Cleanups scheduled from Surry to Stonington
April is Earth Month, it’s officially spring and the weather has been cooperating nicely thus far, so it’s time to clean up the roadside.
Environment
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Poor data hinders state’s recycling programs
Since 1989, Maine has had a goal of recycling 50 percent of its municipal solid waste, a goal that it has never come close to reaching (the rate was roughly 38 percent in 2019). Part of the reason Maine has struggled? A lack of reliable data, say officials at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM).
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City Council responds to Green Plan presentation
The plan includes 183 recommendations, but the city would not be responsible for most, she noted. Green Ellsworth raised $200,000 to support the plan, said Frenchman Bay Conservancy Executive Director Aaron Dority.
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MRC hears concerns about Hampden plant’s future
“We’re getting close to a pivot point and a turning point, so I would say hang in there, and we’re going to continue under the same approach we have been to get the facility open.”
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Frenchman Bay Conservancy exploring carbon offset program
While no decisions have been made yet, Dority said, “Frenchman Bay Conservancy is very interested in the Wild Carbon program,” calling the program “visionary.”
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Trust’s many preserves have become outdoor classrooms
Online programming has expanded BHHT’s reach on the Blue Hill Peninsula and beyond, including bringing in people from out of state who “have tuned in and just expressed how wonderful it is to stay in touch with their Maine communities.”
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Second solar farm proposed on Bucksport Rd
Nexamp Solar LLC is seeking approval for a 45-acre ground-mounted array on a 94.6-acre parcel at a development cost estimated at $11 million to $12 million. The project is planned for two adjacent lots within the swath of undeveloped land off Bucksport Road.
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Solar projects abound
In Franklin alone, four projects have been approved, with three of those projects getting the green light from the Planning Board between December and January.
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Frenchman Bay Conservancy closes on Hancock property
The 4,500-acre Frenchman Bay Community Forest will be accessible from the Downeast Sunrise Trail, minutes from downtown Ellsworth. Free and open to the public, the Frenchman Bay Community Forest will provide opportunities for walking, hiking, biking and snowshoeing through a future network of trails.
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PERC to close for maintenance in April
Although PERC can store roughly 10,000 tons of waste in its storage area and on its tipping floor, the rest of the deliveries will be landfilled at Juniper Ridge Landfill while PERC is closed, said Plant Manager Henry Lang. The waste can’t stay stored for long, however, “since the packed-in waste tends to self-combust if stored too long — like wet hay.”
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Green planners envision new approach to development
The plan also recommends revising the Unified Development Ordinance, which regulates land use in Ellsworth, and implementing a form-based code for managing development. Form-based codes use the physical form of a neighborhood or district to determine regulations governing new development instead of allowing or disallowing specific uses.
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Final Green Plan rollout session set
The last of those presentations will take place on March 11 at 7 p.m. with a Zoom session focused on two sections of the infrastructure chapter of the plan: energy and solid waste management.
