Host agreements for siting waste disposal facilities.

• Author: Lynch, Rodney C.

Because of the prohibition against open-burning dumps and the forced closing of older, unlined landfills by the department of environmental protection (DEP), Maine's waste disposal problems are increasingly being handled on a statewide or regionwide basis by fewer and fewer communities.

Some commercial landfills and privately owned incinerators provide waste disposal for communities all across the state. On a smaller scale, there are numerous regional entities which run transfer stations, landfills, recycling centers, and bulky waste and demolition debris sites which are located in one town but which several surrounding communities use.

Along with the siting of a waste disposal facility comes a multitude of associated problems which the host community must deal with, ranging from traffic congestion to potential environmental problems involving odor and surface and groundwater contamination to perceived loss of property values and poor facility operations. One approach to overcoming these negative aspects of waste facilities' siting is to provide compensation, assurances and an attempt at financial coverage for any potential environmental harm to the communities where waste disposal facilities are located. Such compensations and assurances are contained in host community agreements.

On a nationwide basis such agreements are gaining more acceptance as a part of the waste facilities siting process. In Maine, several communities have entered into host agreements with the waste disposal facility located in their respective municipality. This article will examine them as to their applicability, flexibility, adoption, the process involved in developing an agreement, and the types and content.

Applicability and Flexibility

There are no restrictions on where such agreements can be applied. They can be used in situations in which a municipality is the host for an existing privately owned commercial facility or by a consortium of communities as a bundle of incentives to locate a publicly owned disposal facility in one of the member towns.

In Maine, except for a state-owned landfill, there are no statutory limitations, or prescriptions on what a local or regional host agreement must contain. So, they are very flexible and can be crafted to meet almost any situation. However, any agreement should show a rough connection or nexus relationship between the adverse impacts of siting the facility and the benefits and assurances contained in the agreement.

Adoption Procedure

Except for the siting of a proposed Maine Waste Management Agency special waste landfill, there are no statutory requirements for impact payments to the host community as an inducement for the siting of a disposal facility.

In Norridgewock, the voters at their March 2, 1992, town meeting authorized the selectmen to negotiate and approve a host benefit agreement. In Hampden, the environmental trust agreements were approved by the...