DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineDEP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MaineDEP</span></a> says expansion of state’s largest landfill would benefit public</p><p>The decision allows the state to apply to add 61 acres to the state-owned <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidgeLandfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JuniperRidgeLandfill</span></a>, which takes in 52% of the state's waste.</p><p>by Penelope Overton<br>October 2, 2024</p><p>"Despite objections from neighbors and environmental groups, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection concluded Wednesday that expanding the state’s largest landfill, Juniper Ridge, would substantially benefit the public.<br>It’s not an outright approval, but the department’s decision allows the state to apply to add 61 acres to the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill, which takes in 52% of the state’s waste. The state claims this expansion would extend the facility’s operating life by 11 years; without it, it would run out of space by 2028.</p><p>"DEP Commissioner Melanie Loyzim’s decision can be appealed to the Board of Environmental Protection and the Maine courts, and several opponents of the proposed expansion, like the Boston-based <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ConservationLawFoundation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ConservationLawFoundation</span></a> , say they are prepared to challenge the decision. </p><p>"'This decision recklessly gambles with public health and the environment,' said <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AlexandraStPierre" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AlexandraStPierre</span></a>, the director of communities and toxics in the foundation’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalJustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalJustice</span></a> Program. 'It dismisses the serious concerns raised by the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a> and other nearby residents about the harmful effects this expansion will have on their health and community.'</p><p>"She continued: 'We refuse to allow this dangerous expansion to proceed unchecked.'</p><p>"The foundation and other opponents say the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OldTown" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>OldTown</span></a> location of the facility unfairly places the burden of the state’s trash needs on the Penobscot Nation. The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/leachate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>leachate</span></a> that <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidge" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JuniperRidge</span></a> produces when it rains is sent to a nearby paper mill sewer plant that discharges into the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PenobscotRiver</span></a>.</p><p>[...]</p><p>"The amount of waste heading to Maine landfills has increased 34% between 2018 and 2022, according to DEP. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Sludge" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Sludge</span></a> that was once spread on <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/agricultural" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>agricultural</span></a> fields is now landfilled due to forever chemical <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/contamination" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>contamination</span></a> [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFAS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PFAS</span></a>]. The amount of municipal solid waste landfilled during that time jumped 47%. </p><p>"While some people say Maine is not doing enough to divert waste from the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/landfills" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>landfills</span></a> – for example, a bill that would have required large <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FoodWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FoodWaste</span></a> generators to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/recycle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>recycle</span></a> their <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/scraps" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>scraps</span></a> at a nearby facility died on the appropriations table – others object to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Casella" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Casella</span></a> as the facility operator. </p><p>"Casella clashed with some municipal leaders and state lawmakers when it refused to accept the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/biosolids" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>biosolids</span></a> created by wastewater treatment plants at Juniper Ridge out of fear that the mushy slop, or sludge, was causing structural instability that could lead to the landfill’s collapse."</p><p>Original article:<br><a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/02/maine-state-needs-to-expand-its-biggest-landfill/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">pressherald.com/2024/10/02/mai</span><span class="invisible">ne-state-needs-to-expand-its-biggest-landfill/</span></a></p><p>Archived version:<br><a href="https://archive.md/VXv9m" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">archive.md/VXv9m</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalRacism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidgeLandfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JuniperRidgeLandfill</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CasellaWasteSystems" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CasellaWasteSystems</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MaineNews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Maine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToxicFire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ToxicFire</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFASPollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PFASPollution</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiAlliance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WabanakiAlliance</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DontWasteME" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DontWasteME</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Slingshot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Slingshot</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalJustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalJustice</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFAS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PFAS</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PenobscotRiver</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalInjustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalInjustice</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CompostFoodWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CompostFoodWaste</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ReduceWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ReduceWaste</span></a></p>