiring Public Benefit
Determinations to include consideration of the impacts on health and
welfare, environmental justice and equal protections for communities
where waste facilities operate.”
Ms. Clark provided the Board will a copy of Chapter 400 which indicated where
the amendments requested by the petitioners would be incorporated into the
existing rule. She noted that the rulemaking would be routine technical.
Following discussion, the Board voted (6-0-0-1) on a motion by Robert Duchesne,
seconded by James Parker, to post the petitioners’ proposed amendments to
Chapter 400 for public hearing. A hearing date was not set.
The vote was taken pursuant to 38 M.R.S. § 341-H, §§ 1304(1), (1-B), (13), (13-
A), § 1310-N(9), and § 1301 et seq.
Board members Mark Draper, Robert Duchesne, Susan Lessard, James
Parker, Steven Pelletier, and Robert Sanford voted to support the motion.
Mark Dubois was absen
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on April 13, 2020 in Current Events
Don’t Waste Maine’s Petition to amend Maine Solid Waste Mgt Rules to bar out of state waste, improve environmental justice.
Below are links on the state of Maine’s website to copies of Don’t Waste Maine’s rules change petition, that comes before the Board of Environmental Protection on September 17th.
Fact Sheet (PDF) :: Draft Rule (PDF) :: Citizen Petition :: Comment on this Rule
Concise Summary:
On January 13, 2020, the Department received a citizen petition to initiate rulemaking to amend the Chapter 400: Maine Solid Waste Management Rules to: “clarify requirements for Public Benefit Determinations relating to approval of waste facilities, by ensuring that the definition of “waste that is generated within the State” accurately describes the sources of waste materials disposed in the State, and by requiring Public Benefit Determinations to include consideration of the impacts on health and welfare, environmental justice and equal protections for communities where waste facilities operate.” On March 5 the Board voted to post the proposed changes to public hearing pursuant to 5 M.R.S. § 8055.
The Board will hold a public hearing on September 17, 2020 public hearing on this matter but is accepting written public comments on the draft proposal for the record. A public hearing will be scheduled as soon as the situation allows. Additional public notice will be provided in advance of the public hearing as required by the Maine Administrative Procedures Act.
Agency contact:
Paula Clark
17 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0017
207-287-7718
Public hearing: Sept 17, 2020
Public noticed: April 9, 2020
Comment deadline: September 17, 2020
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on April 10, 2020 in Current Events
4/9/2020 BEP confirms delay of out of state waste ban rule petition hearing; opens info & comment link.
Maine DEP just released the below notice with links to a fact sheet, the draft rule, a copy of the petition, & the email address to send comments: Will they post the comments there, too? rulecomments.dep@maine.gov (Their suggested subject line “Comment on Chapter 400 Maine Solid Waste Management Rules”) They are “accepting written public comments on the draft proposal for the record.” No comment closure date mentioned.
Agency contact: Paula Clark 17 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-00
_______________________________________________________________________________________
From
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Chapter 400: Maine Solid Waste Management Rules
04/09/2020 11:42 AM EDT
On January 13, 2020, the Department received a citizen petition to initiate rulemaking to amend the Chapter 400: Maine Solid Waste Management Rules to: “clarify requirements for Public Benefit Determinations relating to approval of waste facilities, by ensuring that the definition of “waste that is generated within the State” accurately describes the sources of waste materials disposed in the State, and by requiring Public Benefit Determinations to include consideration of the impacts on health and welfare, environmental justice and equal protections for communities where waste facilities operate.” On March 5 the Board voted to post the proposed changes to public hearing pursuant to 5 M.R.S. § 8055.
Due to the COVID-19 state of emergency, the Board has not yet scheduled a public hearing on this matter but is accepting written public comments on the draft proposal for the record. A public hearing will be scheduled as soon as the situation allows. Additional public notice will be provided in advance of the public hearing as required by the Maine Administrative Procedures Act.
END
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on April 9, 2020 in Current Events
Tags: 2020, BEP, Board of Environmental Protection, Juniper Ridge, MAINE
Hearing delay. Proposed Rule change limiting Maine landfills to only “waste that is generated within the State” has its public hearing delayed indefinitely
Maine Board of Environmental Protection has ” indefinitely postponed” its planned April 16th public hearing on a petition by Don’t Waste Maine to add three new definitions to state waste rules.
The rules change would add three new definitions to Chapter 400
* “Waste that is generated within the State”
* “Equal Protection,”
* “Environmental Justice”
Why? When construction and demolition debris waste is trucked into Maine from New York City, Hartford, Boston and other metropolitan areas arrives, the best selling bits are scavenged out, then the rest is magically redefined as “Maine waste” and gets taken to a state landfill. The health and safety of the communities around the landfill site are rarely taken into serious consideration
ABOUT THE DEFINITIONS
(1) “Waste that is generated within the State” means waste materials for which the original point of discard is located within the State of Maine.”
(By comparison, the existing rule’s definition of “waste that is generated within the State” includes “…waste whether generated within the State or outside of the State used for daily cover, frost protection or stability in accordance with all applicable rules and licenses;…”)
The existing wording is a very dubious triple decker loophole that lets the wastes pour in: they are only importing megatons of mixed construction and demolition waste to make us _safer_.
1. “Daily cover” is just the last layer of waste dumped then dozered to cover the other waste.
2. Frost protection: no frostbitten rats.
3. “Stability”? How nice: making it bigger and bigger makes the waste mounds stabler and stabler. How much of Old Town can they take up to make these things really really stable?
Two other important definitions will be added by Don’t Waste Maine’s petition.
(2) “Equal Protection,” means protection of all groups of people, regardless of ancestry, class, disability, ethnicity, income, national origin, or religion, from an unfair burden of environmental hazards resulting from waste facility operations.
(3) “Environmental Justice” means the right to be protected from environmental pollution and to live in and enjoy a clean and healthful environment regardless of ancestry, class, disability, ethnicity, income, national origin, or religion.”
The new rule goes on to say “Environmental justice shall include the equal protection and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of waste management laws, regulations, and licensing decisions”
Read the petition here: https://tinyurl.com/me-waste-petition
We’ll keep you posted as circumstances change.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on April 7, 2020 in Current Events
PFAS Interagency Report to Maine legislature 2/6/20. Audio Part 4 Michael Abbott head of Maine Drinking Water Program, 14min 23 sec, incl Q&A
On February 6, 2020 the Maine Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee heard from a Michael Abbott of the Maine Drinking Water Program. Listen to Abbott’s PFAS report to Maine Legislature 2/6/20 Pt6 Michael Abbott Drinking Water Prog incl & qa 24min33sec
Abbott is part of a multiagency/stakeholder task force on the historic and current threats to groundwater and to human health from the use of the PFOS/PFAS set of chemicals, and their and their release into the environment in “biosolids” aka sewage sludge.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 11, 2020 in Current Events
PFAS Interagency Report to Maine legislature 2/6/20. Audio. Part 3 Nancy McBrady ME Bureau of Agriculture. 7min
PFAS Interagency Report to Maine legislature 2/6/20. Audio. Pt3
Nancy McBrady Maine Bureau of Agriculture 7min
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 11, 2020 in Current Events
PFAS Interagency Report to Maine legislature 2/6/20. Audio. Pt2 Andy Smith ME State Toxicologist (18min) & QA (32min)
On February 6m 2020 Andrew Smith State Toxicologist, ME Ctr for Disease Control gave an 18 minute presentation to the 25 minutes the Maine Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee , followed by a 32 minute Q&A session with the the legislators.
Andy mith presentation 13min **** Andy Smith Q&A 32min
Smith is on a multiagency/stakeholder task force on the historic and current threats to groundwater and to human health from the use of the PFOS/PFAS set of chemicals, and their and their release into the environment in “biosolids” aka sewage sludge used for decades as fertilizer in many Maine farm fields.
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 11, 2020 in Current Events
PFAS Interagency Report to Maine legislature 2/6/20. Audio. Pt1 DEP Commissioner Reid. 25 minutes & Q&A 18 minutes.
On February 6, 2020 the Maine Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee heard from a multiagency/stakeholder task force on the historic and current threats to groundwater and to human health from the use of the PFOS/PFAS set of chemicals, and their and their release into the environment in “biosolids” aka sewage sludge used for decades as fertilizer in many Maine farm fields. LISTEN to DEP Commissioner Gerald Reid’s 25 minute presentation and 18minute Q&A at the 2 links.
2/6/20 Interagency PFAS Report Pt1 DEP Commissioner Gerald Reid presentation 25min.mp3 …. Commissioner Reid Q&A 18min
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 10, 2020 in Current Events
About LD 401
LD 401, An Act To Preserve State Landfill Capacity and Promote Recycling, will be voted on by Maine legislators Wednesday February 5th. Read more about the proposed amendment
Starting at 10am, the Environment and Natural Resources Committee of Maine’s legislature will hold work sessions to discuss and vote on amendments to waste policy bills, including LD 401. Live audio of the meeting will be available here: https://legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees/ENR
LD 401 proposes to update State law to:
1. Ensure there is accurate tracking and record keeping identifying the origin, amounts and types of
materials disposed in waste facilities in the State;
2. Ensure waste is effectively tracked from generation point through processing to final disposal point,
including the following types of facilities and disposal sites where tracking is required: landfills;
landfill leachate discharge sites; incinerator ash and slag disposal sites; and biosolids disposal sites;
3. Ensure that waste materials imported from outside the State that are processed at facilities in the
State are not classified as Maine-generated waste;
4. Ensure that waste materials that end up in a landfill, such as construction and demolition debris,
which are used for daily cover in a landfill, are not counted toward the State’s recycling goals;
5. Ensure adequate legal standing and strengthen protections for the health and well-being of people
living in close proximity to waste disposal facilities;
6. Strengthen conflict-of-interest protections in awarding and management and oversight of state waste contracts to prevent price fixing and market manipulation.
Read the proposed bill here: https://mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_129th/billtexts/HP031001.asp
* Read the proposed amendment to LD401
On Wednesday, February 5th, starting at 10am, the Environment and Natural Resources Committee of Maine’s legislature will hold work sessions to discuss and vote on amendments to waste policy bills, including LD 401. Live audio of the meeting will be available here: https://legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees/ENR
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 6, 2020 in Current Events
Maine PFAS pollutant task force reports to legislature’ s ENR Comm Feb 6th 1pm
The Environment & Natural Resources Committee will hold a meeting on the
Maine PFAS Task Force report starting at 1:00 pm on Thursday, February 6th.
Prior to the Public Comment, members of the Governor’s PFAS Task Force, including Jeff McBurnie, director of permitting and regulatory affairs at Casella Organics, will provide input on the task force report’s recommendations. McBurnie has played a key role in making sure that Casella’s Earthlife Compost products were exempt from State PFAS restrictions implemented in 2019. [Link to pfascasella.pdf]
The PFAS Task Force report states that, “Municipalities spent hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they had budgeted for in 2019 to test for PFAS and to send wastewater
sludge to landfills instead of using it as a soil amendment.”
As landfills in Maine become the disposal sites for increasing quantities of PFAS
contaminated sludge from across the northeast, the amount of leachate containing PFAS is
also likely to increase. Landfill leachate is currently being discharged through wastewater
facilities into the Penobscot, Sebasticook, and Kennebec Rivers.
While neighboring states take action to track and control PFAS-containing landfill leachate,
the State of Maine has no requirements to treat or test for PFAS compounds prior to
discharge of leachate into waterways. As a result, neighboring state’s landfill leachate is being
exported to Maine for disposal.
http://penbay.org/waste/landfills/PFASKennebecMerrimack.pdf
The task force report focuses on unlined landfills as a major source of PFAS contamination,
but fails to look at impacts of PFAS-containing leachate generated in lined landfills that are
taking sludge.
It will be important that committee members to understand the importance of including
provisions in legislation relating to implementing the task force report to address the tracking,
testing, treatment, disposal, and environmental impacts of PFAS-contaminated landfill
leachate. http://penbay.org/waste/landfills/PFASLandfillsarticles.pdf
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 4, 2020 in Current Events
Casella “Earthlife” Products, produced in Unity Township, Maine
PORTLAND, Maine —
We do it every day, but when you flush your toilet in Greater Portland, your waste may actually end up
back at your house, sort of.
A unique program between several communities and Casella Organics recycles biosolids, turning that
waste into compost.
“Before the 1970s, most waste from Portland went untreated and into Casco Bay, but now that waste is
transformed into a gardening solution.
“…Sludge, as the solids are known at this stage, go through a three-day bacteria-laden process. The bugs
eat up the harmful organic matter, eventually turning into a cake-like substance.
“The material, now known as biosolids, is put into large trucks to be taken to a Casella Organics facility.
The water district pays Casella to take the waste away, and it’s Casella’s decision about what to do
next.
“In all, the East End plant exports about two truckloads of biosolids a day. The truck then go to one of two plants to make the compost At Casella Organics’ Hawkridge Compost Facility in Unity, the biosolids are mixed with saw dust and
other material
.
-Excerpts f rom: https://www.wmtw.com/article/from-flush-to-flowers-human-waste-turned-intocompost-
1/2013186#
+++++++++++++
From Casella’s 2006 annual report:
New England Organics’ operations treat valuable residual byproducts as resources, not wastes. This
division recycles over 400,000 tons/year of wood and coal ash from power plants, biosolids (sewage
sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants) and paper mill sludge (FiberClay®)
.
The flagship Hawk Ridge Compost Facility manufactures 90,000 cubic yards of compost annually from
45,000 tons of biosolids feedstock. Composts, soils and mulches are sold and distributed to agriculture,
landscaping and construction markets, often carrying the tradename Earthlife™.
Click to access NASDAQ_CWST_2006.pdf
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on February 4, 2020 in Current Events
Tags: Casella
Op-Ed in BDN: It’s time to close out of state waste loophole.
Read Bill Lippincott’s BDN guest column published
OLD TOWN, MAINE — 1/23/ 13 — A worker flattens trash at the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town on Wednesday, January 23, 2013. Carter F. McCall | BDN
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on January 22, 2020 in Current Events
Reasons to Support LD 401, An Act To Preserve State Landfill Capacity and Promote Recycling
1. A loophole in Maine’s waste regulations allows out-of-state waste to be funneled through processing
facilities and become classified as Maine-generated waste. This reclassification makes the waste
eligible for disposal in the State-owned landfill, resulting in Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town being
rapidly filled with imported waste, turning Maine into the low-cost dumping ground for surrounding
states with stricter waste policies. About Massachusetts waste exports
2. As surrounding states and provinces enact strong recycling mandates and bans on landfilling many
types of materials, Maine has failed to enact equivalent recycling requirements or restrictions on
wastes allowed to be dumped in landfills. See state landfills bans…2019 State report: increasing disposal at Juniper Ridge landfills
3. Monitoring and testing requirements for toxins in landfill leachate are inadequate for protection of
public health of communities downstream. See Arsenic
4. Maine regulatory agencies have started restricting the landspreading of biosolids contaminated with
PFAS/PFOS on farmland, resulting in disposal of more contaminated sludge in Maine landfills.
Landfill leachate is regularly discharged into the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Sebasticook Rivers with
no requirements that the leachate be tested or treated for PFAS. SEE: PFAS Landfill details
and PFAS in the Kennebec and Merrimack Rivers
5. People most impacted by landfill operations lack adequate opportunities for meaningful participation
in decision-making processes relating to licensing waste facilities. Environmental Justice
and Government Oversight Committee findings Local control over landfills
Posted by Ron Huber, Penobscot Bay Maine on January 16, 2020 in Current Events
Recent Posts
- Fill the Room – Stop the Expansion of JRL 6 PM Monday, September 29, 2025
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