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Orono’s town council voted Monday to ask the state to deny Juniper Ridge Landfill’s expansion proposal.
The council voted unanimously to send a letter to Patricia Aho, commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, voicing the town’s opinion that an expansion to Juniper Ridge Landfill, which straddles the Old Town-Alton town line, should be re-evaluated.
Town Manager Sophia Wilson drafted the letter, which states, “The Orono Town Council is very concerned that the proposed expansion highlights operational and management practices that fail to align, both technically and in spirit, which the State’s solid waste hierarchy.”
The page-and-a-half long letter summarizes the councilors’ opposition to the expansion and touches on arguments proposed by community members.
“It appears that, instead of carefully managing the precious resource of finite airspace, the operational practices are aimed at filling the permitted space as quickly as possible with little regard [for the consequences],” the letter reads.
Wilson attended the public benefit determination meeting held in October by Casella Waste Systems, the operator of the state-owned landfill, and members of state agencies involved in overseeing the landfill.
“It was really clear that this expansion was something that was near and dear to the hearts of many Orono residents,” Wilson said Monday night.
The proposed expansion would increase the amount of permitted space from 10 million cubic yards to approximately 32 million cubic yards. Juniper Ridge has filled more than 4 million cubic yards of space with waste.
The origin of that waste was a point of contention at the public benefit determination meeting, with multiple locals calling for an audit of the landfill to establish what proportion of the waste it contains came from outside of Maine.
As a state-owned landfill, Juniper Ridge is only allowed to accept in-state waste. However, waste trucked in from out-of-state and processed in Maine can subsequently be labeled “in-state waste” under a statutory loophole.
Council member Mark Haggerty called for an addition to the letter to “explicitly” urge the state to draft clarifying legislation on in- and out-of-state waste. He said he wanted to see legislation stating “that out-of-state waste is not supposed to be [in] the state landfill.”
“Instead of looking at the very precious resource as finite, there seems to be the mindset that they can fill it up with whatever,” Wilson said.
The council also discussed Orono’s proposed ordinance to restrict the sale and use of fireworks in the town after Jan. 1, 2012, when state legislation will take effect legalizing the use of consumer fireworks.
Steve Marson, owner of Central Maine Pyrotechnics, was invited to give the council members a presentation on what the state legislation will mean for local residents and to educate the council about the dangers of fireworks if not handled appropriately.
“My message to the people is you need to learn how to use this,” Marson said.
“I’ll be honest with you. That stuff up there can kill you,” he added, motioning to a table at the back of the room laden with his merchandise.
He acknowledged the possibility of firework-related injuries but said sparklers, which are already legal, are the leading cause of those injuries. He stressed the financial impact the new law will have on Maine, saying that $3 million worth of illegal consumer fireworks enter the state each year.
While some community members who attended the meeting felt issuing permits for using fireworks in Orono should be explored, other tempers were sparked by the discussion.
“You cannot regulate this sort of stuff, and I’m incensed at the amount you put down for violations,” said Daniel Lapointe, an Orono resident. “I want you to reflect exactly what the state has. Stay out of the way.”
A draft of the proposed ordinance would levy a fine of not less than $50 but not more than $200 on “any person who uses consumer fireworks” in Orono, with escalating fines if someone continued to violate the ordinance.
Anyone who sold fireworks in the town would face a fine of at least $200 for a first offense and at least $500 for further offenses.
When asked by Wilson, both Orono police chief Gary Duquette, and Orono fire chief Buddy Webb said fireworks aren’t a problem in the town. Duquette estimated police have seen a half-dozen offenses per year.
The council is scheduled to revisit the proposed ordinance Nov. 28.
Bangor Daily News