ROCKPORT — The Mid-Coast Solid Waste Corporation board of directors, which governs a four-town municipal nonprofit, will have a lot on its plate when members convene Wednesday, Dec. 18, in Camden. 

Chief among the agenda items is a review of a financial audit completed in June by R. H. Smith, the presentation of a Fiscal Year 2021 budget prepared by the new facility manager, the appointment of a new chairperson, and a list of recommendations from the Strategic and Capital Planning Committee.

The latter is recommending several action items, including that a “slow or even no increase landfill strategy” be implemented.

The recommendation is to delay landfill closure for an extended period of years. 

The Strategic and Capital Planning Committee consists of Bob Falciani, of Camden; Keryn Laite, of Lincolnville; Mike Brown, of Hope; Bill Post, of Rockport;  and MCSWC Manager T. Baridi Nkokheli.

The discussion of closing the landfill on Union Street in Rockport has been ongoing as the capacity at the old quarries diminishes. The landfill is currently 99.79 percent at capacity, according to the audit report (See attached PDF).

“Mid-Coast Solid Waste Corporation first estimated the cost to perform all closure and post closure care in 2006 and adjusted their estimates in 2009, 2011, and 2014,” according to the audit. “In fiscal year 2015, 2016 and again in 2018, the Corporation engineers revisited the estimates again, and based on actual costs incurred to date and estimated remaining capacity, calculated a new estimated closure and post closure cost of $4,832,545. However, the estimate includes costs totaling $1,594,250 for leachate management for a 30-year period that may not be ultimately incurred. The Board is weighing several options of final closure that could result in a much lower amount of leachate management. The estimated remaining life of the landfill as of June 30, 2019 is X.X years.”

Closing the landfill will involve placing a final cover over it when it stops accepting waste and maintaining and monitoring the site for 30 years after closure.

In June 2018, the towns that own the landfill — Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport — voted to allow each municipality to establish Landfill Closure and Post Closure reserve accounts.

“These warrant articles also allowed the appropriation of funds received by each municipality for their respective equity interest in Penobscot Energy Recovery Company (PERC), for the Town’s share of the MCSWC Landfill Closure and Post Closure costs,” according to the R. H. Smith audit. .

The revenue received from the PERC closed was $72,443, to be split among the four towns.

The landfill in Rockport carries an estimated closure and post closure cost of $4.8 million.

Mid-Coast Solid Waste Corporation Board of Directors Meeting