Casella Plans PFAS Treatment System at Juniper Ridge Landfill as River Concerns Grow
Casella Waste Systems, which operates Maine’s state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill (JRL) in Old Town and Alton, ran two pilot projects over the summer and expects to submit one of them to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for approval. If approved, Casella will build a full-scale PFAS treatment system at JRL by 2027.
Right now, Casella collects leachate, a mix of rainwater and landfill runoff, in a million-gallon tank and trucks it untreated to ND Paper in Old Town. ND Paper then treats the liquid and discharges it into the Penobscot River. Even this processing has been under question of how effectively it removes toxic substances out of the leachate.
Tests show that before any treatment, this leachate contains PFAS levels nearly 150 times higher than Maine’s drinking water standard. No public data show how much PFAS and other toxins remain after ND Paper’s treatment, leaving questions about what is ultimately released into the river and how it may affect downstream ecosystems and communities. The current processing does not get rid of PFAS. There is ongoing questioning over whether this process treats the water properly.
The new system would use foam fractionation technology to remove PFAS before the liquid ever leaves the landfill. Casella says another pilot project in Vermont removed up to 99% of several PFAS types.
The Penobscot Nation and the Conservation Law Foundation have appealed the landfill’s 61-acre expansion, arguing that it threatens the river, nearby triba lands, and public health. A Maine Superior Court judge in Bangor heard arguments in July and is still reviewing the case. Until the court issues a decision, the expansion and the state’s approval of it remain under challenge.
Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis wrote that PFAS contamination forces the tribe “to choose between being true to our traditions while risking the health of our tribe or moving away from our centuries-old culture.”
Governor Janet Mills vetoed a 2024 bill that would have required the landfill to meet drinking-water standards for PFAS, arguing that current technology can’t yet meet those strict limits.
Casella plans to file permit applications for the new treatment system next year and says it will move forward regardless of the outcome of the pending appeal.
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Read more in the Bangor Daily News.