Several weeks ago Bill Lippincott of Hampden raised in a letter to the editor many issues that I believe need clarification so that the reader has a more complete picture of the situation with Pine Tree Landfill, and is not unduly alarmed by some of the information given in that article.

First, the landfill is not going anywhere. The state of Maine is in no financial position to spend in excess of $30 million to develop another landfill at a new location. It is not a financial possibility and in terms of actual environmental concerns, it is not a good idea either. There have been 25 years of historical information accumulated on how the Pine Tree Landfill site “works” for this purpose – that includes settlement data, stability data, and the effect on groundwater and surface water quality and quantity.

The potential for environmental damage is higher when developing a new site, which although thoroughly tested, is unproven until it is used. No one wants a landfill in his or her backyard, least of all the town of Hampden, but the fact is that it is already there. Denying it or hoping that it will disappear overnight is unreasonable and unproductive. So, what is the best way to deal with that reality?

Adopting a combative relationship with the landfill is not the answer. That does not mean that the town of Hampden is not vigilant in its monitoring of the landfill and its operations. Quite the contrary. Over the past year, the town has worked with the landfill in a cooperative effort to make sure that the landfill operates in the safest, most environmentally secure, non-intrusive manner possible. As a result of those efforts, the landfill has installed an active gas flaring system to reduce any chance of offsite odors resulting from landfill gas as it is emitted from the landfill. It has also installed a fogging system for the open face of the landfill while in operation to mitigate offsite odors. Town employees and landfill employees have been trained in odor science monitoring and respond jointly to any odor complaints and track down the source to develop ways to prevent reoccurrence. As a proactive measure, the town’s code enforcement officer also performs routine odor monitoring checks of the landfill perimeter in the absence of complaints. The town retains a technical advisor – a leading landfill authority in Maine – to review all landfill plans for construction, capping, special waste permits, annual reports, and license revisions. This advisor conveys his suggestions to the Department of Environmental Protection for consideration in their permitting and review of all landfill activities including but not limited to settlement, stability, and water quality issues, and the landfill works with him to address any concerns cited.

The landfill and the Town Council negotiated a Host Community Benefit package that provides not just the state-mandated items for road damages and enforcement, but tax rebates and property value protection programs for landfill abutters. In addition it provides a per-ton tipping fee for every ton of waste deposited in the landfill for the estimated 10-12 year life of Phases VI, VII, VIII B & C of the Secure III landfill.

The council has developed a policy for use of those funds that will allow the town to accrue a substantial endowment for the future while also providing use of some of the funds for Capitol Reserves toward the purchase of town equipment and use of some funds for projects of municipal significance that are identified in the town’s comprehensive plan. Those funds are also used to pay the costs of the town’s technical landfill expert, code enforcement activity related to the landfill, and Landfill Oversight Committee expenses.

The action leakage rate reporting cited by Mr. Lippincott is not an example of what is going wrong at the landfill – it is an example of what is going right. We have a mechanism of reporting in place and working that brings any and all variances in landfill operation to the attention of the Town and the DEP on an immediate basis. The action leakage rate continues to be monitored by all parties, and a final report on any necessary remediation to address this eventuality will be submitted by the landfill – and followed up by the town and state to ensure completion.

Finally, the information in Mr. Lippincott’s article that referred to “hazardous waste” and “toxic material” being deposited in the landfill is at best, incomplete and at worst not entirely accurate. Pine Tree Landfill is not licensed or permitted as a hazardous waste disposal facility and the DEP does not allow the disposal of items that would be classified as such at that site. The particular special waste that was permitted for delivery from Woburn, Mass., was tested, as all special waste is, for the presence of any number of items prior to approval being granted for disposal. The findings of those tests cited by the DEP is as follows: “The composite waste samples were analyzed for total solids, chloride, pH, total organic carbon, flash point, percent moisture, reactivity, TCLP and total metals, TCLP volatiles, herbicides, pesticides, and PCB’s. The results were far below the hazardous waste limits and are acceptable for disposal at the PTL facility.”

Hampden is doing everything within its authority to protect the interests of its residents in regard to the landfill and the landfill is working cooperatively with the Town and the State as well. It would be irresponsible for us to offer false hope to the citizenry of this community that we can somehow make the landfill “disappear.” The best we can offer is a proactive and ongoing monitoring with all the tools at our disposal.

Susan Lessard Bruno is the town manager of Hampden.