But the cost of closing the dump and monitoring it for the next 30 years could be a serious financial hardship on residents, according to Town Manager John Simko. "The cost to close it is estimated at $471,000, based on 2001 dollars," Simko said Monday. "But under current DEP rules, we have to set up a plan to monitor wells, check erosion and take care of other maintenance issues for 30 years afterwards. The potential cost of that program really concerns us," he explained.

This "open-ended" commitment prompted Simko to ask DEP inspector Karen Knutti to meet with him Monday to clarify some of these issues.

With budget preparations underway, Simko said that the town may need to start putting more money aside in the landfill reserve account, or even consider opening a line of credit at a local bank that could cover the cost of closing it.

"We don't have to use the credit line. But it would be nice to know that we've got the resources if we need it," said Simko.

Another problem compounding the dump issue is that Greenville is still making payments until 2005 on a $73,000 balance owed from the landfill's expansion and renovation several years ago.

The landfill reserve account, which was only started a few years ago, has a balance of just $17,011.

On the positive side of the situation, Simko said that most residents are saying that the site "is well-managed and looking better than it has during the past few years."

There¹s also a chance that the 15.5 year "shelf life" could be extended by another five years or so because the town's newest compactor is compressing the refuse into tighter bundles, the town manager explained.

But Simko also said that while Greenville pays the vast majority of the landfill's operating costs, outlying towns that also use the dump and Piscataquis County will also be expected to share the cost of closing it. "We'll need to formalize an agreement on this," said Simko, "but we'renot ready to bite the bullet alone."