Les Heilakka.

Sep 20, 2026

Fixing the Ordinance Is Not Fixing the Landfill

To the Editor,

Carrie Jones’s September 15 report captures a real problem: Southwest Harbor’s November 2025 soil-testing rule, adopted in response to the Worcester Landfill, sweeps in as many as 850 parcels through its half-mile radius. The task force and consultant Noel Musson are right to seek a durable fix, even if that means a May 2027 vote. But the ordinance and the landfill are two different problems, and progress on one should not be mistaken for resolution of the other.

What the article establishes. Deputy DEP Commissioner David Madore’s statement matters: the uncontrolled-site designation is what gives DEP authority to sample wells, install filters, and recover costs. DEP’s February 2026 memo separately calls this an “active enforcement case.” The 2018 signed decision still requires both a landfill cover and public water for Marshall Brook Road residents.

What the public record still does not show. A citizen review of DEP’s file for site REM02127 could not locate:

• A signed 2025–2026 DEP approval of the closure project, conditions, and governing plan revision. The owner’s engineer was still asking DEP for confirmation in September 2024.
• An executed closure consent agreement setting deadlines and enforcement.
• A current waterline package — design, easements, funding, household costs, and completion date. Mr. Worcester’s 2025 subdivision-waterline proposal was not a District acceptance vote.
• A 2025–2026 residential sampling report. The most recent results located are from August 21, 2024.
• A construction-start notice, inspection/QA package, and reconciled waste-boundary map. DEP’s 2022 review flagged CDD waste outside the proposed cap; the file describes the CDD area as about 4.5 acres in 2018 and roughly three acres in 2022.
• A current bond, escrow, deed restriction, or funded post-closure maintenance plan.

“Not located” means not found in this review, not that they do not exist.
A practical suggestion. While the task force refines the soil rule, the Select Board, Water District, and residents can ask DEP and the owner, in writing, for the approval, consent agreement, waterline package, current monitoring, and a reconciled site map.

Jim Vallette’s idea of exploring an Acadia National Park routing for the waterline deserves the February 2027 hearing. Capping this 3-acre area is a real step forward, but the 2018 remedy protected drinking water and Marshall Brook — not just the landfill surface.

Respectfully,
Les Heilakka
Southwest Harbor, Maine

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