Still reeling from PFAS spill, Brunswick residents push back on plans for sludge treatment plant
Brunswick Executive Airport. (Photo by Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star)
Brunswick resident Sandra Carslick said she and her neighbors have been living in a 'bad dream' for the five months since 1,600 gallons of toxic foam spilled so-called forever chemicals at the already contaminated former Naval Air Station nearby.
At a Brunswick Town Council meeting on Monday night, Carslick said that bad dream could soon become residents' 'worst nightmare,' if the town reopens a processing site for chemical-laden sludge from sewer treatment plants across Maine, and potentially beyond.
The residents were responding to plans from Delaware-based Viridi Energy to update and expand Brunswick Landing's anaerobic digester, which converts sewage sludge — also referred to as biosolids — into renewable natural gas and byproducts that get sent to landfills.
During Monday's presentation to the town council, company representatives explained how the facility would work and what local residents could expect. Several councilors said they would like to see additional data before deciding, but some already expressed concerns that the project isn't right for Brunswick, particularly at this time. Members of the public also spoke for more than an hour, overwhelmingly concerned about the project and its potential to bring more harmful chemicals into the area.
The town is still dealing with the accidental discharge last summer of firefighting foam containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, at a hangar at Brunswick Executive Airport, which is also situated at Brunswick Landing.
The spill has prompted environmental and public health concerns over the PFAS, which have been linked to serious long-term health problems including cancer, weakened immune systems, developmental issues, and more. Since it started surveying and reviewing the material in the late 1980s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found more than 700 chemicals in sewage sludge, including PFAS.
Chet Benham, a senior advisor and one of the founders of Viridi, tried to address those concerns during the meeting, telling residents the facility will operate according to all state and local requirements. He said there are protocols to prevent spills of the sludge that will move through the closed-loop facility.
'We feel really, really good about it,' Benham said. 'We wouldn't be standing here before you if we didn't.'
According to Viridi's plan, the facility would take in about 85,000 tons of biosolids per year, which would be processed into renewable natural gas that would feed into Maine Natural Gas. About 10,000 tons of solid material byproduct would be sent from the plant to the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. Over the course of the discussion, it came to light that Viridi would also likely bring in sludge from outside of Maine in order to run their facility at full capacity.
Some digester infrastructure already exists in the area, but it hasn't been used in recent years. Viridi plans to start construction and renovations this spring with a goal of starting operations at the plant in 2026. Under normal operations, up to 15 trucks a day, five to six days a week, would carry sludge through the surrounding neighborhoods and into the facility.
Viridi still needs to submit a contract zoning application before the council canapprove the plan. However, John Shortreed, an engineer with Viridi, said it has already applied for permits with the Maine Department of Environmental of Protection and Brunswick Sewer District.
Maine has been dealing with a shortage of landfill space, so a benefit of anaerobic digestion process is its ability to reduce the amount of material ultimately sent to the landfill. The Juniper Ridge Landfill has applied for an expansion and is awaiting final approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Highlighting benefits for the local community, Benham said the facility would create five full-time jobs, 100 temporary construction jobs and enough renewable natural gas to heat half of the single-family homes in Brunswick. He said the project would prioritize using local trades and people.
While the new Trump administration has recently taken steps to roll back efforts to better limit PFAS in water, Maine was an early adopter and national leader in regulating forever chemicals. After identifying widespread contamination on farmland due to the application of PFAS-laden sludge, the state adopted a phased-in ban on PFAS in most products. In 2022, Maine became the first state to ban land application of sludge and the sale of compost containing sludge.
Maine Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick), who attended the town council meeting, said he has concerns about revamping a digester near the town's fastest growing residential area and bringing sludge into the exact site of one of the worst chemical discharges in state history.
Since the spill, Ankeles has been working on legislation to protect his community and the rest of the state from similar PFAS spills. He's put forth a package of legislation seeking to remove and regulate the chemical-laden firefighting foam.
Though he doesn't get a formal vote on this matter, Ankeles said 'it will take a lot to convince me this is anything remotely close to a good idea.'
State Rep. Poppy Arford, a Democrat who represents the western part of Brunswick, also attended the meeting Monday night. She requested that the council really seek to understand the risk to the environment and people who live in the area. She also asked that the company be required to have adequate insurance to cover the risks associated with the work.
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