DoomsdaysCW<p>Still reeling from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFAS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PFAS</span></a> spill, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BrunswickMaine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BrunswickMaine</span></a> residents push back on plans for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sludge" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>sludge</span></a> treatment plant</p><p>by AnnMarie Hilton, Tue, January 28, 2025</p><p>"Brunswick resident Sandra Carslick said she and her neighbors have been living in a 'bad dream' for the five months since 1,600 gallons of toxic foam spilled so-called forever chemicals at the already contaminated former Naval Air Station nearby. </p><p>"At a Brunswick Town Council meeting on Monday night, Carslick said that bad dream could soon become residents’ 'worst nightmare,' if the town reopens a processing site for chemical-laden [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Biosolids" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Biosolids</span></a>] sludge from sewer treatment plants across Maine, and potentially beyond. </p><p>"The residents were responding to plans from Delaware-based <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ViridiEnergy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ViridiEnergy</span></a> to update and expand <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BrunswickLanding" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BrunswickLanding</span></a>’s anaerobic digester, which converts sewage sludge — also referred to as <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/biosolids" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>biosolids</span></a> — into renewable natural gas and byproducts that get sent to landfills. </p><p>"During Monday’s presentation to the town council, company representatives explained how the facility would work and what local residents could expect. Several councilors said they would like to see additional data before deciding, but some already expressed concerns that the project isn’t right for Brunswick, particularly at this time. Members of the public also spoke for more than an hour, overwhelmingly concerned about the project and its potential to bring more <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HarmfulChemicals" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>HarmfulChemicals</span></a> into the area. <br />"The town is still dealing with the accidental discharge last summer of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/firefighting" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>firefighting</span></a> foam containing <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/perfluoroalkyl" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>perfluoroalkyl</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/polyfluoroalkyl" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>polyfluoroalkyl</span></a> substances, also known as <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFAS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PFAS</span></a>, at a hangar at <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BrunswickExecutiveAirport" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BrunswickExecutiveAirport</span></a>, which is also situated at Brunswick Landing. </p><p>"The spill has prompted environmental and public health concerns over the PFAS, which have been linked to serious long-term health problems including <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/cancer" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>cancer</span></a>, weakened <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/immune" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>immune</span></a> systems, developmental issues, and more. Since it started surveying and reviewing the material in the late 1980s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EPA" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EPA</span></a>] has found more than 700 chemicals in sewage sludge, including PFAS. </p><p>"Chet Benham, a senior advisor and one of the founders of Viridi, tried to address those concerns during the meeting, telling residents the facility will operate according to all state and local requirements. He said there are protocols to prevent spills of the sludge that will move through the closed-loop facility.</p><p>"'We feel really, really good about it,' Benham said. 'We wouldn’t be standing here before you if we didn’t.' [Typical <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Greenwashing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Greenwashing</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Bullshit" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Bullshit</span></a>]</p><p>"According to Viridi’s plan, the facility would take in about 85,000 tons of biosolids per year, which would be processed into renewable natural gas that would feed into Maine Natural Gas. About 10,000 tons of solid material byproduct would be sent from the plant to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidgeLandfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JuniperRidgeLandfill</span></a> in Old Town. Over the course of the discussion, it came to light that Viridi would also likely bring in sludge from outside of Maine in order to run their facility at full capacity."</p><p>Read more:<br /><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/news/still-reeling-pfas-spill-brunswick-145952948.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">news.yahoo.com/news/still-reel</span><span class="invisible">ing-pfas-spill-brunswick-145952948.html</span></a> <br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotRiver</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AndroscogginRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AndroscogginRiver</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CascoBay" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CascoBay</span></a></p>
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