PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 23, 2026
Maine regulators have once again cleared the way for an expansion of the state-owned landfill, the latest chapter in the legal tug of war that pits Maine’s waste disposal needs against the environmental rights of the Penobscot Nation. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection issued its revised public benefit determination Monday, approving a 61-acre expansion of the Old Town facility that is 2 miles from the Penobscot Reservation at Indian Island. The move follows a legal challenge that saw a Penobscot County Superior Court judge temporarily halt the project in January, ordering regulators to “more thoroughly” consider the cumulative environmental impacts on the tribe.