This story was originally published in the Maine Morning Star.
Eesha Pendharkar
Maine Morning Star
A Maine superior court judge blocked the expansion of Maine’s largest landfill on Jan. 9, siding with the Penobscot Nation and Boston-based environmental group Conservation Law Foundation.
Penobscot County Superior Court Judge Bruce Mallonee ruled against the Department of Environmental Protection, saying the department had not done adequate fact finding to determine that expanding Juniper Ridge Landfill, located near Old Town, would benefit the public, and did not consider the environmental impacts that the landfill has on the nearby Penobscot Nation.
“For generations, we have spoken about the many impacts our community fights against at once — on our health, our lands, and the Penobscot River, the oldest citizen of our Nation,” said Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis in a statement responding to the court’s decision. “This ruling affirms that those burdens must be taken seriously. We hope it signals a shift toward decisions that listen more closely to Indigenous voices and consider the full picture of the harm our communities face.”
Juniper Ridge has long been a focus of the Tribe and neighboring community, members of which expressed concerns about air and water pollution.
More than half of Maine’s landfill waste ends up at Juniper Ridge. It is owned by the state through the Bureau of General Services, which has an operating contract with NEWSME Landfill Operations, a subsidiary of waste management company Casella.
Expecting that it will reach capacity in 2028, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection determined in October 2024 that expanding the landfill would benefit the public, allowing Casella to apply for a license to expand the landfill.
That license was approved by the department, and in November 2024, the environmental advocacy organization, along with the Penobscot Nation, appealed the department’s decision.
Last May, more than 50 peopleprotested against the expansion, including residents of Old Town and the Penobscot Nation’s reservation at Indian Island, which includes portions of the Penobscot River and is located five miles downstream of the landfill.
Locals have argued that there has been insufficient treatment of landfill leachate — water that collects chemicals after passing through the waste — which runs into the Penobscot River. They are specifically concerned about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS or forever chemicals, which are linked to a number of negative health effects like some cancers, high cholesterol, reproductive and fetal development issues, and more.
Friday’s ruling prevents the expansion plan from moving forward under its current approval, which would have added space to handle the equivalent of 8.6 Empire State Buildings-worth of trash to the landfill, according to Conservation Law Foundation.
The post In win for Penobscot Nation, Maine judge blocks expansion of Juniper Ridge Landfill appeared first on ICT.
From ICT via This RSS Feed.