Orono residents concerned about landfill cap pollution

ORONO — Town Manager Gerald Kempen met last week with a group of residents from Glenburn, Old Town and the Pushaw Lake Association to hear their concerns about the use of processed residue from the state’s two incinerators to cap the Orono landfill.

The town plans to cover the landfill with processed residue from the Maine Energy Recovery Facility Co. in Biddeford and the Penobscot Energy Recovery Facility Co. in Orrington, which handle the bulk of Maine’s municipal trash.

The residue, called front-end processed residue or FEPR, consists of glass, grit, metal, organic waste and other heavier, less combustible material that is not destroyed during incineration.

A public hearing on the proposal will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 9, at the Asa Adams School cafeteria.

Kempen said Pushaw Lake residents are concerned that the residue will add to pollution of the lake, believing that the capped landfill will leach more harmful materials into the environment than the landfill does at the present.

“Our engineers are of a different opinion,” said Kempen. “Our engineers said it would improve the long-term environment.”

The two opinions clearly conflict, he said, so it was agreed that a third opinion would be sought from an independent firm to review and conduct hydrological and geological work.

“That will be crucial data for the council in order to make an informed opinion,” he said.

The council will review a proposal from an Augusta engineering firm at Monday night’s meeting before deciding whom to hire for the study.

Kempen said people at this week’s meeting also were concerned about the possibility of odors and increased truck traffic. Some cited the problems experienced in Brewer.