Phase I of landfill closure to begin in Corinna Monday

CORINNA — Corinna officials have been given authorization to begin closing the town’s landfill this year.

According to Gary Dorman, town manager, selectmen agreed to proceed with Phase I of the project this week. Work that will begin next Monday will include draining the pond on the land at the dump, filling the hole in, bulldozing the tree area behind the dump, and some rough grading and construction work on the Phinney Road, which borders the dump on one side.

Next spring, he said, the second phase of the project, applying the cover material and loam and seeding the land, will start.

The project has been on hold since last spring while the Department of Environmental Protection investigated what to do with the pooled water which is located at the dump site. Dorman said Thursday that the water most likely will be pumped out and run through the town’s sewer treatment plant. The hot dry summer has aided in the evaporation of much of the water, Dorman said, so officials are looking at the removal of much less water than was originally located at the site.

Because of uncertainty over what to do with the water, the start-up date for the closure plan has been delayed. Town officials were in hopes that the landfill would be closed and capped by the end of this fall.

Closing costs for the landfill have been estimated at $734,000. The state has guaranteed the town that it will foot 75 percent of the cost of the closure project up front.

The landfill closure project will include installing a rubber or vinyl membrane over the landfill, and covering it with sand and clay. The dump has not been in use since 1991, when Corinna residents began transporting their trash to the Mid-Maine Solid Waste Association facility in Corinna.