Officials in Three Towns Make Case Against Proposed 1,000-ton-per-day Transfer Facility in Westbrook

Scarborough, Gorham, South Portland and RWS Tell BEP the Mammoth Project Poses Traffic Headaches; Environmental Threat also Cited

A proposed trash transfer station in Westbrook that could handle as much as 1,000 tons per day would create traffic headaches in an already congested area of Route 22 and Spring Street near the Maine Mall, representatives in three neighboring towns told the state Board of Environmental Protection at a hearing Friday.

Town officials from Scarborough, South Portland and Gorham and officials with Regional Waste Systems, Inc. (RWS) testified before the board. Opponents pointed to traffic concerns as a major issue and urged a full study, funding and improvements made to roadways before the project is allowed to move forward.

Opponents of the mammoth facility, which would become the largest solid waste facility in Maine, also have voiced environmental concerns, pointing to studies showing polluted groundwater caused by a former landfill on land that is part of the transfer station deal. They want a full environmental impact study before the project is allowed to move forward.

But the BEP on Friday limited comments on the groundwater and leachate issues, focusing instead on others impacts of the transfer station, proposed for a parcel off County Road (Route 22) that is across the road from Smiling Hill Farm.

The hearing focused on traffic and economic impacts as well as the scope of the project proposed by Pine Tree Waste, a subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems, which owns the MERC incinerator in Biddeford. The BEP is charged with reviewing the application and deciding whether to approve or deny it.

Pine Tree Waste and the City of Westbrook also made presentations to the BEP on Friday.

"This project should not be given the green light without serious environmental and regulatory review. A cursory look is simply not enough for a project of this magnitude, not when the environmental and traffic impacts can be so great." said Dale Olmstead, chairman of the 28-member board of RWS, a non-profit municipal recycling and solid waste facility serving 27 communities in southern Maine.

South Portland City Manager Jeffrey Jordan told the board that traffic impacts are not fully addressed in Pine Tree's application.

"The applicant's traffic study may have underestimated the trips utilizing Spring Street/Cummings Road for access to Interstate 295 serving coastal Cumberland County," Jordan said "The growth of traffic associated with large retail, industrial and office development in South Portland, Scarborough and Westbrook are all critically interrelated since the only direct and practical connection from Interstate 295 to the Greater Maine Mall Area is through the City of South Portland -- either from Exit 3, the Westbrook Street Ramp, or from the Exit 7 Turnpike Spur."

Jordan added, "In an era of constrained financial resources, it is important that we appropriately plan and invest for future traffic safety and mobility issues to better serve the public who live, work or visit the greater Maine Mall area if a facility of this unprecedented magnitude is in fact built at this site."

Gorham Town Manager David Cole said additional traffic coming into the already congested area where Routes 114 and Route 22 converge in Gorham would be detrimental to the area.

Gorham "has extensive traffic problems, and the proposed transfer station will cause additional burdens to the town's already congested traffic system," he stated.

Cole also addressed the financial impact a large sold waste transfer station would have on RWS member communities like Gorham, saying it will cause tipping fees to go up. RWS operates a waste-to-energy facility that is owned by the 21 towns it serves. RWS now handles much of Greater Portland's trash.

Initially, residential trash that would be trucked to the proposed Westbrook transfer station from towns in York County and perhaps Oxford County. That trash would then be loaded onto larger vehicles and taken during off hours to the MERC plant in downtown Biddeford for incineration. (The Westbrook plant would shift daytime congestion from Biddeford to the Route 22?Spring Street/Route 114 area near the Maine Mall.)

Some also are concerned that the lower disposal fees that Pine Tree Waste could cause haulers to leave RWS, resulting in higher fees for those who remain.

RWS is a non-profit solid waste corporation that was established in 1974 after Portland, South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough decided to form a cooperative to handle their waste disposal.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, more southern Maine towns joined the cooperative, and in the mid-80s state and federal policies encouraged municipal organizations like RWS to build "waste-to-energy" facilities to burn trash from each member community and convert it to energy both to avoid using landfills and to create another source of energy.

In 1988, the European-designed "mass burn" incinerator went on-line at the new RWS facility located off Outer Congress Street. A comprehensive recycling program also was initiated to reduce the amount of trash coming into the facility. That recycling program is now the largest in the state.

Today, 21 cities and towns own and control RWS, and six additional towns are associate members. The organization is governed by a 28-member board consisting of officials appointed from member towns. RWS processes approximately 190,000 tons of solid waste annually.

The proposal from Pine Tree Waste would create the largest solid waste facility in Maine on a parcel of land currently owned by the Chapman family. But part of the deal includes an adjoining piece of Chapman land that is home to a former paper mill landfill, which has prompted opponents to demand a full environmental impact study. Also, another portion of the Chapman property, which is located in the town of Scarborough, would be given to the City of Westbrook as part of the deal, raising long-term liability and pollution concerns.

"I am concerned with some major issues that could have a disastrous effect on the town if they are not adequately addressed through the permit approval process," said Scarborough Town Manager Ronald Owens. "My concerns include the impact of increased traffic on already congested roadways, groundwater pollution that exists as a result of the state's failure to require remediation, and final closure and monitoring of the (former paper mill) landfill."

The issues raised in pre-filed testimony and in testimony given at Friday's hearing include:

- The risk posed to groundwater in the area is great. Prior extensive geological and hydrogeological studies regarding landfill leachate already conducted by RWS as an abutter show polluted plumes of groundwater coming from the site of the former S.D. Warren landfill.

- The parceling of the Chapman property proposed by Pine Tree Waste would create long-term problems in identifying sources of pollution and performing remediation. Traditional and necessary environmental studies must be conducted, and a proper mitigation plan developed. Once the property is divided among three separate owners, opponents are concerned the opportunity for corrective action will be lost in a quagmire of determining financial responsibility.

- The state presently does not have adequate guidelines or laws written to oversee and regulate a 1,000-ton-per-day facility, which would be three times larger than the next largest transfer station in the state, a Pine Tree facility located in Waterville.

- RWS' extensive $6 million landfill clean up of its former landfill in the late 1990s was required by law. Other landfills throughout the state have also had to comply with landfill regulations. Opponents believe the owners of the former paper mill landfill must be held to the same standard and be required to clean up that site before it is included as part of the transfer station package.

- The traffic issues will be significant. Pine Tree Waste has conceded there will be an increased number of truck trips in the area each day, given the size of the facility, but has failed to consider the impact the additional traffic will have in Gorham and the Maine Mall area.

- The 1,000-ton-a-day facility far exceeds the needs of the City of Westbrook, which generates less than 35 tons of trash per day. To be viable for the long term, waste from other cities will have to be handled by the transfer station. That could result in a loss of revenues to RWS, a non-profit currently serving the solid waste needs of its 21 owner communities and six associate member towns.

A recent report by geologist Tom Fargo, who filed testimony, outlines a sampling of 133 wells in the area. The study revealed the former landfill portion of the Chapman property leaks underneath abutting RWS land in Scarborough. Officials say that fact is reason enough to make every effort to ensure remediation occurs. Another study by geologist Barry Timson on behalf of the Town of Scarborough raises similar concerns.

State Rep. Harold Clough, who represents citizens in Scarborough and Gorham, said the property and the project need careful review.

"What we do know is that the Chapman (landfill) site is probably polluted and that as a former S.D. Warren landfill, it has arsenic and other byproducts of the paper-making industry. It has the makings to be a serious environmental threat. What we don't know is how fast those harmful elements are traveling, the extent of the pollution, how we can stop it, and so much more," Clough said. "If this proposal for a 1,000-ton-a-day plant goes through, we may never know. Sadly, we would go from conducting massive water quality mapping and testing and mitigation on a similar property nearby, to saying there will be no studies, no mitigation, and no closure of the Chapman landfill site. My constituents deserve better than that."

Another issue is that there are not adequate DEP regulations written for a 1,000-ton-a-day transfer station. "While we certainly understand the Maine DEP staff will do its best to review the project, the fact is there's nothing of this magnitude in the state, so a much more thorough review and study is required," said Charles Foshay, general manager at RWS. "There is no doubt in my mind that this proposal for a 1,000-ton-a-day transfer station will pose environmental issues and impact that goes beyond the intent of the transfer station rules on the books."

Foshay continued, "Meanwhile, it's in direct contradiction to RWS's commitment to manage the solid waste of its 27 member communities, a mandate set forth by the state's Solid Waste Plan. We have to provide for solid waste services for our citizens and our towns. And we've been doing that just fine for many years. This project should be held to the same standard that we as a non-profit municipal organization or any solid waste facility are held to."

Olmstead said one reason opponents voiced concerns at the hearing was to try to make sure local residents had a total understanding of the impact of the transfer facility on the local area, the region and the state.

"We wanted to convey just how important it is to not allow this project to move forward until a full environmental review is conducted and traffic improvements are actually made to the roads," he said. "If Pine Tree is allowed to build this giant facility near that polluted land, what does that say to the residents in the area? What does that say to other landfill owners who have gone through expensive clean ups to obey state law? Why then did the taxpayers help pay for the $6 million closure of the old balefill from the days before we had a waste-to-energy facility? It doesn't make sense on so many levels - environmental, health, regulatory, traffic and economic."


Full text of testimony available

A link to the full text of the testimony of the following persons is available by clicking on their name: Geologist Thomas Fargo, Geologist Barry Timson, Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens, Traffic Engineer Diane Morabito, Wetland Scientist Peter Tishbein, South Portland Police Chief Edward Googins, South Portland City Manager Jeffrey Jordan, Maine State Rep. Harold Clough, Gorham Town Manager David Cole, RWS Chairman Dale Olmstead, and RWS General Manager Charles Foshay.

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