A new law should stop Old Town landfill expansion, opponents say

A proposal to grow the Juniper Ridge landfill will be the first time a state law passed in 2021 will be put to the test, and opponents hope it will stop the expansion.

Maine is on the verge of a trash crisis, as overall waste sent to landfills increased by 34 percent from 2018 to 2022.

Juniper Ridge, a state-owned landfill in Old Town, has a capacity of 10 million cubic yards and accepts trash from dozens of municipalities across the state, as well as 25,000 tons of waste from out-of-state. At the current rate Juniper Ridge is accepting trash, it will run out of room in 2028, waste management giant Casella spokesperson Jeff Weld said previously.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection will decide by Aug. 23 if a proposed 11.9-million-cubic-yard expansion at Juniper Ridge will have a substantial public benefit. The department must rule on that before it can accept an application to expand a waste facility.

As part of that decision, it is the first time environmental justice must be considered when building or expanding a landfill, following a state law passed in 2021 that says all people have the right to be protected from “environmental pollution and to live in and enjoy a clean and healthful environment.”

While it’s unclear how this environmental justice law will be put into practice, opponents of the expansion have documented multiple concerns — including contamination of forever chemicals — that they feel should stop the expansion under the definition of the law.

Strong odors hang in the air around Juniper Ridge, sometimes so strong that neighbor Ed Spencer stays inside because of the way it makes his body feel, he told the Bangor Daily News.  He lives 1 ¾ miles from the landfill and is part of Don’t Waste Maine.

“If you’re talking about equal exposure to the negative environmental outcomes with this landfill here compared to everyone else, no one else in the state has to deal with it,” Spencer said.

Juniper Ridge has also harmed the lands, waters and people of Penobscot Nation, Tribal Ambassador Maulian Bryant said in public comment. She pointed to the contamination of the Penobscot River with PFAS .

The Nation is no longer able to live solely off of fishing the Penobscot River because it’s unhealthy to eat the fish in large amounts, Bryant said, which jeopardizes its connection to ancestors.

“With the Penobscot Nations being right next to this massive landfill … this is textbook environmental injustice,” said Dana Colihan, co-executive director of Slingshot , a non-profit environmental health and justice organization.

Penobscot County is home to the only three state-owned landfills , which places an undue burden on people in the county, Spencer said.

“That’s not right,” Spencer said. “It doesn’t look like environmental justice. It looks quite the opposite.”

The state will consider state laws and rules when making the decision, along with public feedback and the environmental justice guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Deputy Commissioner David Madore said.

The department sent a 23-question list to Casella on Tuesday , asking for a response to each of them. One question addresses concerns around environmental justice.

Casella’s application for expansion said it is “not inconsistent with ensuring environmental justice,” and that the current monitoring program will be expanded to “continue to protect people and the environment surrounding the landfill.”

The department asked Casella if it plans to make any enhancements to current monitoring programs, if the expansion is approved.

Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cumberland, who sponsored the bill that added the requirement to consider environmental justice, did not respond to request for comment.

If the expansion passes, it would be the equivalent of adding 8.6 Empire State Buildings to the landfill, Colihan said.

Also under consideration is a six-year contract extension with Casella, setting an end date of 2040 instead of 2034. The state of Maine owns Juniper Ridge, which is managed by the Bureau of General Services. The bureau contracts with NEWSME Landfill Operations, LLC for operations, a division of Casella.

Spencer wants the proposed expansion turned down because the issue of environmental justice is not adequately addressed with local communities.

Public opposition to the expansion is necessary for it to be stopped, Colihan said. While this law specifically regulates waste disposal, it has the potential to greatly impact how the state thinks of environmental justice as a whole.

“The expansion of Juniper Ridge under Casella perpetuates harms against the Penobscot Nation, who are the original stewards of these lands and waters dating back over 10,000 years,” Bryant said. “Coupled with the questionable nature of if this initiative is in line with state statutes, there is no reason to think favorably of it.”

Public comments can be submitted in writing to Solid Waste Project Manager Karen Knuuti at karen.knuuti@maine.gov before the Aug. 23 decision.