Ordinance Change Would Require Soil Tests Within ½ Mile of Worcester Landfill
Oct 08, 2025
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SOUTHWEST HARBOR—A split Southwest Harbor Planning Board, Tuesday, could not make a recommendation about a citizens’ petition to change the town’s land use ordinance meant to potentially protect people from possible toxic soil.
The board voted 3-3 on the motion to recommend to the voters that they approve the changes. The board also split 3-3 in a second motion that would have said the board made no recommendation.
The petition calls for land use ordinance changes that would require soil testing for contaminants for any property within a half-mile that the state has deemed “an uncontrolled site” prior to any land use that requires permitting. That includes the Worcester Associates landfill property
That landfill in Southwest Harbor is in between Long Pond and the Marshall Brook Road and began in the 1930s with an open burning dump that was used by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and then the town. It has polluted ground water in the area.
The potential changes will be before Southwest Harbor voters, November 4. The select board will also hold a public hearing on the petition, which was signed by more than 120 voters.
There are two primary contaminated groundwater flow paths that are carrying contaminants off the landfill property. One flows down past Marshall Brook and is detectable in a residential water supply. The state has installed water treatment systems in those areas.
The other flow path is through the bedrock via two primary fracture sets toward other properties located along Marshall Brook, which is the primary tributary of Bass Harbor Marsh. That marsh flows into the ocean.
PUBLIC COMMENT
All members of the public who spoke on Tuesday did so in favor of the planning board recommending that voters approve the changes during the November election.
Ryan Blotnick said he prepared a handout along with Craig Kesselheim, Kalie Hess, and Jim Vallette.
“Time’s up. Clean up the dump,” he began. “What is in the referendum? The referendum you’ll be voting on in November would add an amendment to the Southwest Harbor’s current land use ordinance. The amendment would require soil testing and mitigation within a half mile of any uncontrolled site, as defined by Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection.”
He was stopped during the planning board by board member John Williams.
“I‘m going to hold you right here. You’re advocating a vote yes on five to the people here tonight. And basically, we’re not here for that. We’re here to (sic: hear) a petition on some things you want to put before the ordinance, you want to add to the ordinance. I think this is going in a whole different direction,” Williams said. “I think this is going in a whole different direction. You’re advocating a vote at a public hearing for something that we’re not doing tonight. We’re looking at an ordinance change.”
“I totally disagree,” board member Priscilla Ksionzyk said. “We need information. . . . This is information we need to make an informed decision. He’s not telling us how to vote; he’s informing us.”
Eventually, Blotnick was allowed to proceed and read his comments.
“So, on a personal note, I moved here about 10 years ago. I have a six-year-old, and I just found out about this issue very recently, but I think it’s something that we can handle as community,” he said. “And I think the only possible first step of the process would be Mr. Worcester coming into some kind of agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection to begin working on this process, which would remove it from being an uncontrolled hazardous waste site. As soon as he enters into some kind of agreement to do anything about it that they approve, this all goes away.”
He added that it was important for his kids and his kids’ kids to have clean air, drinking water, and a positive experience living on the island.
“I just want to mention the reality that while we have the convenience of a transfer station here in our town, we also have the burden of having 90 or so years of receiving much of the island’s waste for that whole time, which means that trash for a time, for decades, was landed within our town boundaries, including pollutants and carcinogens from various residents and businesses, and that those carcinogens have leached into our soil, our town’s soil, our air, has stunk up our neighborhoods and been scattered by gulls and winds into our forests and permeated our water table,” Craig Kesselheim said.
He also quoted the solid waste ordinance that was passed last year.
“‘The Solid Waste Ordinance acknowledges the continued attention to environmental best practices, public safety, the best interests of the town, and cost efficacy are the guiding principles of solid waste agreements and contracts,’” Kesselheim said, quoting from the ordinance. “So, I just wanted to mention that that ordinance is one of your governing documents, as well as others that you work towards.”
Geologist Nicholas T. Loizeaux said the proposed land use change was a decent tool to safeguard the interests of the town.
Mark Sullivan said, “It just seemed to me that Southwest Harbor should not be known as a town that knowingly allows questionable or documented pollution and potentially polluted building sites.”
Other towns, he said, are making steps to come into modern best practices about these sorts of issues.
“It was gonna kill me if Southwest Harbor knowingly chose not to fully consider this question,” Sullivan said. “It just seems to be the right thing to do for our town, whether on the island itself, or just any town in America.”
RECOMMENDATION DISCUSSION
The planning board’s deliberations lasted approximately an hour after the public comment was closed.
“I’m in favor of it,” board member Michael Levesque announced at the beginning of the discussion.
Board Chair Eric Davis said it had a lot of holes and problems with it. He also said the scope was too large.
“This all goes away if there’s compliance with the DEP,” Levesque said.
The wording of the proposed change reads, “On-site soils testing by state-certified professionals shall be required prior to issuance of any permit under this ordinance for land uses within a half mile of any site listed as an ‘uncontrolled site’ on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Remediation Site List. Such testing shall include at minimum all known substances that have been previously identified as migrating offsite from the uncontrolled site above recommended thresholds for remedial action, whether in soil, air, or water. If soil testing finds contaminants at levels above state recommendations for remedial action, the site shall be remediated to conform with such recommendations prior to any permit being issued under this ordinance.”
Throughout the board conversation, Davis, Williams, and Joel Wolak worried that the change was too restrictive, questioned what the soil test would be, and expressed that it needed to be standardized as to how many test pits and where and at what depth those pits should be.
“I trust that a soil test scientist would know what these tests are,” Levesque said. He said he supported the change, “in order to give the nudge to protect that community from a landfill that’s been picking the can down the road, and I think it’s time.”
Davis believed it would be too ambiguous.
“I’m not against this, but we need thresholds,” said Williams. He also said the ordinance change would do better to be reviewed by a lawyer prior to seeing the voter.
Both members Charlotte Gill and Ksionzyk spoke to state rules and recommendations about soil testing and contaminants.
In the end, Gill, Ksionzyk, and Levesque voted to recommend the voters adopt the changes. Williams, Davis, and Wolak voted against a recommendation.
The same configuration of votes occurred when the members voted about telling the select board that they had no recommendation.
RECUSALS
Early in the meeting, Levesque suggested and made a motion to allow public comment during the agenda on items not on the agenda. That was approved, but no members of the public spoke to items not on the agenda.
Vice Chair Lee Worcester recused himself for the meeting and the board accepted his conflict and recusal. Worcester is proposing a subdivision next to the Worcester landfill and is also an owner of the landfill.
Approximately 76 minutes into the meeting, and just prior to the vote, Williams suggested Levesque had a conflict of interest because Levesque lives near the Worcester Landfill and had recused himself on discussion about the proposed subdivision near the site.
“You have excused yourself on every meeting we’ve had on Worcester,” Williams said.
“Right. This has nothing to do with Worcester. This has to do with soil standards within the land use ordinances,” Levesque said.
“I think it’s a thin area, if I’m honest,” Williams responded.
“This is soil standards, and I believe the soil standards should be here too, especially if we have—” Levesque began.
Someone interjected that they were talking about Lee Worcester.
“Eric and I both own land within that radius, so should Eric excuse himself too?” Levesque asked.
There was no vote on either man’s potential conflict of interest or recusal.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
http://www.southwestharbormaine.org/uploads/1/1/7/4/117405999/luo_draft_11.4.25.pdf
Missing Documents Stall Southwest Harbor Subdivision Review Near Landfill Site
Proposed Development Near Worcester Landfill Sparks Petition, November Vote
Correction! We misspelled Ryan Blotnick’s name on our first mention of it. We apologize and fixed it at 9:03 a.m., October 8.
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