Landfill transport routes remain fixed in Hampden

HAMPDEN – Town officials on Monday stopped short of endorsing a measure aimed at curbing truck traffic hauling waste bound for a landfill across some local roads, breaking rank with a few local communities.

Hampden town councilors took no vote and therefore no action on a letter developed by Brewer city officials that seeks to have trucks hauling waste to a landfill proposed for Old Town use Interstate 95, thereby reducing traffic on main and secondary streets. The issue has caused consternation for some and the letter has been endorsed by municipal officials in Bradley and Eddington, two communities through which a proposed travel route for the loaded trucks would run.

But Hampden officials felt uncomfortable with the letter, indicating that it was too restrictive and focused too narrowly on landfill hauling. Town Manager Sue Lessard said that while Hampden takes concerns seriously about trucks traveling through downtown and neighborhoods, the concerns raised did not reach the necessary level for a vote.

Trucks hauling trash already travel through sections of Hampden to reach the Pine Tree Landfill. Once it is operational, the West Old Town Landfill will take two-thirds of the waste now heading to Hampden.

Traffic attributed to the landfill hauling would account for less than 1 percent of the traffic on the main roads in Brewer and Hampden, said Don Meagher, manager of planning and development for Cassella Waste Systems, which operates the existing Hampden landfill and would run the Old Town landfill.

To meet the requirements of the Brewer letter, haulers would be limited to carrying 80,000 tons on I-95, a federal limit set for all but those hauling jet fuel.

Meagher also suggested that what is raising some of the stink is the nature of what is being transported – odorous refuse materials. He said that putting in a new convenience store would have received half the scrutiny on traffic that this project has received.

Casella also has some financial concerns.

Reducing the 100,000 pounds or more that many haulers carry would require double the number of trucks and drivers on the road and therefore double the cost, Meagher said. Passing those increased costs on could result in customers leaving for the competition, he said.