Bangor warns of biosolids disposal crisis as PFAS rules cut options
Loading...
Summary
City staff told the infrastructure committee Bangor’s biosolids are high in PFAS, land-application is effectively off the table under Maine’s 2023 ban, landfill capacity is tightening, and regional drying or treatment facilities would require large, likely regional, capital investments.
Amanda Smith, Bangor’s director of water quality management, told the infrastructure committee on Feb. 18 that biosolids disposal is a growing operational and financial crisis for the city because of widespread regulatory and market changes tied to PFAS contamination.
Smith defined biosolids as the solids removed by wastewater treatment and said they contain beneficial nutrients but also trace contaminants that regulators monitor, including PFAS. She described three federally recognized disposal options — land application, incineration, and landfilling — and said Maine’s 2023 legislation banned land application statewide regardless of PFAS levels, forcing many treatment plants to divert biosolids to landfills.
Bangor’s biosolids test high for PFAS, Smith said, and staff traced a substantial portion of the contamination to infiltration from private sewer lines related to the former Dow Air Force Base. She also noted landfill leachate from Pine Tree Landfill in Hamden flows into Bangor’s system and that combined sources leave Bangor’s biosolids unsuitable for land application even if state rules changed.
That regulatory shift has created capacity and cost problems. Smith said routine disposal expenses have roughly doubled since 2021, moving from approximately $300,000–$400,000 to about $800,000 annually for Bangor. She warned that a key regional landfill (Juniper Ridge) may reach capacity in its current state by about 2028 and, even with proposed expansion (currently tied to litigation), could be full around 2040.
Options under discussion include regional drying facilities that would reduce wet weight before landfilling, but Smith said standalone dryers are often not economical for a single municipality. She cited example estimates: a Portland regional facility quoted in the presentation was estimated at $200–$215 million; other municipal projects were cited in the low tens of millions. Smith said Portland and other large producers are central to any regional solution and that state-level funding is being discussed.
Smith said she has worked with the Maine Water Environment Association and the DEP on legislative proposals; the transcript references a bill (identified in the memo as "l a 25") proposing a $50 million bond for wastewater infrastructure, which Smith said would not be sufficient to solve the crisis but could fund initial regional planning or pilot projects.
On incineration, Smith told the committee most research indicates PFAS can become airborne or transform into shorter-chain PFAS during combustion, creating air-quality and health concerns and contributing to regulatory uncertainty that has led many sludge incinerators to close.
Smith urged state leadership and regional cooperation — including landfill operators, DEP, affected agricultural stakeholders, and municipal partners — to develop a coordinated strategy. The committee did not take an action beyond receiving the briefing; members offered to assist with legislative advocacy and asked staff for follow-up work and options analysis.
The committee received the presentation and moved on to other agenda items.
