DEP extends deadline for input from public on landfill project

HAMPDEN – Members of the public now have a little more time to comment on Pine Tree Landfill’s most recent application.

Due to a processing delay, the state Department of Environmental Protection has extended the deadline for which it will accept written comments on Pine Tree’s public benefit application.

Comments will be accepted through Thursday, Dec. 22, rather than through Thursday, Dec. 8, Cyndi Darling of the DEP said Friday.

Written comments are accepted for 20 days after the official filing of such applications. Pine Tree submitted its application on Nov. 18, but didn’t pay the accompanying fee until Friday, Darling said.

At this time, the department will consider only comments that apply to the public benefit application, which is a precursor to Pine Tree’s separate application to increase capacity at the landfill, she said.

Pine Tree has been directed to prove that the proposed increase would benefit the public before the DEP will further consider the project.

Written comments must apply to the state statutes governing public benefit applications for solid waste disposal sites. Basically, comments must address Pine Tree’s proposal to address capacity needs locally and throughout the state.

That means comments on odor or the visual impact of the landfill will not be considered now, Darling said. Such comments will, however, be saved in the event that the application to increase capacity moves forward, she said.

The DEP has two months to issue a decision on the public benefit application. Written comments can be sent to Cyndi Darling, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, 106 Hogan Road, Bangor 04401, or e-mailed to cyndi.w.darling@maine.gov.