LD 759, “An Act To Require State-owned
Solid Waste Disposal Facilities To Demonstrate a Public Benefit”
March 24, 2009
Bona fides: 1986 study, 1989 law, representation of Ellsworth
and Alton in landfill siting hearings, natural Resources Committee chair
1996-2000, law teacher 1996-2004
History and background on the public benefit test and Maine’s
landfill siting and solid waste statutes
Hebo-Hybo and the Garbage Barge
Philadelphia v. New York
Legal considerations
Landfills are a scarce state resource that should be conserved
Environmental, social, economic costs of landfill development and operation,
and long term remediation
The role of the public benefit test in properly planning for and sizing
state-owned and commercial landfills:
State policy of source reduction, reuse & recycling before
disposal
o Accurate and objective data must underlie the state solid waste plan
and an assessment of capacity needs for the state
o A finding of public benefit should be based on the state’s
needs
Maine’s solid waste law is in need of revamping: too
many deletions and exemptions and loopholes have destroyed
the integrity
and effectiveness
of the law
