| Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion update — Save the date! Penobscot Nation v. Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection Court Hearing on Juniper Ridge Landfill Expansion and Environmental Justice Thursday, July 23rd, 2026 8:30am Penobscot County Superior Court 78 Exchange Street Bangor, ME 04401 |
| The public is encouraged to attend the July 23rd hearing presenting oral arguments in Penobscot Nation v. Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Penobscot Nation and Conservation Law Foundation are continuing their appeal of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s affirmative Public Benefit Determination for a proposed expansion of Juniper Ridge Landfill (JRL) in Old Town. JRL is a state-owned landfill, privately run by Casella subsidiary NEWSME, which is an intervenor with the state in this case. |
| Penobscot Nation & CLF continue to push back on the Maine DEP’s decision that an expansion of the landfill would ensure Environmental Justice for neighboring communities, according to Maine law, and be consistent with Maine’s Solid Waste Management Hierarchy statute. In January, the Superior Court ruled that the DEP’s initial Public Benefit Determination (PBD) for the expansion of the Landfill had inadequate Environmental Justice analysis and sent the decision back to the agency with instructions for them to analyze the cumulative burden on the Penobscot Nation, taking into account their intimate relationship with the Penobscot River. The DEP issued a second PBD in March, still arguing an expansion would not violate Environmental Justice standards. On Thursday, July 23rd, Penobscot Nation and Conservation Law Foundation will continue their appeal in court. |
| In their most recent legal brief, Penobscot Nation and CLF state that the Maine DEP “…has misapplied the environmental justice standard, acted arbitrarily and capriciously, abused its discretion, made findings unsupported by substantial evidence, disobeyed the Court’s remand instructions, and failed to complete sufficient fact-finding to permit meaningful judicial review.” |
| On Tribal Sustenance Fishing rights, Penobscot Nation and CLF writes: “DEP’s Second PBD wholly fails to consider sustenance fishing practices or rights of the Penobscot Nation, a legal and cultural aspect that makes JRL’s pollution of the River uniquely unjust. The Department’s complete failure to consider this critical factor in their attempted environmental justice analysis is an abuse of discretion, arbitrary and capricious decision-making.The State now claims, without citation to any supporting evidence, that pouring over 21 million gallons of toxics-filled fluid into the River does not affect river segments 1.6 miles upstream… …DEP’s position is predicated on a world in which fish do not swim upstream.” |
| On the health of the Penobscot people and communities impacted by the JRL leachate processed and dumped into the Penobscot River at the Nine Dragons facility and by Juniper Ridge Landfill on site gas emissions:“Petitioners have repeatedly raised the presence of both legacy and non-legacy toxics in landfill leachate and gas, including specifically dioxins, furan, and PCBs, as well as VOCs such as toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, and benzene….even with PFAS controls, other toxics in the increased leachate would continue to enter the Penobscot River…” “…Similarly, the record reflects that landfill gas contains additional toxics, including VOCs, PFAS, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (“PAHs”), and methylmercury. These risks are particularly significant given that the Penobscot Nation is in the 99th percentile in Maine for the toxic releases to air EJ index; this means that these exposure levels combined with demographic vulnerability are higher for the Penobscot Nation than nearly all communities in the state. Moreover, the Penobscot Nation has some of the highest lung cancer rates in the State, and EPA’s EJ Screen data show that Indian Island is in the 99th percentile nationally for asthma-related health indicators..””By ignoring the broader suite of contaminants and pathways at issue, DEP failed to evaluate the true scope of the cumulative environmental burden on the Nation, rendering its decision arbitrary, an abuse of discretion and unsupported by substantial evidence” |
| This Sunlight Media Collective video produced last summer explains the background and details of this case. ~ Environmental Justice: An Age Old Saga – The Penobscot Nation Takes a Stand Against Juniper Ridge Landfill ~ Stay tuned for more information on this ongoing appeal! |
