#JuniperRidge Landfill can expand, state says again after judge orders reconsideration

by Marie Weidmayer, March 23, 2026

Excerpt: "The Juniper Ridge Landfill can expand, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection decided for a second time — but a judge must sign off first.

"A new public benefit determination allows the #OldTown landfill to expand, the #ConservationLawFoundation said Monday. The foundation and #PenobscotNation sued the #MaineDEP in November 2024 over the proposed expansion.

"The department had to reconsider allowing the expansion after a judge ruled in January that the Maine DEP did not complete 'critical' fact finding during the public benefit determination. The Maine DEP decided Oct. 2, 2024, there is a public benefit to the expansion and expanding the landfill is not inconsistent with #EnvironmentalJustice.

"Penobscot County Superior Court Judge Bruce Mallonee will reconsider the application because the case is still pending, Maine DEP spokesperson David Madore said. The department can resume processing the expansion application and will have a public hearing, he said.

" 'This decision does not reflect the lived reality of our people,' Penobscot Nation Chief #KirkFrancis said. “Our voices and our knowledge of this place must be meaningfully considered when those in power make decisions that will impact our land and community.'

"The lawsuit is still pending in Penobscot County Superior Court. The foundation and Penobscot Nation are determining next steps."

Read more:
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/03/23/penobscot/penobscot-police-courts/landfill-expansion-juniper-ridge/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/8dI8S

#MainePol #CasellaWasteSystems #WaterIsLife #SoilIsLife #PFAS #MaineFirstNations #Pollution #ForeverChemicals

#PenobscotNation citizens rally in opposition to proposed expansion of #JuniperRidgeLandfill

Jul. 18, 2025

OLD TOWN/ALTON, #Maine (WABI) - "Penobscot Nation citizens rallied across the Penobscot County court Friday afternoon in opposition to a proposed expansion to Maine’s largest #landfill.

"The rally was in response to the #ConservationLawFoundation and the Penobscot Nation appealing an expansion to #JuniperRidgeLandfill, which will allow #CasellaWasteSystems to expand Juniper Ridge by 11.9 million cubic yards.

"According to members of the #WabanakiAlliance, the expansion would pose a threat to surrounding #TribalLands due to concerns of air and #WaterPollution surrounding the #PenobscotRiver from the landfill.

"Speakers at the rally represented citizens of the Penobscot Nation, the Wabanaki Alliance, as well as the environmental groups #Slingshot and #DontWasteME.

" 'It is incredibly powerful to see the number of people out here in opposition to this expansion and support of this appeal. We know the time for #EnvironmentalJustice is now. We need to turn the tide towards #ZeroWaste,' said #DanaColihan, Co-Executive Director of environmental group Slingshot.

" 'I just hope that the state can get serious about actual environmental justice, and Casella can implement some practices that it make it so that they don’t have to bring out of state waste to stabilize our sludge, and really find solutions instead of creating more problems with us,' stated #MaulianBryant, Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance."

Read more:
https://www.wabi.tv/2025/07/18/penobscot-nation-citizens-rally-opposition-proposed-expansion-juniper-ridge-landfill/

#AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #MaineResists #PFAS #PenobscotRiver #Casella #ProtectTheSacred #Wabanaki #Wabanakik #NativeAmericanNews #MaineNews

#MaineDEP says expansion of state’s largest landfill would benefit public

The decision allows the state to apply to add 61 acres to the state-owned #JuniperRidgeLandfill, which takes in 52% of the state's waste.

by Penelope Overton
October 2, 2024

"Despite objections from neighbors and environmental groups, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection concluded Wednesday that expanding the state’s largest landfill, Juniper Ridge, would substantially benefit the public.
It’s not an outright approval, but the department’s decision allows the state to apply to add 61 acres to the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill, which takes in 52% of the state’s waste. The state claims this expansion would extend the facility’s operating life by 11 years; without it, it would run out of space by 2028.

"DEP Commissioner Melanie Loyzim’s decision can be appealed to the Board of Environmental Protection and the Maine courts, and several opponents of the proposed expansion, like the Boston-based #ConservationLawFoundation , say they are prepared to challenge the decision.

"'This decision recklessly gambles with public health and the environment,' said #AlexandraStPierre, the director of communities and toxics in the foundation’s #EnvironmentalJustice Program. 'It dismisses the serious concerns raised by the #PenobscotNation and other nearby residents about the harmful effects this expansion will have on their health and community.'

"She continued: 'We refuse to allow this dangerous expansion to proceed unchecked.'

"The foundation and other opponents say the #OldTown location of the facility unfairly places the burden of the state’s trash needs on the Penobscot Nation. The #leachate that #JuniperRidge produces when it rains is sent to a nearby paper mill sewer plant that discharges into the #PenobscotRiver.

[...]

"The amount of waste heading to Maine landfills has increased 34% between 2018 and 2022, according to DEP. #Sludge that was once spread on #agricultural fields is now landfilled due to forever chemical #contamination [#PFAS]. The amount of municipal solid waste landfilled during that time jumped 47%.

"While some people say Maine is not doing enough to divert waste from the #landfills – for example, a bill that would have required large #FoodWaste generators to #recycle their #scraps at a nearby facility died on the appropriations table – others object to #Casella as the facility operator.

"Casella clashed with some municipal leaders and state lawmakers when it refused to accept the #biosolids created by wastewater treatment plants at Juniper Ridge out of fear that the mushy slop, or sludge, was causing structural instability that could lead to the landfill’s collapse."

Original article:
https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/02/maine-state-needs-to-expand-its-biggest-landfill/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/VXv9m

#WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalRacism #JuniperRidgeLandfill #CasellaWasteSystems #MaineNews #Maine #ToxicFire #PFASPollution
#WabanakiAlliance
#DontWasteME #Slingshot #EnvironmentalJustice #PenobscotNation #PFAS #PenobscotRiver #EnvironmentalInjustice #CompostFoodWaste #ReduceWaste

'It's killing us': Public reacts to proposed expansion of #JuniperRidgeLandfill

Story by Katie Delaney
7/16/2024

"'#JuniperRidge has destroyed the life of people who live around it. At times, it has destroyed part of the #PenobscotRiver; it has destroyed part of our air, water, and land,' Don White, a Bucksport resident, said.

"Public commenters expressed concerns about harmful #emissions, #landfill fires, and #PFAS contamination coming from the facility.

"Many of the people speaking out said Juniper Ridge is an example of #EnvironmentalInjustice, particularly for the #PenobscotNation.

"'It's killing us,' #KathyPaul, a Penobscot Nation Elder, said. 'I just feel like I'm sitting here waiting to die, and I don't mean to be an extremist or anything like that, but I'm really afraid. I can smell the difference already.'"

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/tech/science/environment/juniper-ridge-landfill-public-comment-expansion-proposal-maine-waste-environment/97-22670996-85e5-4533-83aa-0ecb08809eda

#WaterIsLife #JuniperRidgeLandfill #CasellaWasteSystems #MaineNews #Maine #ToxicFire #PFASPollution
#WabanakiAlliance
#DontWasteME #Slingshot #EnvironmentalJustice

[It seems that today's vote was in favor of expanding #JuniperRidge]

Juniper Ridge Landfill is one step closer to expanding
Maine Public | By Kaitlyn Budion

Published September 20, 2024 at 1:22 PM EDT

"#Environmental groups are concerned about a draft decision from the Department of Environmental Protection that brings #JuniperRidgeLandfill in #OldTown one step closer to expanding.

"The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued a draft decision approving the expansion's public benefit determination, despite opposition from the #PenobscotNation, area residents and #EnvironmentalGroups.

"Opponents have brought up concerns about odors and contamination from the #PFAS-filled sludge at the #landfill.

"Alexandra St. Pierre with the #ConservationLawFoundation said the group was disappointed by the draft approval and wants the department to give greater weight to comments from the public.

"'We're hoping that Maine DEP will stop making this unnecessary space for waste and make more space for people's voices and the real needs of the community,' she said.

"In the draft, the department outlines several conditions of the approval, including conducting an odor study and installing a system for treating landfill leachate for PFAS.

"Dana Colihan with the environmental nonprofit Slingshot said it's insulting for the DEP to say the expansion is consistent with #EnvironmentalJustice for the surrounding community.

'"When we think about the odors, the #AirPollution, the #contamination of the #PenobscotRiver from the minimally treated leachate, and how all these factors threaten the Penobscot Nation and working-class #Mainers living and the surrounding communities, I can't fathom how the state can argue that this fulfills the required environmental justice criteria,' Colihan said.

"The draft is available for public comment until Friday, Sept. 27, and the DEP is expected to publish the final decision Wednesday, Oct. 2."

https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2024-09-20/juniper-ridge-landfill-is-one-step-closer-to-expanding

#WaterIsLife #SunlightMediaCollective
#JuniperRidgeLandfill
#CasellaWasteSystems #MaineNews #Maine #ToxicFire #PFASPollution
#WabanakiAlliance
#DontWasteME #Slingshot

While on the subject of #landfills and #TrashFires...

Exponential Landfill Expansion Proposal MustTake Into Account #EnvironmentalJustice

Josh Woodbury July 25, 2024

"#CasellaWasteSystems has applied for an expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill that could more than double its size. Under law, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection must determine whether an expansion has 'public benefit.' They also must consider Environmental Justice when looking at the industrial facility’s impact on surrounding communities, including the #PenobscotNation. The #MEDEP will make a decision by August 23rd. Public comments are currently being accepted. [I'll have to look into what the decision was]

"After a hard fought push back from area residents, including members of the Penobscot Nation, the DEP is now required to consider 'Environmental Justice' when making a determination about whether a landfill expansion meets the 'Public Benefit' criteria. The DEP will decide if the criteria is met next month.

"Juniper Ridge landfill is located in West Old Town, and is situated between #PushawStream and #BirchStream that both flow into the #PenobscotRiver. The landfill’s leachate waste is trucked to the now #NineDragonsMill in #OldTownMaine, where it receives treatment [sic] and is released into the Penobscot River, directly below the Penobscot Nation.

"In current solid waste law, the DEP has defined Environmental Justice as, '…the right to be protected from environmental pollution and live in and enjoy a clean and healthful #environment, regardless of ancestry, class, disability, ethnicity, income, national origin or religion.

"Environmental justice includes the equal protection and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of waste management laws, regulations, and licensing decisions.

"The Penobscot Nation has experienced environmental impacts from the Juniper Ridge Landfill including odors, a toxic fire in 2023, and the discharging of minimally treated leachate, which includes #PFAS, into the #PenobscotRiver sustenance fishing waters.

"Juniper Ridge Landfill still accepts out of state waste after Casella lobbied for a postponement of recently passed restrictions."

https://www.sunlightmediacollective.org/exponential-landfill-expansion-proposal-musttake-into-account-environmental-justice/

#SunlightMediaCollective #JuniperRidgeLandfill #Casella #MaineNews #Maine #ToxicSmoke #ToxicFire #WaterIsLife #WabanakiAlliance #KathyPaul #DontWasteME #Slingshot #ConservationLawFoundation

Exponential #Landfill Expansion Proposal Must Take Into Account #EnvironmentalJustice

by Josh Woodbury July 25, 2024

“The #PenobscotNation continues to have grave concerns about the management of the #JuniperRidgeLandfill which has had a negative impact on our lands, waters, and people. The practices employed at the site over the years have added to the harmful #contamination of our sacred homeland, the #PenobscotRiver. The health and well being of our citizens is directly linked to the health and well being of the river. Due to industrial and waste management #pollutants such as forever chemicals, #PFAS, affecting the river we have not been able to continue our cultural value of being a sustenance fishing people because the fish in the river are not healthy enough for us to consume more than small amounts. This disruption is not just about a food source, it is about the connection to our ancestors and very ways of being suffering due to the oppressive nature of profit over people and the ethos of environmental injustice that places marginalized communities in harm’s way. The expansion of Juniper Ridge under #Casella perpetuates harms against the Penobscot Nation, who are the original stewards of these lands and waters dating back over 10,000 years. Coupled with the questionable nature of if this initiative is in line with state statutes, there is no reason to think favorably of it. We add our voice to the assertion that there is no public benefit to this expansion, quite the opposite.” - Penobscot Nation Ambassador #MaulianBryant, July 16, 2024.

"#CasellaWasteSystems has applied for an expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill that could more than double its size. Under law, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection [#MDEP] must determine whether an expansion has 'public benefit.' They also must consider Environmental Justice when looking at the industrial facility’s impact on surrounding communities, including the Penobscot Nation. The #DEP will make a decision by August 23rd. Public comments are currently being accepted.

"After a hard fought push back from area residents, including members of the Penobscot Nation, the DEP is now required to consider 'Environmental Justice' when making a determination about whether a landfill expansion meets the '#PublicBenefit' criteria. The DEP will decide if the criteria is met [in August]."

Read more:
https://www.sunlightmediacollective.org/exponential-landfill-expansion-proposal-musttake-into-account-environmental-justice/

#WabanakiConfederacy #Wabanaki #IndigenousNews
#DefendTheSacred #DefendMotherEarth #WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalRacism