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Opportunity for Input Sessions: Solid Waste and Septage Management Rules Updates
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The Department is holding two Opportunity for Input Sessions and accepting written comments.
- In-person meeting: Tuesday, September 15, 2026, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm EDT at Maine Department of Health and Human Services Administrative Building, 109 Capital Street, Augusta, Maine.
- Virtual meeting:
Wednesday, September 16, 2026, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm EDT.
RSVP for Opportunity for Input Session: Solid Waste and Septage Management Rules Updates
- Email written comments to: SolidWasteRules.DEP@maine.gov by September 18, 2026.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (“the Department”) is seeking public and stakeholder input on the Solid Waste Management and the Septage Management Rules (“Rules”), 06-096 C.M.R. Chapters 400-420. Public input submitted is intended to assist the Department in evaluating and updating its Rules and to develop new and support existing facilities, technologies, programs, initiatives, and processes in a way that is consistent with Maine’s solid waste management hierarchy.
The Department is intending to hold a series of Opportunity for Input Sessions for targeted public input prior to initiating rulemaking. The Opportunity for Input Sessions are not a public hearing on a current rulemaking, nor is there draft language for the public or stakeholders to review or respond to.
The Department’s first Opportunity for Input Session is soliciting general feedback on the Rules, and, in particular, the Department is seeking the public’s perspective on the following questions:
- How might the Department strike the right balance in its Rules to both encourage new technologies and protect the environment and human health?
- How can the Department encourage pathways for re-use of “waste” materials so that they do not have to go to solid waste disposal facilities?
- What are current benefits and drawbacks in the rules for licensing new and innovative technologies?
- What level of regulatory review and oversight is appropriate for short-term, low volume solid waste “demonstration” projects?
- Should there be changes to how Maine regulates processing facilities and/or recycling facilities?
- Are there opportunities for the Department to streamline the licensing process for solid waste facilities, including specific activities that might be exempt from licensing or be licensed through a permit-by-rule process?
- Should Maine require additional reporting on the quantity and ultimate disposition of solid waste in Maine, including wastewater treatment plant sludge and other non-hazardous waste residuals?
- What solid waste management costs such as handling, transportation, disposal, and beneficial use, should be reported to the Department and by whom?