Moosehead Sanitary District officials suggested at a meeting Monday between municipal officials and the Department of Environmental Protection that the district has a plan that, if approved, could alleviate some pressure.

"We're just trying to add capacity for everybody," Warren "Ozzie" Wilson, board chairman, said Monday.

With so much development taking place in remote areas, a trend that is expected to continue, the demand for septic waste services will continue to soar. Plum Creek Timber Co. has a proposal before the Land Use Regulation Commission to develop about 1,000 house lots and two resorts in the local Unorganized Territory.

"We are desperately behind the eight ball," David Thorp, owner of Thorp Septic Service and a Shirley selectman, said Monday. Since 1970, there has been no increase in capacity in the region, he said.

Thorp currently pumps in excess of 200,000 gallons of septic waste from the three communities a year. Because Greenville's site is licensed for about 106,000 gallons a year, he has to haul the remainder to another location. He said two companies that sell septic tanks are supplying about 200 septic tanks a year in the region, both for new homes and as replacement tanks.

The proposed plan by the sanitary district was viewed as a possible solution by Rick Haffner, Division of Solid Waste Management for DEP.

Sanitary district trustees have asked the town to transfer its septic waste license to the district, a move found favorable among municipal officials. The most recent five-year license was issued to the town in November 2005. The town's waste site is actually located on sanitary district land, and Haffner said he saw no problem in the transfer. When the formal application has been submitted, the request will be expedited, he said.

Trustees also plan to ask for a permit modification that would allow up to 1,400 gallons of septic waste to go directly into the district's wastewater treatment system. They also want to install two more storage tanks and are looking to expand the spreading area, all of which need DEP approval.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Tuesday, June 27, 2006 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."