Hampden postpones action on SERF

HAMPDEN — The Town Council voted Monday night to table any action on the renewal of a license for the Secure III site at the Sawyer Environmental Recovery Facility at 358 Emerson Mill Road.

The decision came after a one-hour informational meeting conducted by the town Landfill Oversight Committee, which oversees SERF’s compliance with town regulations, and a public hearing that lasted for nearly 1 1/2 hours.

Dr. Richard Wardwell of the oversight committee said the relicensing application had been found to be complete. He said that SERF’s relicensing application was consistent with the original license and that the firm was fulfilling its obligations according to the original license. SERF had established the required trust fund and had complied with federal, state and local laws.

The LOC spokesman said SERF also had met the required safety and environmental safeguards.

But the committee did find three departures from the original agreement. Original plans had called for a synthetic material, a thin sheet of plastic, to cover the landfill site, but SERF had used instead clay soil 20 inches thick to cover the Secure III site. However, this was only on the eastern slope of the site, said Wardwell. He and the other committee members believed that the soil cover would keep water from infiltrating the site better than the original plastic cover would. Some thin areas were discovered where more soil would need to be added.

The committee also discovered a change in the original plans for the road. Instead of the new road called for in the original plans, the existing road was reinforced. Wardwell said that he believed the road was adequate.

The committee also found that SERF was late in providing a hydrogeologic study. The study, due in 1992, was delayed because of the reluctance of the owners of the McGuff property to allow SERF to install testing wells on the private property. Also, Secure III has not been filling up as fast as SERF had expected, said Wardwell.

The hydrogeological study was needed, said Wardwell, because it was one of the key components of Secure III. The scientific study was to determine flow patterns of ground water and the extent of pollution.

Wardwell showed slides of test results that showed where volatile organic compounds were found at monitoring wells on the SERF site and surrounding area.

Lynn Ryan, a property owner on the Emerson Mill Road, wanted a detailed breakdown of the metals and other pollutants found at the test sites. Wardwell said he could not get into such detail because of the time it could take to explain the type and quantity of the elements revealed by the tests. The tests had determined that some volatile organic compounds were filtering toward Souadabscook Stream, but amounts were so small they could not be detected in the water.

Ryan wanted to know if the source of the pollution had been determined. Wardwell said he was inclined to believe it came from the old conventional dump originally at the site rather than from the newer Secure sites, but he could not confirm that without more data.

As to the possibility of future pollution, Wardwell told councilors and residents that that was why SERF had been required to place money in a 30-year post-closure fund. If in the future funds were needed for an unexpected cleanup, they would be available to the town.

Ryan was displeased that SERF had not yet completed the hydrogeologic studies because, she said, she was concerned about the health and safety of her children. She also wanted testing done to determine if there was dioxin at the site from incinerator ash.

Dan Stover questioned the capping procedures at the SERF site. Wardwell said he was pleased with the way it was going.

LOC member Steven Bullard said the biggest risk at the SERF site comes from the old conventional landfill, but those problems were being addressed by safeguards in the relicensing process, the capping, the trust fund and the hydrogeologic study.

Council Chairman William Romano reminded the audience that the LOC members were acting “as the town’s representatives. They are not our enemy.” He said the members were appointed because of their expertise in the area, and he trusted their opinions.

The committee recommended a renewal of the Secure III license.

In the public hearing that followed, Romano reminded the audience that the hearing was to take comments on the Secure III application. It would be a fact-gathering session and he would not allow it to become a forum for complaints about other aspects of the SERF operation.

Councilor William Natalie said he did not see how they could discuss one without the other.

No one spoke in favor of the license renewal, although several representatives from SERF were present.

Among those speaking in opposition to the renewal were Kathy Walker, Lynn Ryan, John Deiffenbaker-Krall and Joel Gopan.

Walker said she believed Hampden had been sold a bill of goods by SERF because the required hydrogeologic study had never been completed. She cited a breakout of leachate from the conventional landfill cover and complained of odors during the summer. She would like all household wells in the vicinity of the landfill more thoroughly tested. The water problem could be solved once and for all, she said, if the town or Tom Sawyer would have water piped to that portion of town. She also was opposed to allowing ash from the Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. in Orrington dumped at the site and questioned if the town had any control over the testing of the ash.

Ryan criticized the timing of the release of the 200-plus page LOC report on the SERF application. The report was released last Wednesday, which did not allow enough time for anyone to study the material, she said. She believed the report should have been available in June. She also cited fire regulation compliance, buffer planting requirements, odor problems, and trash on the highways leading to the site as reasons for opposing the renewal.

Deiffenbaker-Krall also raised the possibility of the presence of dioxin in the PERC ash and predicted a new round of laws on incinerator ash would be coming soon.

Gopan was concerned with the litter along the highway and what he described as football-size chunks of clay lying in the road.