AUGUSTA – The Legislature’s Natural Resource Committee approved a bill during a Tuesday work session that would create more hurdles for anyone wanting to ship out-of-state waste to Maine’s municipal landfills.

Rep. Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston, proposed the bill after Lewiston’s encounter with Casella Waste Management last year. The company offered to dig two new waste pits at the landfill, and to cover the costs of operating the facility in exchange for being able to bring out-of-state construction debris to Maine.

The city decided not to accept the offer, realizing it could be more costly to the community in the long run.

Makas said she wanted voters to be aware of the situation and the consequences.

In the amended version of her bill, anyone wanting to bring waste into Maine would first have to seek permission of the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.

The bill directs the commissioner to use a “public benefit determination” and give public notice of the request. If the commissioner approves the deal, it will then go to voters by referendum, where the ballot language will need to be very specific.

“Someone would need to come in and make a case that out of state waste goes to the public’s benefit,” said Paula Clark, director of the Division of Solid Waste Management for DEP.

Committee member Rep. Richard Wagner, D-Lewiston, asked for a hypothetical situation where this would be the case. No one in the room could give one.

Through the public hearing process, Makas stressed that it needs to be the voters’ choice to let the waste in, not just municipal officials.

“People have to know what’s going on, and they have to be able to make the determination,” Makas said.

In her original testimony in an April 13 public hearing in front of the committee, Makas spoke out against the health and environmental hazards the waste companies bring in. Wastes can include arsenic-treated wood, asbestos and lead paint, she said.

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