State of Maine s3

1 1 STATE OF MAINE 2 BOARD OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 3 PINE TREE WASTE, INC. ) WESTBROOK, CUMBERLAND CO. ) TESTIMONY OF HAROLD CLOUGH TRANSFER STATION ) STATE REPRESENATIVE #S-022074-WH-A-N ) FOR INTERVENORS

6 My name is Harold Clough. I reside at 5 Ottawa Woods Road in Scarborough,

7Cumberland County, and Maine. I am a member of the Maine House of Representatives,

8representing District 22, which includes part of the Town of Scarborough and part of the Town

9of Gorham. I am here today to testify on behalf of my constituents and voice their concerns

10regarding Pine Tree Waste, Inc.’s application for a solid waste transfer facility permit.

12Traffic and Nature of Facility

13 As a representative of residents in two of the Towns affected by the traffic problems

14already existing in this area I feel I must voice my opinion that the undisputed impact this 1000

15ton-per-day facility will have on the town’s traffic infrastructure should not be taken lightly. It is

16vital that any planned improvements to the impacted roads be at the very least funded before the

17facility is operational. Additionally, the obvious additional congestion stemming from the

18construction itself in these already overloaded roadways should mandate that the improvements,

19if they are funded, should occur prior to the operation of the facility.

20 As a legislator I know the hurdles facing funding and completion of any project by the

21state even where the project is worthy and all involved have every intention of getting the work

2 1Testimony of Harold Clough

1done quickly. The fact is that resources for improvements such as these are limited and priorities

2are always subject to change. I have not yet seen nor am I aware of any legislative matter that is

3pending which would assure that these improvements will be completed.

5Environmental Issues

6 I also have serious concerns regarding the impact this facility will have on the town’s

7ability to address contamination of its citizen’s property and drinking water. As a representative

8of the residents from the town of Scarborough near the proposed facility I must voice my opinion

9that the BEP should require extensive testing of the area including the subject parcel

10downgradient from the Larson-Chapman landfill. The testimony of Barry Timson and Thomas

11Fargo has illustrated that there are significant unmitigated plumes of dangerous contaminants

12flowing towards Scarborough residents’ wells. The fact that the extent of the contamination in

13the area is not clearly known is a strong reason to require more study and testing before the

14construction of the proposed facility.

15 I know that the applicant has sought and been granted liability protection stemming from

16any contamination that cannot be shown to be caused by the transfer station. This disturbs me

17because the as yet unknown volumes of existing contaminants means that in the future when the

18danger to residents becomes more obvious the applicant’s responsibility will almost certainly be

19difficult to determine and mitigation may be made more difficult due to the planned construction.

2 2 1Testimony of Harold Clough

2FURTHER, AFFIANT SAYETH NOT.

3 4 5 6 7 Dated this ____ day of January 2001. 8 9 ______10 Harold Clough, Representative for District 22 11 12STATE OF MAINE 13CUMBERLAND, ss. January ___, 2001 14 15 Personally appeared the above-named Harold Clough, and made oath that the foregoing 16Sworn Testimony is true to the best of his knowledge, information and belief, and to the extent 17based on information and belief, he believes this information to be true and accurate. 18 Before me, 19 20 Notary Public/Attorney at Law