By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD — An issue with a local landfill was among the cases listed as resolved in the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s monthly enforcement report for September 2013.
“Four cases, including one for Tri-Community Recycling and Sanitary Landfill, of Fort Fairfield, were resolved to achieve compliance with the law, remediate environmental damage, restore natural resources to appropriate conditions, and impose penalties to deter similar actions in the future,” said Peter Carney, director of procedures and enforcement, with the MDEP.
Tri-Community was assessed penalties in excess of $3,000.
“Tri-Community Recycling and Sanitary Landfill violated the department’s rules concerning landfill siting, design and operation by allowing uncontrolled leachate discharge into storm water conveyances, failing to place adequate daily cover over waste in the active cell of the landfill, and providing inadequate litter control,” explained Carney.
Subsequent to department involvement, Carney said Tri-Community ceased the unlicensed discharge of pollutants from the landfill to the facility’s storm water conveyances, placed daily and intermediate cover over disposed waste, and operated and maintained all facilities and systems of treatment and control to achieve compliance with storm water requirements.
“To resolve the violations, Tri-Community paid $3,565 as a civil monetary penalty. Of the $3,565 total penalty amount, $2,852 was offset by a Supplemental Environmental Project for the purpose of conducting a household hazardous waste collection project in northern Maine,” said Carney.
