Badowski said that he had several meetings with the state in order to
complete the lengthy permitting process for the construction of an
additional cell, which could extend the life of the landfill an
estimated 12 to 16 years past 2013.
"I hope to have all the permits in by July of this year; the wetlands
permits are taking longer than anticipated," he said. MLI is currently
permitted to accept non-hazardous waste and the expansion will require
several Act 250 and wetland permits.
VERY SUPPORTIVE
Badowski told residents that the select board "has always been very
supportive" and that a "letter of support from the town goes a long
way."
Residents expressed their concerns about the recent potential shipment
of dioxin-contaminated hazardous waste from a superfund site in
Massachusetts; the state rejected the shipment that was previously
deemed non-hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Badowski said, "It is very easy to ship waste out of state and very hard
to accept waste" into the state.
HOUSEHOLD TRASH
Vermont shipped almost 20 percent of its waste out of state last year,
according to Badowski, who said that it is "a lot easier to accept soil
than household waste." The banned shipment consisted of
dioxin-contaminated soil, which, according to Badowski, is the
equivalent of two to three months of household trash.
Residents asked town officials why the town wasn't notified well in
advance of the potential shipment and what would trigger that
notification.
Select board chair John Hoogenboom said, "There is no way to control
peoples' waste; the state and landfill regulate it. I don't know if
there is a better way."
DID THEIR JOB
Moretown resident and planning commissioner Jonathan Siegel agreed,
saying, "It's a difficult position. I'm upset that we didn't know about
it, but the state stepped in and did their job."
"If an ANR decision is necessary than the town should be notified," he
continued.
The host town agreement with MLI is set to expire in August 2011. Siegel
told attendees that the planning commission will soon begin working on
the new document and said that the "first host town agreement was a
battle."
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