Back in January, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MaineDEP) submitted its report on the land application of septage to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. This report to the legislature was another requirement of LD1911 (An Act to Prevent the Further Contamination of the Soils and Waters of the State with So-called Forever Chemicals) which became law in 2022.  Besides banning the land application of biosolids-based soil amendments, the law also directed MaineDEP to “study methods of and develop a plan for prohibiting the land application of septage in the State”.

The MaineDEP septage report describes the current situation with septage management in Maine and suggests some possible solutions based on existing needs and infrastructure.  However, MaineDEP also looked at the “potential for development of new or modified/enhanced facilities or methods” to manage the amount of septage generated by Maine residents and businesses.  The MaineDEP looked at the available capacity at water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) and other disposal facilities in the state to take septage that is currently being land applied in some way.

The MaineDEP report states “Implementation of a septage storage/bulk transport model poses a range of logistical and planning challenges and questions related to facility siting, financing, ownership, contracts, and organization.” The first step would be to conduct a more in-depth evaluation of the information in the report and initiate a feasibility study for “providing affordable management of septage through the use of septage storage/consolidation sites and bulk transportation from the service area of septage spreading sites (potentially banned) to POTWs with available septage capacity.” The Maine DEP asks the legislature not to ban septage land application until they can conduct a feasibility study.

Here is a summary of the septage data (generated and capacities) documented in the MaineDEP report to the legislature:

6.5 Million gallons (10%) of septage currently land-applied would need to be diverted
4 Million gallons (6%) currently going to commercial septage processing facilities
57 Million gallons currently to going to WRRFs

60 of the 160 WRRFs in Maine are licensed to accept septage wastes
13 of the 60 have extra capacity
6 have relatively little capacity
7 WRRFs with capacity: Anson-Madison, Belfast, Brewer, Boothbay Harbor, East Millinocket, Ellsworth, and Sanford

According to the MaineDEP, these 7 WRRFs could cover all the septage disposal needs (in terms of gallons) but getting it there will be a major problem and not very practical. The report contains lots of details about capacity, trucking distances, and other considerations.  MaineDEP expressed a concern for illegal dumping and predicted Northern Maine would be hurt the most.

The report asks that “The Maine Legislature not enact a ban on the land spreading of septage in Maine prior to completion of the Department’s investigation of soil and groundwater at septage land application sites pursuant to P.L. 2021 Chapter 478, and the above described feasibility study, and full consideration of their results.”