Position of Trash Tracking Network of Maine on Public Benefit Determination,
Juniper Ridge Landfill Expansion Proposal

The Trash Tracking Network of Maine is a volunteer organization with the purpose of learning and sharing essential information about waste management in Maine. Because the Juniper Ridge Landfill was created to serve the waste disposal needs of Maine, one of our primary goals has been to document the places of origin of the waste streams that flow into JRL, both from sources within Maine and from beyond its borders.

The three criteria that would establish public benefit for expansion of this landfill all reflect JRL's primary purpose, serving the needs of Maine. This is especially clear in criterion A: “The facility meets the immediate, short term, or long term capacity needs of the state.” (38 M.R.S.A. § 1310-AA)

After several years of diligent effort, working with public records maintained by the State Planning Office and the Dept. of Environmental Protection, along with other regional sources of information, we are still far short of our goal of documenting the movement of waste into and within the state. State agencies lack the resources to document the origins, transportation routes and final disposal of these wastes. DEP staff have stated that an integrated system of waste record keeping has been proposed but has not been implemented due to lack of funding.

We urge that the public benefits of this project cannot be assured until there is confidence that this expansion will preserve this valuable resource specifically for the state's needs. There is also a unique problem in this case because the State Planning Office, which is bringing this proposal forward, also is charged with keeping records and reporting on the status of the state's waste management plan, which is included as a condition of criterion B of public benefits determination: “… facility is consistent with the state waste management and recycling plan.”

This inherent conflict in the SPO's role is why we recommend that the state should undertake an independent waste stream audit that would be led by an agency such as the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability or the Office of the Attorney General. This independent audit would go a long way toward determining whether this expansion proposal represents a public benefit for the people of Maine.

It also is not appropriate that the State Planning Office is advancing this proposal now, given that all waste policy legislation was tabled this spring in favor of a full policy review. This delay and review were proposed by the administration. Certifying the public benefits of this expansion will likely result in the largest landfill in New England, closing many of Maine's waste alternatives for the next 30 years. Going ahead at this time presents a baffling contradiction when viewed in light of the decisions that were made last spring.

Over the past several years, our members have learned that there are many known sources of materials that flow into JRL, including large volumes of waste generated outside of Maine. These sources include: 1) ash from commercial waste-to-energy incinerators that burn trash from non-Maine sources; 2) municipal solid waste bypass from these incinerators that in some cases comes directly from transfer stations without entering the bypassed facilities; 3) non-recyclable residues from debris processing facilities that accept non-Maine debris for purposes of debris fuel production; 4) front end processing and bulky waste bypass from WTE incinerators; 5) the non-Maine component of biomedical wastes that are sterilized in Maine; 6) organic wastes and sludge that bypass or have not been treated at Maine composting facilities; and 7) fines used for daily cover at JRL that are derived from non-Maine debris sources.

We estimate that over 50% of the waste deposited at JRL derives from non-Maine sources, in spite of the assertion in the application that JRL “accepts only Maine generated waste” (application at p. 1-4). Accepting these materials undermines JRL's mission to accept Maine waste only. This must be remedied by means of a thorough review of Maine waste policy, based on an independent audit of the origins and destinations of waste flows into and within our state.

For these reasons, the members of the Trash Tracking Network of Maine urge the DEP to determine that expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill does not meet the criteria for public benefit as set forward in Maine law. We also urge the Department to initiate an independent audit of all waste streams, as generated both in Maine and from non-Maine sources.

Trash Tracking Network / Oct 24, 2011
http://www.trashtrackers.com