DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineDEP" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<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="tag">#<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="tag">#<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="tag">#<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="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalJustice</span></a> Program. 'It dismisses the serious concerns raised by the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<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="tag">#<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="tag">#<span>leachate</span></a> that <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidge" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<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="tag">#<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="tag">#<span>Sludge</span></a> that was once spread on <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/agricultural" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>agricultural</span></a> fields is now landfilled due to forever chemical <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/contamination" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>contamination</span></a> [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFAS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<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="tag">#<span>landfills</span></a> – for example, a bill that would have required large <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FoodWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FoodWaste</span></a> generators to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/recycle" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>recycle</span></a> their <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/scraps" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<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="tag">#<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="tag">#<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/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><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" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><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="tag">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalRacism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidgeLandfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JuniperRidgeLandfill</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CasellaWasteSystems" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CasellaWasteSystems</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MaineNews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToxicFire" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ToxicFire</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFASPollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PFASPollution</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiAlliance" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WabanakiAlliance</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DontWasteME" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DontWasteME</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Slingshot" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Slingshot</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalJustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalJustice</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFAS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PFAS</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotRiver</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalInjustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalInjustice</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CompostFoodWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CompostFoodWaste</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ReduceWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ReduceWaste</span></a></p>
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DoomsdaysCW<p>'It's killing us': Public reacts to proposed expansion of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidgeLandfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JuniperRidgeLandfill</span></a> </p><p>Story by Katie Delaney <br />7/16/2024</p><p>"'<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidge" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JuniperRidge</span></a> has destroyed the life of people who live around it. At times, it has destroyed part of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotRiver</span></a>; it has destroyed part of our air, water, and land,' Don White, a Bucksport resident, said.</p><p>"Public commenters expressed concerns about harmful <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/emissions" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>emissions</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/landfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>landfill</span></a> fires, and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFAS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PFAS</span></a> contamination coming from the facility.</p><p>"Many of the people speaking out said Juniper Ridge is an example of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalInjustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalInjustice</span></a>, particularly for the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a>.</p><p>"'It's killing us,' <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KathyPaul" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>KathyPaul</span></a>, a Penobscot Nation Elder, said. 'I just feel like I'm sitting here waiting to die, and I don't mean to be an extremist or anything like that, but I'm really afraid. I can smell the difference already.'"</p><p><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/it-s-killing-us-public-reacts-to-proposed-expansion-of-juniper-ridge-landfill/ar-BB1q7p5j" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">msn.com/en-us/news/other/it-s-</span><span class="invisible">killing-us-public-reacts-to-proposed-expansion-of-juniper-ridge-landfill/ar-BB1q7p5j</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidgeLandfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JuniperRidgeLandfill</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CasellaWasteSystems" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CasellaWasteSystems</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MaineNews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToxicFire" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ToxicFire</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFASPollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PFASPollution</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiAlliance" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WabanakiAlliance</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DontWasteME" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DontWasteME</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Slingshot" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Slingshot</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalJustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalJustice</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>[It seems that today's vote was in favor of expanding <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidge" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JuniperRidge</span></a>] </p><p>Juniper Ridge Landfill is one step closer to expanding<br />Maine Public | By Kaitlyn Budion</p><p>Published September 20, 2024 at 1:22 PM EDT </p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Environmental" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Environmental</span></a> groups are concerned about a draft decision from the Department of Environmental Protection that brings <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidgeLandfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JuniperRidgeLandfill</span></a> in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OldTown" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>OldTown</span></a> one step closer to expanding.</p><p>"The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued a draft decision approving the expansion's public benefit determination, despite opposition from the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a>, area residents and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalGroups" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalGroups</span></a>.</p><p>"Opponents have brought up concerns about odors and contamination from the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFAS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PFAS</span></a>-filled sludge at the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/landfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>landfill</span></a>.</p><p>"Alexandra St. Pierre with the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ConservationLawFoundation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ConservationLawFoundation</span></a> said the group was disappointed by the draft approval and wants the department to give greater weight to comments from the public.</p><p>"'We're hoping that Maine DEP will stop making this unnecessary space for waste and make more space for people's voices and the real needs of the community,' she said.</p><p>"In the draft, the department outlines several conditions of the approval, including conducting an odor study and installing a system for treating landfill leachate for PFAS.</p><p>"Dana Colihan with the environmental nonprofit Slingshot said it's insulting for the DEP to say the expansion is consistent with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalJustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalJustice</span></a> for the surrounding community.</p><p>'"When we think about the odors, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AirPollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AirPollution</span></a>, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/contamination" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>contamination</span></a> of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotRiver</span></a> from the minimally treated leachate, and how all these factors threaten the Penobscot Nation and working-class <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Mainers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Mainers</span></a> living and the surrounding communities, I can't fathom how the state can argue that this fulfills the required environmental justice criteria,' Colihan said.</p><p>"The draft is available for public comment until Friday, Sept. 27, and the DEP is expected to publish the final decision Wednesday, Oct. 2."</p><p><a href="https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2024-09-20/juniper-ridge-landfill-is-one-step-closer-to-expanding" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">mainepublic.org/environment-an</span><span class="invisible">d-outdoors/2024-09-20/juniper-ridge-landfill-is-one-step-closer-to-expanding</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SunlightMediaCollective" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SunlightMediaCollective</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidgeLandfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JuniperRidgeLandfill</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CasellaWasteSystems" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CasellaWasteSystems</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MaineNews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToxicFire" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ToxicFire</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFASPollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PFASPollution</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiAlliance" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WabanakiAlliance</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DontWasteME" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DontWasteME</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Slingshot" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Slingshot</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>While on the subject of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/landfills" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>landfills</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TrashFires" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TrashFires</span></a>... </p><p>Exponential Landfill Expansion Proposal MustTake Into Account <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalJustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalJustice</span></a></p><p>Josh Woodbury July 25, 2024</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CasellaWasteSystems" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CasellaWasteSystems</span></a> has applied for an expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill that could more than double its size. Under law, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection must determine whether an expansion has 'public benefit.' They also must consider Environmental Justice when looking at the industrial facility’s impact on surrounding communities, including the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a>. The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MEDEP" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MEDEP</span></a> will make a decision by August 23rd. Public comments are currently being accepted. [I'll have to look into what the decision was]</p><p>"After a hard fought push back from area residents, including members of the Penobscot Nation, the DEP is now required to consider 'Environmental Justice' when making a determination about whether a landfill expansion meets the 'Public Benefit' criteria. The DEP will decide if the criteria is met next month. </p><p>"Juniper Ridge landfill is located in West Old Town, and is situated between <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PushawStream" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PushawStream</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BirchStream" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BirchStream</span></a> that both flow into the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotRiver</span></a>. The landfill’s leachate waste is trucked to the now <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NineDragonsMill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>NineDragonsMill</span></a> in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OldTownMaine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>OldTownMaine</span></a>, where it receives treatment [sic] and is released into the Penobscot River, directly below the Penobscot Nation.</p><p>"In current solid waste law, the DEP has defined Environmental Justice as, '…the right to be protected from environmental pollution and live in and enjoy a clean and healthful <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/environment" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>environment</span></a>, regardless of ancestry, class, disability, ethnicity, income, national origin or religion. </p><p>"Environmental justice includes the equal protection and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of waste management laws, regulations, and licensing decisions.</p><p>"The Penobscot Nation has experienced environmental impacts from the Juniper Ridge Landfill including odors, a toxic fire in 2023, and the discharging of minimally treated leachate, which includes <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PFAS" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PFAS</span></a>, into the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotRiver</span></a> sustenance fishing waters.</p><p> "Juniper Ridge Landfill still accepts out of state waste after Casella lobbied for a postponement of recently passed restrictions."</p><p><a href="https://www.sunlightmediacollective.org/exponential-landfill-expansion-proposal-musttake-into-account-environmental-justice/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">sunlightmediacollective.org/ex</span><span class="invisible">ponential-landfill-expansion-proposal-musttake-into-account-environmental-justice/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SunlightMediaCollective" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SunlightMediaCollective</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JuniperRidgeLandfill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JuniperRidgeLandfill</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Casella" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Casella</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MaineNews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToxicSmoke" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ToxicSmoke</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToxicFire" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ToxicFire</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiAlliance" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WabanakiAlliance</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KathyPaul" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>KathyPaul</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DontWasteME" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DontWasteME</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Slingshot" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Slingshot</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ConservationLawFoundation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ConservationLawFoundation</span></a></p>
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