July 25, 2005
The second life of landfills | Wells thought it had redeveloped an old town dump, but problems with the site continue to perplex town officials
By Jennifer Hazard
Retirees Lorraine and Donald Reed lived on Abenaki Trail, a subdivision built on the site of a former municipal landfill in Wells, for four years. The couple had planned to live in the neighborhood for the rest of their lives, but in 2004 growing environmental concerns caused the town to purchase the 40-acre property and the houses on it. The neighborhood's 11 residents were forced to move, an event that Lorraine Reed calls a disappointment. "We had a tremendous garage built and also added a sunroom on to the house. We had everything we wanted there," she says. "I still miss it."
Still, Reed admits she and her husband knew that their home was on an old landfill when they bought it. "The site had been permitted by the town in the 70s, and we were told there was nothing to worry about," she says.
According to Jon Carter, who was Wells' town manager until early this year, the landfill dates back to approximately 1920. The site changed hands in the early 70s after a new landfill location was established, and construction on Abenaki Trail was completed in 1976. "In hindsight, we would have never permitted it," Carter says, "but this all occurred long before the [Department of Environmental Protection] was in the picture."
For now, Lorraine Reed wonders what the town will do with the abandoned homes in the subdivision. "They've said they may auction them off," she says. "We're waiting to see what they're going to do next."
What will happen next is a question anyone would ask after a visit to the site. Located off Route 9B, the dead-end street is a veritable ghost town with empty houses and overgrown lawns. One could easily picture the street as it may have been only a few years ago ˆ a quiet, suburban subdivision with spacious yards and large trees, not unlike many other southern Maine neighborhoods.
But the presence of private residences and buildings on or near old landfills is not an issue that's unique to Wells. According to Robert Birk, an environmental specialist for the DEP, by the late 1980s the state had found 414 municipal landfills throughout Maine ˆ and very few met environmental protection standards. The Maine Legislature addressed this issue through the development the Solid Waste Landfill Closure and Remediation Program in 1988. In the years that followed, the DEP closed landfills that were potentially hazardous to public health and/or the environment. But remediation or cleanup of these landfills was ˆ and still is ˆ determined on a site-by-site basis, often at significant cost to towns and the state.
While the DEP was able to close 388 landfills throughout the state successfully, many older landfills went untouched. Sites that operated prior to 1976 ˆ like the 9B Landfill in Wells ˆ were not considered for the program until state laws were amended in 2001. The break in legislation has presented its share of problems, the primary one being that older sites are harder to identify, according to Birk. "If you compare an older landfill to one developed in the 80s or early 90s, it's like night and day," he says. A modern landfill can be identified by its height and, not surprisingly, the presence of visible trash. Birk says that older sites were often burning dumps, where evidence of waste is buried deep beneath the soil.
A growing problem
Once a landfill site is discovered, the DEP will notify the town. After that, it's up to the local government to negotiate the next steps. "It's easier to address the problem when the site is owned by a municipality," Birk says. "We require a town to draw up an affidavit, so that prospective buyers will know their property is near a landfill. In the case of privately owned landfills, however, we can only do so much."
He cites a midcoast town as an example, where 75 feet from an abandoned landfill sits a brand new house. (Birk prefers not to name the town until the DEP is certain of the environmental impact of the landfill on the property.) "We operate on good faith," he says. "Most towns won't walk away from issues like these. And in the case of Wells, they did more than what was advised."
Wells' decision to buy back the Route 9B Landfill and relocate its residents came after years of environmental testing and debate. Now, as the last of 11 residents leaves Abenaki Trail, the town is preparing the site for its first phase of redevelopment.
Bob Gerber is a civil engineer, site evaluator and hydro-geologist from Stratex LLC, a Portland-based environmental consulting firm. Wells has hired Gerber and sub-consultant Lissa Robinson to investigate ways to redevelop the land safely. The pair was part of a town-wide meeting June 28 to discuss plans for the property, as well as any constraints.
Their goal is to find the best fit for the town's interests and needs. According to Gerber, possible uses for the site include playing fields, a cemetery, cell towers or a nature trail (a portion of the property is close to the scenic Webhannet River). He says that the addition of new buildings is not a viable option, as the DEP requires that no structure can be on or within 100 yards of a landfill. "The main question is," he says, "is the town really willing to revitalize this property? The remediation of a landfill is never cheap."
At the meeting last month, residents and town officials batted around ideas ranging from simply leaving the property alone to digging up the trash and moving it someplace else. Robinson, who's working on developing a summary of the ideas generated at that session, says the town will not set a time line for the project until a specific plan has been developed. "Depending on what has been decided, we may have to collect additional site data," she says.
Even after the discussions take place, Bob Gerber says the town may decide not to do anything at all. "There are people out there that would prefer to memorialize the site, leave it alone and chalk it up as a bad mistake," he says.
Residents living in the subdivision became concerned about the effects of the landfill in the mid-90s, after a private well water test came back with poor results. The DEP was notified and, based on its recommendations, Gerber was hired by the town in 2000 to conduct additional tests, including water sample analysis on nearby wells and gas assessment inside the nine homes located directly on the landfill. While no soil gases were present inside the homes, Gerber's tests showed that waste from the landfill had clearly affected the subdivision's water supply (results showed traces of arsenic and petroleum). Wells responded by offering residents bottled water; after of series of town meetings, the community voted to supply the subdivision with a public water line in 2001. Funding for the efforts was provided by the DEP.
In the years that followed, the DEP and Gerber continued to investigate the area; they were concerned that waste from the landfill could have contaminated the soil in and around the 9B subdivision. Their hunches were correct ˆ test results concluded that a number of volatile compounds were found in the soil, at levels that exceeded federal guidelines.
According to Gerber, outside soil gases like these can seep into basements, with long-term exposure causing potential health risks. "That's when the picture started to look a bit scary, and the town realized they had a growing problem on their hands," Gerber says.
Cleaning up
The DEP suggested that Wells could rectify the problem by installing simple basement ventilation systems ˆ a solution that Robert Birk believes was a sensible and economical approach to the problem. While exact costs have not been determined, Birk says that under the state's Solid Waste Landfill Closure and Remediation program, 90% of the costs would have been paid by DEP.
But Birk says residents were still disturbed by the state's findings. "Even after a high level of scientific expertise has been applied," he says, "people can't get past the fact that they're living on a landfill, and that it's not a good thing."
Town Chairman James Spiller says Wells decided to purchase the property, rather than follow the DEP's suggestions, based on the potential for problems in the future. "We worried about the possibility of test results changing down the road," he says. "We felt that the DEP's proposal was simply delaying the inevitable, and that relocating residents would eventually be a more cost effective solution."
Last July, Wells voters approved a $4 million bond to acquire the homes and the land ˆ an amount that Spiller says is equal to a year's tax revenues for the town. To save the town from further financial setbacks, Wells hopes to receive grant money to cover the costs of future remediation. Carter, the former town manager, also believes Ogunquit has some financial responsibility, as the town also used the dump when it was in operation. Ogunquit, however, does not believe it is liable. "When we separated from Wells in 1980, we ceased all dealings with that," says Phil Clark, Ogunquit's town manager.
After receiving the bond money, Carter hired Westbrook-based HNTB Corp. to manage the relocation process. Some residents sold back their land, making it possible to move their home to a different location in the future. Others rented out their property from the town while a new house was being built. Most, however, left their homes behind.
According to James Spiller, most of the residents were happy to be relocated. "There was some early contention about the value of their properties," he says. "But in the end, I'd say that many made a substantial gain in the transaction."
For Lorraine Reed, though, the transition has been a difficult one. Her new home in Wells has its own problems and, despite the presence of the landfill, she says she misses the house on Abenaki Trail.
While the larger question of what will happen with the 40-acre property won't be decided any time soon, Bob Gerber says there has been some discussion regarding the Reeds' commercial-grade garage. "The town is thinking the garage could become a satellite station for its rescue squad, but I'm not sure that's possible," he says. "Some of the worst soil gases are present there, and structural problems often occur after a landfill settles."
Whatever is decided, Wells stands firm on its decision to reclaim the site. "We're happy we were able to take those people off the land," says Spiller. "No matter what happens, they're safe now."
Still, Reed admits she and her husband knew that their home was on an old landfill when they bought it. "The site had been permitted by the town in the 70s, and we were told there was nothing to worry about," she says.
According to Jon Carter, who was Wells' town manager until early this year, the landfill dates back to approximately 1920. The site changed hands in the early 70s after a new landfill location was established, and construction on Abenaki Trail was completed in 1976. "In hindsight, we would have never permitted it," Carter says, "but this all occurred long before the [Department of Environmental Protection] was in the picture."
For now, Lorraine Reed wonders what the town will do with the abandoned homes in the subdivision. "They've said they may auction them off," she says. "We're waiting to see what they're going to do next."
What will happen next is a question anyone would ask after a visit to the site. Located off Route 9B, the dead-end street is a veritable ghost town with empty houses and overgrown lawns. One could easily picture the street as it may have been only a few years ago ˆ a quiet, suburban subdivision with spacious yards and large trees, not unlike many other southern Maine neighborhoods.
But the presence of private residences and buildings on or near old landfills is not an issue that's unique to Wells. According to Robert Birk, an environmental specialist for the DEP, by the late 1980s the state had found 414 municipal landfills throughout Maine ˆ and very few met environmental protection standards. The Maine Legislature addressed this issue through the development the Solid Waste Landfill Closure and Remediation Program in 1988. In the years that followed, the DEP closed landfills that were potentially hazardous to public health and/or the environment. But remediation or cleanup of these landfills was ˆ and still is ˆ determined on a site-by-site basis, often at significant cost to towns and the state.
While the DEP was able to close 388 landfills throughout the state successfully, many older landfills went untouched. Sites that operated prior to 1976 ˆ like the 9B Landfill in Wells ˆ were not considered for the program until state laws were amended in 2001. The break in legislation has presented its share of problems, the primary one being that older sites are harder to identify, according to Birk. "If you compare an older landfill to one developed in the 80s or early 90s, it's like night and day," he says. A modern landfill can be identified by its height and, not surprisingly, the presence of visible trash. Birk says that older sites were often burning dumps, where evidence of waste is buried deep beneath the soil.
A growing problem
Once a landfill site is discovered, the DEP will notify the town. After that, it's up to the local government to negotiate the next steps. "It's easier to address the problem when the site is owned by a municipality," Birk says. "We require a town to draw up an affidavit, so that prospective buyers will know their property is near a landfill. In the case of privately owned landfills, however, we can only do so much."
He cites a midcoast town as an example, where 75 feet from an abandoned landfill sits a brand new house. (Birk prefers not to name the town until the DEP is certain of the environmental impact of the landfill on the property.) "We operate on good faith," he says. "Most towns won't walk away from issues like these. And in the case of Wells, they did more than what was advised."
Wells' decision to buy back the Route 9B Landfill and relocate its residents came after years of environmental testing and debate. Now, as the last of 11 residents leaves Abenaki Trail, the town is preparing the site for its first phase of redevelopment.
Bob Gerber is a civil engineer, site evaluator and hydro-geologist from Stratex LLC, a Portland-based environmental consulting firm. Wells has hired Gerber and sub-consultant Lissa Robinson to investigate ways to redevelop the land safely. The pair was part of a town-wide meeting June 28 to discuss plans for the property, as well as any constraints.
Their goal is to find the best fit for the town's interests and needs. According to Gerber, possible uses for the site include playing fields, a cemetery, cell towers or a nature trail (a portion of the property is close to the scenic Webhannet River). He says that the addition of new buildings is not a viable option, as the DEP requires that no structure can be on or within 100 yards of a landfill. "The main question is," he says, "is the town really willing to revitalize this property? The remediation of a landfill is never cheap."
At the meeting last month, residents and town officials batted around ideas ranging from simply leaving the property alone to digging up the trash and moving it someplace else. Robinson, who's working on developing a summary of the ideas generated at that session, says the town will not set a time line for the project until a specific plan has been developed. "Depending on what has been decided, we may have to collect additional site data," she says.
Even after the discussions take place, Bob Gerber says the town may decide not to do anything at all. "There are people out there that would prefer to memorialize the site, leave it alone and chalk it up as a bad mistake," he says.
Residents living in the subdivision became concerned about the effects of the landfill in the mid-90s, after a private well water test came back with poor results. The DEP was notified and, based on its recommendations, Gerber was hired by the town in 2000 to conduct additional tests, including water sample analysis on nearby wells and gas assessment inside the nine homes located directly on the landfill. While no soil gases were present inside the homes, Gerber's tests showed that waste from the landfill had clearly affected the subdivision's water supply (results showed traces of arsenic and petroleum). Wells responded by offering residents bottled water; after of series of town meetings, the community voted to supply the subdivision with a public water line in 2001. Funding for the efforts was provided by the DEP.
In the years that followed, the DEP and Gerber continued to investigate the area; they were concerned that waste from the landfill could have contaminated the soil in and around the 9B subdivision. Their hunches were correct ˆ test results concluded that a number of volatile compounds were found in the soil, at levels that exceeded federal guidelines.
According to Gerber, outside soil gases like these can seep into basements, with long-term exposure causing potential health risks. "That's when the picture started to look a bit scary, and the town realized they had a growing problem on their hands," Gerber says.
Cleaning up
The DEP suggested that Wells could rectify the problem by installing simple basement ventilation systems ˆ a solution that Robert Birk believes was a sensible and economical approach to the problem. While exact costs have not been determined, Birk says that under the state's Solid Waste Landfill Closure and Remediation program, 90% of the costs would have been paid by DEP.
But Birk says residents were still disturbed by the state's findings. "Even after a high level of scientific expertise has been applied," he says, "people can't get past the fact that they're living on a landfill, and that it's not a good thing."
Town Chairman James Spiller says Wells decided to purchase the property, rather than follow the DEP's suggestions, based on the potential for problems in the future. "We worried about the possibility of test results changing down the road," he says. "We felt that the DEP's proposal was simply delaying the inevitable, and that relocating residents would eventually be a more cost effective solution."
Last July, Wells voters approved a $4 million bond to acquire the homes and the land ˆ an amount that Spiller says is equal to a year's tax revenues for the town. To save the town from further financial setbacks, Wells hopes to receive grant money to cover the costs of future remediation. Carter, the former town manager, also believes Ogunquit has some financial responsibility, as the town also used the dump when it was in operation. Ogunquit, however, does not believe it is liable. "When we separated from Wells in 1980, we ceased all dealings with that," says Phil Clark, Ogunquit's town manager.
After receiving the bond money, Carter hired Westbrook-based HNTB Corp. to manage the relocation process. Some residents sold back their land, making it possible to move their home to a different location in the future. Others rented out their property from the town while a new house was being built. Most, however, left their homes behind.
According to James Spiller, most of the residents were happy to be relocated. "There was some early contention about the value of their properties," he says. "But in the end, I'd say that many made a substantial gain in the transaction."
For Lorraine Reed, though, the transition has been a difficult one. Her new home in Wells has its own problems and, despite the presence of the landfill, she says she misses the house on Abenaki Trail.
While the larger question of what will happen with the 40-acre property won't be decided any time soon, Bob Gerber says there has been some discussion regarding the Reeds' commercial-grade garage. "The town is thinking the garage could become a satellite station for its rescue squad, but I'm not sure that's possible," he says. "Some of the worst soil gases are present there, and structural problems often occur after a landfill settles."
Whatever is decided, Wells stands firm on its decision to reclaim the site. "We're happy we were able to take those people off the land," says Spiller. "No matter what happens, they're safe now."
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