ORONO — Several towns that have yet to commit to sending their trash to the proposed Fiberight plant in Hampden will not be penalized if they decide to join in the plan this summer, even though the June 30 deadline has passed.

The company, at a special Municipal Review Committee board meeting Monday, said its financial backers “would like to see 100,000 tons” of garbage a year. So far the 104 towns that have signed on represent 97,241 tons. The MRC and Fiberight have said they have commitments for 118,000 tons including commercial and non-MRC client waste, but said Monday the additional 20,000 tons are a projection.

The MRC, which oversees the solid waste interests of more than 100 municipalities and is partnering with Fiberight, agreed on Monday to waive late joining penalties for Bucksport, Blue Hill, Surry and the four towns that make up the Mid-Coast Solid Waste Corporation. Four other towns — Eddington, Lucerne-in-Maine, Sebec and possibly Oakfield — are still waiting to vote on the issue at annual town meetings at the end of July or early August.

The four towns of the Mid-Coast Solid Waste Corp. — Rockport, Hope, Lincolnville and Camden — represent 4,000-6,500 tons of trash a year.

Towns that join late but don’t get waivers would be penalized by not getting rebates and paying an extra $2.21 per ton fee.

The MRC’s long-term contract with the Penobscot Energy Recovery Company in Orrington expires in 2018, and the MRC believes that PERC won’t be an economically viable option after that, so it’s entered into an agreement with Fiberight to build a first-of-its-kind plant in Hampden. The plant will use an anaerobic process to turn waste into biofuels and possibly other materials. While similar plants are being used abroad, there are none in the United States, except for Fiberight’s small-scale test plant in Virginia. Covanta Energy corporation, a New Jersey-based sustainable waste and energy company, is backing Fiberight and financing the construction and operation of the plant, while the MRC will invest $5 million in the road to the plant and the utilities.

MOVING AHEAD

The project holds thousands of tons of trash and millions of central Maine towns’ budgets in the balance.

While 104 towns, including Oakland, Vassalboro and China, have signed on, many central Maine towns in the MRC, including Waterville and Winslow, have opted out.

Officials in the opt-out towns have echoed many of the same concerns as the opposition comments on the draft permits issued to Fiberight by the Department of Environmental Protection: that the company isn’t giving enough information about its financial backing, its business plan or its technical feasibility.

Both the MRC and Fiberight have denied such accusations.

The company is moving ahead with a design that can process 125,000 tons, said Fiberight CEO Craig Stuart-Paul.

“I don’t think delaying the tonnage decision right now has an impact on construction,” Stuart-Paul said at Monday’s meeting. Looking forward to financial close, when investors will release money so the project can begin, he said at the board meeting that several backers “would like to see 100,000 tons” from towns.

Besides the towns, the plan is also dependent on 20,000 tons from commercial customers and individuals who opt to use direct waste arrangements outside of their municipalities and from non-charter municipal waste, or municipalities that previously used PERC, but weren’t members of the MRC.

Covanta has a conditional agreement to invest in Fiberight contingent on the amount of tonnage and the conditions of the permit. The companies are working on a definitive agreement.

Fiberight will choose one of four other potential investors for the project as well, Stuart-Paul said on the phone Monday after the meeting.

If the DEP gives Fiberight conditional final permits and its zoning inspection is complete, the company will be able to set its costs based on the permits’ conditions. Then Fiberight can go to its potential investors and present the project and ask for the financing it needs. Stuart-Paul expects the process to be complete by the end of the summer.

If none of the potential investors were to invest, which Stuart-Paul said he doubts will happen, then Fiberight would back the project with its own investors.

Stuart-Paul said he isn’t sure how long the MRC can put off building the road. It’s possible construction could be started with a temporary road, he said. On the construction timeline, he said as long as the company can get the steel in by the end of April next year and concrete by the end of June, then “we will be safe.”

The MRC would not want to begin the road construction until after the project had closed financially.

NEW DEADLINES

Blue Hill and Surry, which share a transfer station and select board, held two public informational meetings about the MRC and Fiberight for the towns, but the selectmen never talked about it among themselves, Blue Hill Selectman John Bannister said at Monday’s meeting.

“I thought we should’ve had a debate ourselves,” he said. “Instead we left it up to the public to ask questions. I don’t think that worked out very well for the decision makers.”

The board ended with a tie vote — two Blue Hill and one Surry selectmen are for Fiberight and two Surry and one Blue Hill selectmen are against it.

Bannister, who said he was on the board 25 years ago when they voted for the “risky” MRC and PERC, said taking a chance again is the right thing to do.

“I’m dumbfounded by why these newbies to the board are so afraid to take a risk,” he said.

MRC board member Cathy Conlow moved to waive the late penalties for Blue Hill and Surry until July 30 because the towns are actively working on making a decision in “good faith,” she said. The motion was approved unanimously.

Bill Chapman, vice chairman of the Mid-Coast board is, going to propose special town meetings to make a decision on the MRC and Fiberight. Their next meeting is July 27.

If the board votes to recommend the MRC and Fiberight, it would go to special town meetings at the four towns the corporation represents: Rockport, Hope, Lincolnville and Camden. If one town voted against the recommendation, the process would have to begin again.

“Going all the way back to the beginning again does not seem fair to the people who did take the risk,” Wilson said.

The motion was made to waive the penalties for the Mid-Coast Solid Waste Corporation if it joins on or before Aug. 30 given the ongoing efforts to attempt to find a resolution. The motion passed 6-1, with Jim Guerra, who also sits on the Mid-Coast board, abstaining and Chip Reeves voting against the motion.

Board Treasurer Sophia Wilson, who’s also the Orono town manager, noted that while they can waive penalties, she doesn’t think the board should continue to dispense resources to help towns understand the project.

“We have spent an enormous amount of resources … to help municipalities make this decision,” Wilson said. “I am a little bit leery of putting ourselves in a position where we will continue to spend that money and time.”

Other members echoed that sentiment throughout the meeting.

“No more going out and taking beatings — I’m done,” Conlow said.

Madeline St. Amour – 861-9239

mstamour@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @madelinestamour