AUGUSTA, Maine — State legislators are working out the final details of a bill that would establish fees on some waste that goes into Maine landfills, according to the lawmaker sponsoring the bill.
Rep. Robert Duchesne, D-Hudson, said the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee met Tuesday for a work session to discuss LD 1278, An Act To Stabilize Solid Waste Management Funding. There will be at least one more work session before the final language and details of the statute are ironed out, he said.
The bill should be ready to go up for a House vote in February, said Duchesne, the ranking House member on the committee. He said it has bipartisan support on the panel.
“We had a good discussion [during the Tuesday work session] about what we were trying to accomplish with this,” Duchesne said Wednesday morning.
The bill would impose a $1 fee on every ton of construction demolition debris disposed of in landfills that are, or are expected to be, spread across 6 acres or more, according to Duchesne. The fee might increase to $2 per ton the next year, he said.
That includes the controversial stream of construction demolition debris coming to Maine from states such as Massachusetts, as well as such debris being generated in Maine.
The bill received support from Gov. Paul LePage in a Jan. 10 letter to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
The fees would go into the Maine Solid Waste Management Fund, which pays for 20 positions at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and six jobs at the State Planning Office. The fund has been running low, Duchesne said.
“When there’s a bad economy we landfill less, so less goes into the fund,” Duchesne said.
Between 300,000 and 350,000 tons of construction demolition debris are put in Maine landfills annually, according to Duchesne. That extra $300,000 to $350,000 would “stabilize” the fund, ensure that DEP and State Planning Office employees get paid and help cover the costs of closing several municipal landfills the state hasn’t been able to shut down yet, he said.
The original language of the bill, which was drafted in March of last year, proposed higher fees on a broader range of waste but has been dialed back after several work sessions. The initial bill suggested a $4-per-ton fee on construction demolition debris, with a $6 fee on landfills granted expansion licenses after Oct. 15, 2011.
The state already applies fees to other types of landfilled waste — for example, the disposal of asbestos costs $5 per cubic yard. Ash, coal and oil cost $5 per ton.
Another aim of the bill, Duchesne said, is to gain some control over the amount of waste coming to Maine’s landfills and waste-processing facilities from out of state.
Maine has eyed regulating out-of-state waste in the past but held back because officials feared that the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution would prevent the state from barring waste from across its borders. That concern will be eased by the fact that the bill levies fees on both Maine and out-of-state construction demolition debris, Duchesne said.
Casella Waste Systems Inc., which operates the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town, would feel the brunt of the additional fees.
In reports from 2010, Casella-owned waste processor KTI Bio Fuels in Lewiston said it drew 85 percent of its construction demolition debris from Massachusetts, with 8 percent coming from Maine construction and demolition projects.
After KTI finishes plucking out recyclables and clean wood for use in biomass boilers, it sends the leftovers to Juniper Ridge.
Don Meagher, Casella’s manager for planning and development, argued Wednesday that Duchesne’s bill is one of many examples of repeated “unilateral rule changes” that deviate from the nearly decade-old contract between the state and Casella.
He said the bill is “reaching” for ways to regulate out-of-state waste and that the lawmakers behind it repeatedly have changed their reasons for adding fees.
Meagher also said the fees would hurt trucking companies that bring the waste to the processing facilities and Juniper Ridge. Duchesne said that is one of the concerns that will be discussed at the next work session for the bill.
Casella feels slighted by the state because of frequent rule and regulation changes since Casella signed a contract with the state in 2003 to take over Juniper Ridge, according to Meagher.
For example, he said, the state established a public benefit determination requirement before landfills can expand even though the 30-year contract stipulated that an expansion would be needed and that Maine’s waste-to-energy and recycling facilities, such as KTI, would need out-of-state debris to reach their output goals. That hurdle didn’t exist when Casella signed its contract.
“What’s really at the heart of this topic is: Can the business community in Maine trust the state to keep its word,” Meagher said. “Stop punishing us for doing what you have asked us to do. How does that make sense?”
Duchesne, who was not in the Legislature when the state signed the contract with Casella, countered that things have changed drastically since 2003.
“It is true that things have changed, and the conversation has changed,” he said, “but it always does.”
Hold it just a tea pickin’ minute. Fee?? That’s nothing but a weasel word for tax. A tax that the great tax cutting Governor is apparently for. So what if it violates a contract. Especially a contract between the State and business. So the pro business, anti-tax Governor who is big into contracts is promoting a tax that will hurt business and violate a contract. I believe there is a word for that………………
This is one of those “greater good” “environmental protection” “making the big corporations pay their fair share” kind of things and now you’re complaining?
Little history lesson for you… This deal was the result of a backroom agreement between Baldacci and the Koch brothers industry. They sold the people of Maine down the river, especially the local residents. They used that contract as a way to screw the people of Maine for the next 30 years.
For all the complaining I read on these boards and the attacks saying the Koch brothers and the big corporations own Gov. LePage, it’s shocking to see him reverse a decision created by Baldacci’s “Koch addiction” and to have some perpetual critic and squeaky wheel who uses the opposite talking points when it suits them, then shifts just so they can criticize.
Maybe, just maybe, you should actually consider that the Governor is doing what he thinks is right? Can you just stop for a minute and THINK. ABOUT. THAT.
There is a contract in place that the State is unilaterally changing. That isn’t right. A contract is a contract and both parties should abide by it. As far as what the previous Governor did you must be under the impression that I am somehow a Baldacci fan. If that is the case you are wrong. As far as LePage is concerned if he is in favor of increasing rate for dumping fine, but don’t try to BS people by calling it a fee. It is as much a tax as a sales tax or income or gas tax. You can’t be anti-tax like LePage claims to be and then think that just by calling it a fee it isn’t a tax.
Can I assume you agree that the same should have applied in terms of the state changing their state retirement contribution contract?
All I see is the creation of 26 more un-needed jobs with the State DEP that Mainers can’t afford to pay for. Then again if we take 150 poor Mainers and stop all their benefits we could do it. ConcernedinMaine207…..how bout YOUR Grandmother ? Let’s start with HER benefits first…..
Right. Everything should be free. You should get to throw as much trash as you want in the landfill that I and everyone else pay to maintain.
If 85% of the stuff comes from out-a-state, then it will have very little impact on you. If they’re charged enough, then you should only have to pay a small fee (in a common sense world, of course). See my other comment….
We need better contracts. The state should keep its word. There should be a cancellation clause in the contract. The state should have to compensate Casella & terminate the contract. That contract was “negotiated” when the state was under the delusion that they had to do anything to get GP to keep the mill open. To that end, they obligated the state to a 30 year deal. What rocket scientist thought that was a good idea? GP left anyway, and we are left with a poorly negotiated contract.
There should be options specified in the contract that allow for amendments by either party, with proper compensation. We shouldn’t be locked into doing the wrong thing. Casella will fill the landfill faster than “anticipated” because it makes financial sense to do that. We should’ve seen that coming because it occurred in Hampden. What you reward is what you get.
“When there’s a bad economy we landfill less, so less goes into the fund,” Duchesne said.
This displays the logic that has in part and continues to keep Maine down. Present throughout our local and state governments rates, fees, and taxes increase, but are never allowed to decrease. This occurring even when those paying are themselves having economic difficulty. Our government’s bill the full assessed values of our properties, charge higher and higher fees and rates, and make sure they spend every single penny in the coffers. Justified expenditures are regarded very loosely by many of our Maine governing officials. When it comes to others bearing the costs it is perceived by these for them to take even more determined as a justified right of theirs to others money. In the real world…less usage…leads to a reduction of services, and therefore reducing expenditures inclusive of human resources…not prolonging the inevitable while placing the strain upon those paying (costs eventually passed in this case on to use the consumer). This continuous taking is a vicious taking cycle, if left with this money the Maine consumer would spend most of it upon goods, thereby stimulating the economy, and creating jobs.
Stick to da man!!
Lol….there’s a fee (tax) I can live with ! I will just continue to burn it on the property and let all those yummy chemicals permeate the atmosphere since I cannot afford to pay the King’s new tax….I’ve been doing it since our small town dump was “privatized” and became another monthly drain on my budget. What exactly DO I get for 1500 in taxes annually ? No town water, no town sewer, no school age kids….I’m being robbed to pay for everyone else ! Least they can do is smell my trash burning…..This new fee is a fine example of State greed imposing laws that have the exact opposite effect of what they tell you. Not to mention the jobs that will be lost when contractors are unable to give a low bid due to trash concerns, and lose it to out of state companies that simply truck it over state lines and dispose of it.
“the king’s new tax”..? Wakeup, it was the product of Bob Duchesne D-Hudson and the green committee.
Besides, if you are soo financially strapped that you cannot afford one dollar a ton, then I’d say you have a lot more to worry about.
What? One dollar a ton to send our construction trash up to Maine?? It will hurt truckers delivering it??
Protecting Maine from the carpetbagging developers down here should be a no brainer.
If I have to pay 10 bucks to get rid of an old tv at my local transfer station (in Mass), then it only makes sense for Maine to protect itself from these ‘developers (who are famous for tearing down good buildings in the name of ‘developing’), by charging a pantload more! The costs from trash and the transportation of it will just be added to the cost of doing business.
Why should the whole thing just pay for itself when it should be a gold mine of revenue instead?
Wake up, you politicians; it’s the 21st century for gawd’s sake. Stop playing the sucker for the carpetbaggers!
Anyone who thinks Casella is too financially strapped to absorb this fee is way out of touch with the facts. Casella has become very well off as a result of hauling one truckload after another into this state for us to deal with for years. Don Meagher specialized in burying out of state trash for the Sawyer landfill well before Juniper Ridge, and in fact did so well Casella couldn’t wait to get their fingers into their latest exploit. It is incredible to me that 85% of the demo debris is from Massachusetts – 500 miles plus round-trip from Boston to get rid of trash??? Who do you think will be footing the bill for this deal for decades to come? I consider this a MINIMAL impact and personally would encourage the state to find an even more effective way to limit the amount of waste hauled in this state.