The hurricane of public interest (and acrimony) about Lewiston’s proposal to privatize its landfill under Casella Waste Systems hit “Category 4” status last week, when more than 100 people crowded into a city waste task force meeting, demanding answers.

Lacking them, the stormfront moved to Auburn, where it found a receptive audience. City councilors there asked Lewiston to slow its timetable, noting Auburn is tied to the landfill due to its own waste-disposal needs.

The Casella maelstrom would have reached Category 5 status had Lewiston councilors voted, as scheduled, Tuesday night on whether to put the agreement on November’s ballot. Instead, the city delayed the vote, wisely.

By doing so, it’s tossed some sandbags against the rising tide. In a meeting tonight at 6 in the Multi-Purpose Center on Birch Street, city and Casella officials will answer questions and concerns about the agreement.

Conspiratorial theories have thrived amid accusations these parties were dodging questions. Casella critics, however, can no longer claim being misled or muffled. They can speak tonight.

Privatizing the landfill under Casella requires serious consideration, as its impact will resonate far from Lewiston-Auburn. The takeover would become central to reorganizing waste disposal across Maine, from shuttering an incinerator in downtown Biddeford to how landfills operate in Hampden and Old Town.

Economic issues are also apparent. The agreement with Casella is lucrative for Lewiston coffers – about a $100 savings per taxpayer, according to estimates, for the 30-year agreement valued at $47 million.

And jobs in the Old Town’s Georgia-Pacific mill, now Red Shield, are also affected, as construction and demolition waste processed in Lewiston are eyed to fulfill Casella’s contract to feed the mill’s biomass boiler.

Yet the duration that out-of-state waste enters Lewiston’s landfill – perhaps four years, until a new processing facility is permitted and built in the city – is a significant concern. Casella officials should be prepared to disclose details of this scenario, to address strong public fears about importing toxic materials.

City officials, as well, must explain the necessity of Lewiston’s participation. One of the savviest arguments against the agreement is competition; if it’s such a great deal, where are other contenders? The public deserves the complete picture of the city landfill’s current and future needs, and why Casella is a viable option for the future.

Criticisms of the agreement are known. They are similar to those that emerged when privatization was first broached in 2005, and those that exist elsewhere, like Hampden or Old Town. Casella’s business practices, environmental record and political relationships have all been scrutinized.

The only side unheard from today, so far, is Casella. The city, through administration, has done the talking. Tonight’s meeting is an opportunity to open lines of communication about this divisive public concern.

And most important, the chance for Casella – in the center of the storm – to finally state its case.