Rezoning for dump favored by LURC staff

Maine Land Use Regulation Commission staff are recommending that the commission approve a request by Marion Transfer Station Inc. to rezone 120 acres in Township 14 to allow for the development of a secure landfill for construction and demolition debris (CDD). The commission will be acting on the recommendation at a meeting on Wednesday, August 1, in Greenville.

LURC staff found that the weight of evidence in the record shows that the area proposed for rezoning is environmentally suitable; is located in the vicinity of compatible uses; meets a demonstrated need; and will not adversely affect natural and cultural resources.

Marion Transfer Station Inc. has an option to purchase the land from Lakeville Shores Inc. The 18-acre landfill, which would be on a 4,700-acre parcel adjacent to the towns of Cooper, Charlotte and Dennysville and three miles east of Route 191, would accept waste primarily from the 16 member towns of Marion Transfer Station in Washington County and also would receive construction and demolition debris from elsewhere, primarily Hancock and Penobscot counties. The landfill would have a three-layer liner system underneath to protect groundwater. Approximately 30,000 cubic yards of CDD are expected to be disposed of annually, and the landfill is estimated to have a 30-year life.

LURC had held a hearing on the rezoning request on November 9 in Machias. A total of 25 people testified, with six testifying on behalf of governmental agencies, all in support of the rezoning. A total of 19 people spoke in opposition or expressed concerns.
Those speaking for the proposal noted that there is a need for a place to dispose of construction and demolition debris waste in Washington County and that it would be very costly to truck the waste outside the region. Marion Transfer Station Inc. estimates that the cost for CDD disposal would increase by $100 per ton if the proposed facility is not constructed.

A petition opposing the rezoning, signed by 231 people, was submitted to LURC, stating that those signing the petition "oppose siting a toxic dump on this land." An intervenor in the matter, the Clean Water Coalition, expressed numerous concerns, including: the proximity to wetlands and Atlantic salmon streams; the potential for future expansion of the facility; non-local waste entering the landfill; potential for the landfill to leak; the impact of seismic activity on the landfill; the lack of need for the landfill; and the proposed landfill's adverse impacts on the quality of life around Township 14 and on the environment.

Other concerns that were expressed at the public hearing included testimony that Marion Transfer Station did not properly manage the capacity of its existing CDD landfill by reserving its use for Washington County towns. Opponents of the new landfill argued that the existing facility was supposed to last at least 20 years, but lasted only six years because it receives 60% of its waste from outside the region.

In March, the commission granted a request from Marion Transfer Station Inc. to reopen the hearing to amend its petition by reducing the area to be rezoned from 190 to 120 acres. Also, the Clean Water Coalition requested that the hearing be reopened to allow for the introduction of a letter from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to Marion Transfer Station referencing the application for "A Determination of Public Benefit" that had been submitted. Both requests were granted.

On July 20, Barbara Lapham of Marion requested that the hearing be reopened to allow for the introduction of additional information, in part pertaining to the previous application submitted by Marion Transfer Station Inc. to the commission for the existing CDD landfill in Marion that was approved by LURC in 1997. Lapham felt that the documents would give the commission information to further determine a lack of public benefit, to more accurately address the needs of the communities for solid waste disposal and solid waste's point of origin, to examine the "rapid filling" of the Marion CDD landfill that the commission authorized 10 years ago, and to show that Marion Transfer Station made misrepresentations to the commission in its 1997 and 1999 applications.
The LURC staff have recommended to the commission that Lapham's request to reopen the hearing be denied. Staff believe that the documentation is irrelevant to the current proposal and instead relates to a solid waste disposal facility in a different location that was decided by the commission 10 years ago.