Maine sewage sludge crisis is ‘still under a clock’ even if landfill expands

MAINE MONITOR • May 29, 2026

The proposed expansion of the Juniper Ridge landfill in Old Town and Alton comes as Maine grapples with where to put the PFAS-contaminated sludge that piles up each day at municipal wastewater treatment plants. The landfill’s application for an expansion license is being processed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which recently determined for a second time that the expansion would have a public benefit. That remains under an appeal brought by the Penobscot Nation and the Conservation Law Foundation. They argue air and water pollution from the landfill is an environmental injustice to the surrounding communities and to the Penobscot River. Juniper Ridge currently handles about half of the state’s total landfilled waste and about 90 percent of the state’s sewage sludge.