PEMBROKE — A bill that would extend the operating deadline for licensed and unlicensed municipal solid waste landfills from Dec. 31, 1992, to Dec. 31, 1995, has raised the hackles of several residents who believe their communities have been short-changed by state government.

L.D. 254, “An Act to Extend the Operating Deadline for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills,” was introduced by Rep. Edward Dexter, R-Kingfield, and co-sponsored by 85 representatives and 15 senators. It stands a good chance of being approved by both houses and signed into law by the governor.

Calvin Preston, supervisor of the unorganized territories in Washington County, and Pembroke selectmen Milan Jamieson and Dale Carter were not pleased with the bill.

“The only towns that have done what the Department of Environmental Protection told them to do are the towns that used the Down East Landfill in Marion. We closed our landfills, did exactly what DEP told us to do over the years, and then they seem to penalize us,” said Preston.

Several years ago, Pembroke and several other municipalities and unorganized territories in the county were ordered to close their local landfills and take their waste to the privately owned and operated Down East Landfill in Marion.

Last year, after a protracted series of meetings, the DEP ordered the Marion landfill closed, and the original Marion users were forced to build a transfer station and truck their waste to an incinerator in Orrington.

The original Marion-user communities that use the transfer station are: Robbinston, Perry, Pembroke, Dennysville, Whiting, and Washington County’s unorganized territories. They have been joined by: Wesley, East Machias, Meddybemps, Charlotte and Cooper.

Although the bill would allow the state to close landfills that pose an immediate hazard to the public health or environment, Preston said he believed the bill would extend the life of local landfills that pollute and damage the environment. If the bill were approved, he said, it would mean those landfills would remain open for another three years.

“I think if they pass this bill, they should let the Legislature run the solid-waste facilities in this state. Why are we paying DEP or the Land Use Regulation Commission? If the Legislature knows more about landfills than the DEP, then why do we need the DEP?” Preston asked.

Jamieson said he believed that if the bill were enacted, the Marion landfill should be allowed to reopen. He said he did not believe it would be fair to allow unlicensed landfills to continue to operate while a licensed landfill was forced to remain closed.

Preston, Jamieson and Carter also took issue with the effort unveiled last week by the Washington County Refuse Disposal District to raise $6 per capita to begin the search for a site for a secure landfill in the county.

Although he applauded the district’s effort to get the county to work together, Preston said the $6 per-capita fee would overburden the county’s already strapped taxpayers. He said that in 1994 and 1995, additional $4 and $5 per-capita fees would be needed.

“You just can’t do that. You have to find a site, go to the Farmers Home Administration for funding, or float countywide bonds, to build a secure landfill,” Preston said.

Last year, when dump closures were ordered, some area residents predicted that the DEP and state would blink and extend the lives of the landfills. Preston said there was no question that if L.D. 254 were approved, it demonstrated that the state had blinked.

If legislators wish to extend the life of local landfills, Preston said, he believed they should amend the bill and assess a fee for every ton of rubbish generated by a community. Those fees, he said, could be used to find a site for a secure landfill.

Jamieson said that in October, new federal guidelines would govern landfill closures.

“If you close your landfill now, all you have to do is bury it. You don’t have to have any monitoring wells. If a town waits until the federal regulations kick in in October, you will have to close that landfill to federal specifications, and it will be an expensive proposition,” Preston said.