Brewer Council turns down PERC fee demands

The Brewer City Council defeated a proposed $19-a-ton increase in rubbish disposal tipping fees to PERC Tuesday night, saying that the state Department of Environmental Protection had dictated to communities but offered no assistance in meeting environmental demands.

None of the councilors favored the interim funding increase, to be paid from April 1 through June, and at least one official suggested that if the increase were approved, it would be followed by more increases. A majority of the council bitterly criticized state environmental officials for making rules that created local hardships but not providing help to communities to meet the challenges.

The council also voted to hire a firm to obtain water quality samples from the Penobscot River, an operation that would be done as many as 20 times a year from a boat. Two public works employees now collect water samples daily within the city, but hazards of a river-based sampling troubled officials. No cost for the service was determined Tuesday night.

Councilor Marilyn Lavelle, the only councilor who voted to approve the additional PERC funding, said that her concern was what Brewer would do with its rubbish. She said that the city should use the three-month period to consider its options and that Brewer faced a problem similar to every other American community being forced to “bite the bullet.”

Chairman Ronald Harriman suggested that the city use its potential as a dump site for front end process residue as a bargaining tool with PERC to keep the tipping fee at its present level of $9.82. He said that DEP officials would be likely to approve the Brewer landfill as a dump site for the residue and that it would be the only practical place for PERC to dump, putting the city in a strong position to negotiate. The negotiation would allow Brewer to maintain a relatively low tipping fee even after the dumping were to end, in about a year, he said.

Councilor Jerry Hudson said that the council should vote down the additional funding and it would still have the negotiating “ace in the hole.”

Some councilors surmised what might happen if PERC were to declare bankruptcy but Councilor Gerald Robertson said the company’s disappointing production was the problem of its investors. “It’s not up to us to bail them out,” he said. He said that if PERC were to fail, some new operator would take it over. If the city approved the increase, he asked, would there be another? He cited a study of the plant that indicated there were no assurances against further cost increases.

What some councilors, especially Robertson, disliked was that PERC officials had commanded communities to approve the increase by April 1 “or else.”

Councilor Larry Doughty commented, “God forbid we follow the City of Bangor … I hope this council is sharper than that.” He referred to a question of what Bangor officials had done but Doughty said that the contract signed by PERC and Brewer officials should stand until its expiration. “If you have a problem with your house payment or car payment, the bank won’t rewrite your contract,” he told the council. “We owe it to the taxpayers.”

When City Manager Harold Parks said that some communities voting to favor the increase might be in positions where PERC would treat them well during bankruptcy proceedings, Doughty commented that the city was being manipulated by PERC and that local officials should not “play that game.”

Hudson compared the request for a fee increase to Congress’ helping the savings and loan industry with taxpayer money. He said a private entity depended on the city to provide trash and the city provided more than it had guaranteed. If investors had lost, then the state should reimburse them and manage the operation. Hudson said the city should tell the state “we want them to take responsibility. Maybe it’s about time we got rid of the DEP.”

Hudson said that local officials should stand up to DEP officials and tell them that as an agency of the state they should provide help to local people. He also had suggested, humorously, that a “rubbish caravan” be organized and sent to Augusta to get the attention of state officials there.