Casella Waste Systems, which is headquartered in Rutland, Vt., has applied for a permit to increase the capacity at its Pine Tree Landfill in Hampden, Maine, according to a report in the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine).
Even if the company does not receive approval for the expansion, it still plans to consider building a local processing facility that would help it process wood or construction and demolition debris into biomass fuel for the Georgia-Pacific run paper mill in Old Town, Maine, according to the report.
Casella is required to provide G-P with 100,000 tons of fuel to run the biomass boiler it purchased last year as part of a deal with the state. However, those plans have been shelved because permitting issues have kept the mill from burning the debris.
Georgia-Pacific Corp., headquartered in Atlanta, applied for changes to its air emissions permit that would allow it to burn C&D debris at the Old Town plant in March 2005. However, the permits have been held up in the appeals process since then.
The closest location to process C&D debris is in Lewiston, Maine, according to the report. Casella has plans to move it closer to home because processed wood is the most cost-effective fuel for G-P’s biomass boiler and it takes up the most space at the Pine Tree Landfill site, according to the report.
Casella is seeking to increase the capacity at the Pine Tree site by about 50 percent, or 2.5 million cubic yards.
The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will make a decision on the expansion by Feb. 28.