A 20-year agreement between Casella Waste Systems and Westbrook, which will bring both a waste plant and curbside recycling to the city, passed through the City Council without a hitch Monday.
The Council voted 6-0, with Councilor Dotty Aube absent, to approve the agreement, which went through minor changes since councilors gave it preliminary approval earlier this month. Despite some concerns raised by neighbors at a meeting last week, no one from the public spoke up about the agreement or the waste plant during Monday’s meeting.
Site work will begin this month on the County Road property, where Casella will build a $9 million construction and demolition processing facility, as well as a recycling drop-off station for residents and businesses.
The 27,000-square-foot processing facility is planned to open in October 2009 – the same time Casella will start providing curbside recycling to Westbrook residents.
The project was originally approved in 2001, but has since changed shape due to delays in the state permitting process that caused Casella to make other arrangements for offices and a maintenance garage – both initially part of the proposal. Because of those changes, the waste management company had to renegotiate its agreement with the city, adding the recycling service and a left-turning lane to County Road to Casella’s responsibilities.
Paula Clark, director of the division of solid waste management for the Department of Environmental Protection, said earlier this month that these types of agreements with host communities are often made by waste management companies.
The city’s part of the agreement requires the extension of a sewer line and the addition of a traffic light on County Road.
The changes made to the agreement over the past week include a requirement for Casella to provide curbside recycling to Westbrook residents for 10 years, even if the company decides not to build. An additional clause prohibits an incinerator from being built on the site, which was a concern for some abutters because of the potential sale of Casella’s Biddeford incinerator.
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