Frequently Asked Questions



 

  • 1. General
  • 2. Fiberight
  • 3. History
  • 4. Contracts
  • 5. Environmental
  • 6. Post 2018
  • 7. PERC
  • 8. Town of Hampden & Fiberight
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  • 1. What is the major change coming in 2018? Why are things changing?
     

    PERC presently has a very favorable Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Emera, the former Bangor Hydro. PERC sells the electricity it generates from burning MSW to Emera under the terms of this PPA and receives payments for it that have always been, and continues to be, substantially above current market prices. The members of the MRC presently have individual contracts with PERC that requires them to dispose of the MSW under their control at PERC for a managed tipping fee until March 31, 2018. When the Emera PPA expires in 2018 the member’s contracts with PERC also expire providing the MRC and the members to consider other MSW disposal options. The majority of MRC members will be disposing their MSW at a new facility in Hampden called Fiberight. PERC’s private owners state that they will continue to operate post 2018.

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  • 2. Who is the MRC?
     

    The MRC, which stands for Municipal Review Committee, Inc., is a non-profit corporation dedicated to ensuring the affordable, environmentally sound disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the long-term for its members. The MRC membership is currently comprised of the 187 municipalities and inter-municipal entities that send their MSW to the PERC waste-to-energy facility in Orrington. Starting in 2018, 115 of these MRC members will send their MSW to a new facility, Fiberight, to be constructed in Hampden.

    Our nine member volunteer board is elected by the membership and is made up of municipal officials and experienced individuals with extensive knowledge of the MSW industry. Our decisions are made in public meetings. We have been proactive about ensuring that our members will have an affordable and long-term solution to MSW disposal. We recognize that if we collaborate we all are in a better position to address the waste handling needs of the region.

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  • 3. What did MRC recommend to their members to manage their MSW after the waste disposal agreements with PERC terminate in 2018?
     

    The MRC recommended that  the members  manage their MSW through a three-part system that includes the following components: (1) continuation of local efforts for waste reduction and recycling and for control of waste collection and transportation; (2) use of the Fiberight facility for processing of mixed acceptable waste to recover recyclables and to convert organic materials into bio-methane and other high-value products; and (3) use of the Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock as a disposal facility for residual materials from the Fiberight facility and for periodic management of acceptable waste and materials that the Fiberight facility cannot accept for any reason. In the view of the MRC, this three-part system will achieve a long-term, affordable, environmentally sound method for managing solid waste starting in 2018.

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  • 4. What will be the MRC’s role in the new facility?
     

    MRC will purchase the land on which the facility will be constructed, will lease the property to Fiberight and will have all the rights of a landlord over its tenant consistent with the terms of the site lease.

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  • 5. Is there any difference in the material composition in what we have been sending to PERC versus what we will send to Fiberight?
     

    No, there is not any difference. However, just as with PERC, Joining Members are precluded by contract from delivering Unacceptable Waste to the Fiberight facility. Joining Members that make such deliveries despite the contractual prohibition will be required to pay the cost of removing and of providing an appropriate manner for disposal of such materials.  This type of contractual provision is standard in the waste industry and is substantially the same as that included in the expiring PERC contracts.

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  • 6. What type of material will this facility recycle and process?
     

    The facility will handle municipal solid waste (MSW) from member communities and, potentially, other cities and towns in Maine if capacity is available. It will not receive any out‐of‐state waste for processing.

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  • 7. Will out-of-state trash be used at the Fiberight facility to fulfill volume?
     

    No. From the outset, out-of-state trash was never discussed by the MRC as an option to generate larger volumes of MSW for Processing. It is not allowed per contracted language in the Master Waste Supply Agreement and the site lease. In addition, the DEP permit does not allow for out-of-state deliveries - the MRC did not ask for it to be permitted.

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  • 8. What is my town’s current tipping fee?
     

    The tipping fee for the second quarter of 2017 - April, May and June - at PERC is $81.20 per ton plus an adjustment (reconciliation) for actual performance in the first quarter of 2017.

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  • 9. Where does the gas go after it is produced at Fiberight?
     

    The biogas will be sold to local purchasers and will be delivered into the Bangor Gas natural gas distribution system. In fact, one reason for siting the proposed facility in Hampden is because Bangor Gas has a distribution line adjacent to the site.

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  • 10. Why did we need to sign-up before June 30, 2016?
     

    In order for the Fiberight facility to be constructed, performance tested and operational in April 2018, the MRC needed commitments from enough municipalities by June 30, 2016 to make the facility profitable yet provide reasonable tipping fees. Enough commitments were made by this date collectively providing sufficient tonnage of MSW to Fiberight to satisfy their needs. Doing so allowed the project financing to be finalized and construction to begin.

     

    The MRC has entered into a back-up agreement with Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock which will allow MSW from MRC member communities to be delivered to that facility should the new Fiberight Facility not be ready in time.

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  • 11. Do we have to send our MSW to the Crossroads Landfill if Fiberight is not operational?
     

    Yes. Joining Members will be obligated to send their MSW to the Crossroads Landfill in the event that the Fiberight facility is not open.

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  • 12. How can I receive updates from the MRC?
     

    You can sign-up for e-mail updates from the MRC here. We will not share your e-mail address.

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  • 13. Why is the new site in Hampden?
     

    In searching for a suitable site for a new MSW handling facility which ultimately turned out to be Fiberight, he MRC began with a comprehensive process to identify available industrial sites and properties within a reasonable radial distance of the centroid of the MRC service territory. This centroid, or area that generates the highest volume of MSW, turned out to be the greater Bangor area.  The MRC identified the site in Hampden as consistent with its criteria for site selection and proceeded with arrangements for the purchase and development of that site.

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  • 1. How did MRC Choose Fiberight?
     

    In 2007, the MRC began to focus on the post-2018 period in light of the fact that the PERC Partnership Agreement, the existing waste disposal agreements with MRC member municipalities and the Emera Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) all end in 2018. Initially, the MRC discussed with the PERC private partners the feasibility of an extension of PERC waste disposal agreements beyond 2018. The two sides were unable to come to an equitable agreement on tip fees.

    In 2013, the MRC released its Request for Expressions of Interest (the RFEI), which solicited responses from vendors of emerging technologies to process municipal solid waste via retrofit or re-development of an existing refused derived fuels (RDF) combustion and electric generation facility. The MRC received 15 vendor responses to the RFEI, of which the response from a company called Fiberight was selected as most advantageous for the MRC members.

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  • 2. What did MRC recommend to their members to manage their MSW after the waste disposal agreements with PERC terminate in 2018?
     

    The MRC recommended that  the members  manage their MSW through a three-part system that includes the following components: (1) continuation of local efforts for waste reduction and recycling and for control of waste collection and transportation; (2) use of the Fiberight facility for processing of mixed acceptable waste to recover recyclables and to convert organic materials into bio-methane and other high-value products; and (3) use of the Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock as a disposal facility for residual materials from the Fiberight facility and for periodic management of acceptable waste and materials that the Fiberight facility cannot accept for any reason. In the view of the MRC, this three-part system will achieve a long-term, affordable, environmentally sound method for managing solid waste starting in 2018.

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  • 3. Why did the MRC select Fiberight?
     

    Fiberight has many advantages compared with other alternatives reviewed by the MRC. Of particular note are the following:

    • The Fiberight facility can convert organic wastes into high-value products without needing a new region-wide system to collect organic materials separately from other wastes. While there are precedents for source-separated collection in urban areas, instituting a broad new and duplicative system for separate collection and transportation of organic wastes in rural Maine would be expensive and burdensome and would pose major implementation challenges, thereby undermining the goals of the MRC to ensure a long-term affordable and environmentally sound system of MSW disposal. The Fiberight facility will convert organics to high-value products while avoiding the need for such a broad new duplicative collection and transportation system.
    • The Fiberight facility uses a proprietary system for pulping waste prior to recovery of recyclable materials that avoids contamination issues associated with conventional mixed-waste processing facilities. Recovered recyclable materials will be clean with little contamination in line with Maine’s tradition and reputation for producing high-quality recyclable materials.
    • As a regional facility, the Fiberight facility offers the capability to make use of technologies, market opportunities and environmental control measures at a scale that is not available or feasible for use by individual municipalities or groups of municipalities in the MRC service territory. If the towns work together through the MRC, they can accomplish far more than if each town were to pursue an individual solution. Likewise, the more towns there are that join together, the more successful the project will be.

    The MRC selected Fiberight over other vendors that responded to the RFEI for reasons that included Fiberight's:

    • experience with the technology at the demonstration project in Lawrenceville, Virginia;
    • willingness to finance, own and operate the facility rather than having the MRC or its member municipalities take on debt to construct the facility and arrange for operation thereafter;
    • use of the wet pulping process, which offers the opportunity to recover high-quality recyclable materials using technology with which there is experience in other applications in Maine, and with a minimum of manual picking;
    • use of the sugar platform, which provides opportunities to produce a variety of products that include bio-methane and precursors to production of industrial sugars and/or ethanol, with prospects for a high level of diversion and a low level of residuals requiring landfill disposal; and
    • interest, willingness and capability to facilitate major capital investment in a commercial facility in Maine. Concentration on production of bio-gas makes the project  positioned to achieve financing while retaining the flexibility to convert to production of other byproducts if markets dictate. This flexibility is a significant advantage of the Fiberight plan.
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  • 4. Who will be the owners of the facility?
     

    The facility will be privately owned by Fiberight and its investors, including Covanta, a leader in sustainable waste and energy solutions with over 50 facilities around the world.

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  • 5. Who is paying to build the Fiberight facility?
     

    Fiberight and its partners will pay for the Hampden facility without any public investment. The MRC is responsible for the land purchase and   road construction and utility access.

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  • 6. What is the Fiberight process?
     

    The Fiberight business model involves front-end processing equipment for the incoming MSW that recovers recyclable materials and converts organic materials to biofuels. While strides have been made to increase recycling, there are still a number of recyclables that remain in household MSW even after diversion by local recycling programs. We expect that the Fiberight’s capture rate for recovering materials will have a large impact on the ability of our communities to meet the State of Maine’s recycling rate, which has stayed stagnant for over 20 years despite repeated efforts to raise it. Following the capture of recyclables, Fiberight capitalizes on the organic material that makes up approximately 40% of MSW. Through a proprietary accelerated anaerobic digestion process, Fiberight converts the MSW to biofuel. Approximately 20% of incoming material will be residuals that will be sent to the Crossroads Landfill for disposal.

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  • 7. Is there any difference in the material composition in what we have been sending to PERC versus what we will send to Fiberight?
     

    No, there is not any difference. However, just as with PERC, Joining Members are precluded by contract from delivering Unacceptable Waste to the Fiberight facility. Joining Members that make such deliveries despite the contractual prohibition will be required to pay the cost of removing and of providing an appropriate manner for disposal of such materials.  This type of contractual provision is standard in the waste industry and is substantially the same as that included in the expiring PERC contracts.

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  • 8. What type of material will this facility recycle and process?
     

    The facility will handle municipal solid waste (MSW) from member communities and, potentially, other cities and towns in Maine if capacity is available. It will not receive any out‐of‐state waste for processing.

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  • 9. What technology will the Fiberight facility utilize?
     

    The Fiberight process is based on European MBT (Mechanical Biological Treatment) plants that separate and recover recyclables and organic material from the MSW stream. There are currently over 330 MBT plants in Europe, with a total of 450 expected by 2020. Collectively these plants process over 34 million tons of solid waste per year. For reference, PERC processes 300,000 tons per year, and the entire waste to energy sector in the United States processes 29 million tons per year.

    Fiberight has operated and continues to operate an integrated demonstration facility in Lawrenceville, Virginia, where it tested its technology. MBT projects are now being constructed in the United States, for example in Entsorga, West Virginia and Zero Waste in San Jose, California. Several large private projects have also been announced for construction in the United States with major US waste companies, including the Fiberight project.

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  • 10. What due diligence has been completed that demonstrates that the Fiberight process in operation at its demonstration facility in Virginia is scalable to meet the needs of the MRC communities?
     

    The Hampden facility will involve scale-up of the technology demonstrated in the facility in Lawrenceville, Virginia. MRC representatives have visited the Virginia facility, have reviewed the basis for design and operations in detail, and the technology has been peer reviewed by the University of Maine whose Report was positive on some of the issues that we had concerns about, including scale up potential and the differences between the Virginia and Maine climates.

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  • 11. How many tons of trash will be needed for the Fiberight facility to operate?
     

    One key aspect of the Fiberight process that attracted the MRC from the start is its ability to scale its operations to suit the size of the municipal group that ends up remaining committed to solving problems by sticking together and leveraging our strength to keep pricing affordable for taxpayers.  This approach has worked well for years and will continue to do so after 2018.
    The Fiberight facility is being built to accept up to 150,000 tons of MSW a year. MRC members have estimated that they will send approximately 102,500 tons of MSW to Fiberight per year. The facility can operate efficiently and profitably at this tonnage. To the extent that deliveries are insufficient to permit the facility to operate at full capacity, Fiberight is responsible for securing delivery commitments from other in-state sources to meet their needs. MRC’s role in this effort is to provide technical support and implement complimentary initiatives if necessary

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  • 12. How many jobs are projected for the Fiberight facility?
     

    Fiberight founder and CEO, Craig Stuart-Paul, reports that the facility will employ approximately 65 people for a facility processing 150,000 tons of MSW as originally planned. It is now anticipated that the facility will employ anywhere from 55 to 65 people from the time it opens and begins processing the estimated 102,500 tons of MSW presently committed to the time 150,000 tons is being processed. The increase to the 150,000 tons is anticipated to come from those MRC members who did not originally commit to Fiberight eventually do and from commercial waste tonnage is included. Many of the jobs will be technical in nature and have above average pay scales.

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  • 13. What is the proposed tipping fee for the Fiberight facility?
     

    $70 per ton is the base tipping fee and will be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index.  We fully expect the Fiberight facility to be a success. If it proves to be more successful than anticipated, there is the prospect of lower net tipping fees after taking into account possible rebates back to the MRC communities under a rebate program based on overall plant revenues from tipping fees and product sales.

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  • 14. How many years is the proposed Fiberight facility tipping fee for?
     

    There is a possible 40 year horizon on the contracted tip fee.

    The base fee of $70/ton is for an initial contract term of 15 years. Individual members have the option of terminating the contract at the end of the 15-year period or contracting for up to five additional 5-year extensions.

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  • 15. Where does the gas go after it is produced at Fiberight?
     

    The biogas will be sold to local purchasers and will be delivered into the Bangor Gas natural gas distribution system. In fact, one reason for siting the proposed facility in Hampden is because Bangor Gas has a distribution line adjacent to the site.

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  • 16. Why did we need to sign-up before June 30, 2016?
     

    In order for the Fiberight facility to be constructed, performance tested and operational in April 2018, the MRC needed commitments from enough municipalities by June 30, 2016 to make the facility profitable yet provide reasonable tipping fees. Enough commitments were made by this date collectively providing sufficient tonnage of MSW to Fiberight to satisfy their needs. Doing so allowed the project financing to be finalized and construction to begin.

     

    The MRC has entered into a back-up agreement with Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock which will allow MSW from MRC member communities to be delivered to that facility should the new Fiberight Facility not be ready in time.

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  • 17. I'm a commercial hauler and want to deliver MSW to Fiberight. Who do I contact at Fiberight to sign-up?
     

    Fiberight is working with commercial haulers right now regarding arrangements for 2018 and beyond.   If you or your hauler have questions, or you are a hauler looking for general information, please contact Fiberight at 1 (800) 728-9886 or craigsp@fiberight.com.

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  • 18. Will Fiberight have air emissions and what will their effects be?
     

    Fiberight will have a small biomass gasifier/boiler on site to make its own electricity. Unlike PERC, they will not produce any emissions e that would require  a tall smokestack. At most, the proposed processing operation would be a very low emissions project resulting from energy usage in processing steps and the kind of heating and cooling systems that would be associated with any typical facility of comparable scale and process systems.

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  • 19. What if we had decided to go somewhere other than Fiberight with our MSW and now want to deliver it to Fiberight?
     

    In MRC vernacular, your community would be referred to as a Departing Member - you chose to go elsewhere. On a space available basis, you can become a Returning Member and dispose of MSW at Fiberight. You will be obligated to pay a surcharge of $2.21 per ton, you will not be eligible for rebates during the first term 15-year term of your agreement with the MRC and, you must return, to the MRC, the value of your community’s share of the Tip Fee Stabilization Fund paid to you upon your departure from the MRC. These funds will be collectively managed by the MRC on behalf of the Joining Members and the Returning Members in much the same way they have been for the last 25-plus years.

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  • 20. What will happen if Fiberight does not open by April 1, 2018?
     

    Fiberight is obligated to accept and process MSW as soon as it is able to do so even if the facility has not been fully completed. In the event the facility cannot accept any MSW, it will be sent to the Crossroads landfill.

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  • 1. What is the major change coming in 2018? Why are things changing?
     

    PERC presently has a very favorable Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Emera, the former Bangor Hydro. PERC sells the electricity it generates from burning MSW to Emera under the terms of this PPA and receives payments for it that have always been, and continues to be, substantially above current market prices. The members of the MRC presently have individual contracts with PERC that requires them to dispose of the MSW under their control at PERC for a managed tipping fee until March 31, 2018. When the Emera PPA expires in 2018 the member’s contracts with PERC also expire providing the MRC and the members to consider other MSW disposal options. The majority of MRC members will be disposing their MSW at a new facility in Hampden called Fiberight. PERC’s private owners state that they will continue to operate post 2018.

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  • 2. How did MRC Choose Fiberight?
     

    In 2007, the MRC began to focus on the post-2018 period in light of the fact that the PERC Partnership Agreement, the existing waste disposal agreements with MRC member municipalities and the Emera Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) all end in 2018. Initially, the MRC discussed with the PERC private partners the feasibility of an extension of PERC waste disposal agreements beyond 2018. The two sides were unable to come to an equitable agreement on tip fees.

    In 2013, the MRC released its Request for Expressions of Interest (the RFEI), which solicited responses from vendors of emerging technologies to process municipal solid waste via retrofit or re-development of an existing refused derived fuels (RDF) combustion and electric generation facility. The MRC received 15 vendor responses to the RFEI, of which the response from a company called Fiberight was selected as most advantageous for the MRC members.

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    Viewed 44 Times
  • 3. Why did the MRC select Fiberight?
     

    Fiberight has many advantages compared with other alternatives reviewed by the MRC. Of particular note are the following:

    • The Fiberight facility can convert organic wastes into high-value products without needing a new region-wide system to collect organic materials separately from other wastes. While there are precedents for source-separated collection in urban areas, instituting a broad new and duplicative system for separate collection and transportation of organic wastes in rural Maine would be expensive and burdensome and would pose major implementation challenges, thereby undermining the goals of the MRC to ensure a long-term affordable and environmentally sound system of MSW disposal. The Fiberight facility will convert organics to high-value products while avoiding the need for such a broad new duplicative collection and transportation system.
    • The Fiberight facility uses a proprietary system for pulping waste prior to recovery of recyclable materials that avoids contamination issues associated with conventional mixed-waste processing facilities. Recovered recyclable materials will be clean with little contamination in line with Maine’s tradition and reputation for producing high-quality recyclable materials.
    • As a regional facility, the Fiberight facility offers the capability to make use of technologies, market opportunities and environmental control measures at a scale that is not available or feasible for use by individual municipalities or groups of municipalities in the MRC service territory. If the towns work together through the MRC, they can accomplish far more than if each town were to pursue an individual solution. Likewise, the more towns there are that join together, the more successful the project will be.

    The MRC selected Fiberight over other vendors that responded to the RFEI for reasons that included Fiberight's:

    • experience with the technology at the demonstration project in Lawrenceville, Virginia;
    • willingness to finance, own and operate the facility rather than having the MRC or its member municipalities take on debt to construct the facility and arrange for operation thereafter;
    • use of the wet pulping process, which offers the opportunity to recover high-quality recyclable materials using technology with which there is experience in other applications in Maine, and with a minimum of manual picking;
    • use of the sugar platform, which provides opportunities to produce a variety of products that include bio-methane and precursors to production of industrial sugars and/or ethanol, with prospects for a high level of diversion and a low level of residuals requiring landfill disposal; and
    • interest, willingness and capability to facilitate major capital investment in a commercial facility in Maine. Concentration on production of bio-gas makes the project  positioned to achieve financing while retaining the flexibility to convert to production of other byproducts if markets dictate. This flexibility is a significant advantage of the Fiberight plan.
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  • 1. Why is the MRC buying land and not Fiberight?
     

    By purchasing the site for the benefit of the MRC members that elected to stay together and deliver their MSW to Fiberight for disposal, the MRC can assure its ability to exercise oversight over the Fiberight facility in its capacity as a landlord rather than as a limited partner. Moreover, as owner of the site, if the Fiberight facility fails, the MRC would control the site and potentially could make it available for redevelopment as a, conventional single-stream processing facility, source-separated organics processing facility, or other facility that might serve the waste management needs of the region.

     

    The MRC chose to accept the responsibility for site acquisition and development for a variety of other reasons as well.  As site-owner and landlord, the MRC gains leverage and control in its agreements with Fiberight that enables it to continue to represent the interests of its member municipalities throughout the development process. By controlling use of the site, the MRC is positioned to protect the needs of its member municipalities in the event of default and termination scenarios, and to control the re-development of the site for an alternative facility in the event the Fiberight process is unsuccessful.

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  • 2. Is there any difference in the material composition in what we have been sending to PERC versus what we will send to Fiberight?
     

    No, there is not any difference. However, just as with PERC, Joining Members are precluded by contract from delivering Unacceptable Waste to the Fiberight facility. Joining Members that make such deliveries despite the contractual prohibition will be required to pay the cost of removing and of providing an appropriate manner for disposal of such materials.  This type of contractual provision is standard in the waste industry and is substantially the same as that included in the expiring PERC contracts.

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  • 3. How many tons of trash will be needed for the Fiberight facility to operate?
     

    One key aspect of the Fiberight process that attracted the MRC from the start is its ability to scale its operations to suit the size of the municipal group that ends up remaining committed to solving problems by sticking together and leveraging our strength to keep pricing affordable for taxpayers.  This approach has worked well for years and will continue to do so after 2018.
    The Fiberight facility is being built to accept up to 150,000 tons of MSW a year. MRC members have estimated that they will send approximately 102,500 tons of MSW to Fiberight per year. The facility can operate efficiently and profitably at this tonnage. To the extent that deliveries are insufficient to permit the facility to operate at full capacity, Fiberight is responsible for securing delivery commitments from other in-state sources to meet their needs. MRC’s role in this effort is to provide technical support and implement complimentary initiatives if necessary

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  • 4. What is the proposed tipping fee for the Fiberight facility?
     

    $70 per ton is the base tipping fee and will be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index.  We fully expect the Fiberight facility to be a success. If it proves to be more successful than anticipated, there is the prospect of lower net tipping fees after taking into account possible rebates back to the MRC communities under a rebate program based on overall plant revenues from tipping fees and product sales.

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  • 5. How many years is the proposed Fiberight facility tipping fee for?
     

    There is a possible 40 year horizon on the contracted tip fee.

    The base fee of $70/ton is for an initial contract term of 15 years. Individual members have the option of terminating the contract at the end of the 15-year period or contracting for up to five additional 5-year extensions.

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  • 6. What protections exist to protect unexpected tipping fee increases?
     

    Contract language in the Joinder Agreement and the Master Waste Supply Agreement protects Joining Members from increased tip fees or additional capital contributions beyond those identified in the original agreements. The contract language prevents Fiberight from requiring the Joining Members to become a funding source in the event the Fiberight technology fails to perform as intended. If Fiberight cannot meet its contractual obligations, the MRC can place Fiberight in default, and, if the problem is not cured, can terminate the site lease and force Fiberight to leave the site. MSW would be sent to the Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock until a substitute processing facility or strategy could be developed and implemented. For more information please review this memo.

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  • 7. If my town chooses to send its recyclables to Fiberight, will the recycling tonnage help satisfy the 102,500-ton delivery requirement?
     

    No it does not. The delivery requirement includes deliveries of acceptable waste, but does not include recyclables that have been source separated prior to delivery to the Fiberight facility. Most Joining Members determined their Estimated Delivery Amounts on the basis of the amount of acceptable MSW they expect to deliver to the Fiberight facility on an annual basis.  This does not include materials that would be diverted from that waste stream prior to delivery through waste reduction and recycling programs.

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  • 8. What if my town wants to change its recycling program in or after 2018? Will I be penalized because the tonnage is lower than what was provided in the estimated tonnage that was provided to the MRC?
     

    No it would not. One of the benefits of the Fiberight process is that it lends itself to recycling and local control. The contract terms that the MRC negotiated with Fiberight specifically allow towns to continue or expand their existing waste reduction and recycling programs. The Fiberight facility is being designed with the understanding that many communities will choose this route. Towns that would like to continue or expand their existing recycling programs will be able to do so. The MRC agreements for the Fiberight facility will not impose requirements to deliver a Guaranteed Annual Tonnage (GAT) of MSW on individual towns, and towns will NOT be liable for penalties for failure to deliver any specific amount of MSW so long as they continue to deliver all MSW under their control to the Fiberight facility. Thus, towns can continue existing PAYT programs, or add new PAYT programs, without fear of being penalized individually for delivery shortfalls.

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  • 9. Why did we need to sign-up before June 30, 2016?
     

    In order for the Fiberight facility to be constructed, performance tested and operational in April 2018, the MRC needed commitments from enough municipalities by June 30, 2016 to make the facility profitable yet provide reasonable tipping fees. Enough commitments were made by this date collectively providing sufficient tonnage of MSW to Fiberight to satisfy their needs. Doing so allowed the project financing to be finalized and construction to begin.

     

    The MRC has entered into a back-up agreement with Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock which will allow MSW from MRC member communities to be delivered to that facility should the new Fiberight Facility not be ready in time.

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  • 10. Who pays for the transportation to Crossroads Landfill if there is a delay in opening of the Fiberight facility?
     

    In the event that the Fiberight facility is not operational on time for reasons within their control, and needs to bypass the MSW to the Crossroads Landfill, Fiberight will pay for the transportation costs. If the Fiberight facility does not start on time as a result of excused delays e.g. unforeseen conditions identified during construction infrastructure or building construction, the MRC will use funds from a reserve account set up using Joining Member funds for those Joining Members who would incur additional transportation costs.

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  • 11. Do we have to send our MSW to the Crossroads Landfill if Fiberight is not operational?
     

    Yes. Joining Members will be obligated to send their MSW to the Crossroads Landfill in the event that the Fiberight facility is not open.

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  • 12. How will rebates be calculated?
     

    Rebates will be calculated based on the revenue of Fiberight per the formula in Exhibit F to the Master Waste Supply Agreement. That formula includes the tip fees that Fiberight collects from MRC members and other entities that choose to send their waste to Fiberight. It also includes revenue from the sale of biogas and recovered recyclables and other products. It is anticipated that the rebate program will take effect in the fourth  year of Fiberight operations. This three-year lag time is deemed sufficient enough at this time by the MRC for Fiberight to address any start-up issues they might have with the respective MSW handling processes and to get their gross revenue stream established.

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  • 13. Would there have been a penalty if we had not signed up with the MRC and the Fiberight Facility before June 30, 2016?
     

    MRC member municipalities that did not sign up before June 30, 2016 are obligated to pay a surcharge of $2.21 per ton and would not be eligible for rebates during the first term (15 years). The MRC Board has stated that they may consider waiving this surcharge in appropriate circumstances if a municipality can demonstrate good faith causes for why they did not meet the deadline.

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  • 14. Does MRC really have enough committed tons when considering flow control?
     

    Yes. Municipalities may direct their waste under current state law. Interstate flow control is indeed disallowed by federal law, but there is no economic out-of-state alternative that makes sense for the Fiberight service area.

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  • 15. What protections exist to protect unexpected tipping fee increases?
     

    Contract language in the Joinder Agreement and the Master Waste Supply Agreement protects Joining Members from increased tip fees or additional capital contributions beyond those identified in the original agreements.  The contract language prevents Fiberight from requiring the Joining Members to become a funding source in the event the Fiberight technology fails to perform as intended. If Fiberight cannot meet its contractual obligations, the MRC can place Fiberight in default, and, if the problem is not cured, can terminate the site lease and force Fiberight to leave the site.   MSW would be sent to the Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock until a substitute processing facility or strategy could be developed and implemented.

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  • 1. Why did the MRC select Fiberight?
     

    Fiberight has many advantages compared with other alternatives reviewed by the MRC. Of particular note are the following:

    • The Fiberight facility can convert organic wastes into high-value products without needing a new region-wide system to collect organic materials separately from other wastes. While there are precedents for source-separated collection in urban areas, instituting a broad new and duplicative system for separate collection and transportation of organic wastes in rural Maine would be expensive and burdensome and would pose major implementation challenges, thereby undermining the goals of the MRC to ensure a long-term affordable and environmentally sound system of MSW disposal. The Fiberight facility will convert organics to high-value products while avoiding the need for such a broad new duplicative collection and transportation system.
    • The Fiberight facility uses a proprietary system for pulping waste prior to recovery of recyclable materials that avoids contamination issues associated with conventional mixed-waste processing facilities. Recovered recyclable materials will be clean with little contamination in line with Maine’s tradition and reputation for producing high-quality recyclable materials.
    • As a regional facility, the Fiberight facility offers the capability to make use of technologies, market opportunities and environmental control measures at a scale that is not available or feasible for use by individual municipalities or groups of municipalities in the MRC service territory. If the towns work together through the MRC, they can accomplish far more than if each town were to pursue an individual solution. Likewise, the more towns there are that join together, the more successful the project will be.

    The MRC selected Fiberight over other vendors that responded to the RFEI for reasons that included Fiberight's:

    • experience with the technology at the demonstration project in Lawrenceville, Virginia;
    • willingness to finance, own and operate the facility rather than having the MRC or its member municipalities take on debt to construct the facility and arrange for operation thereafter;
    • use of the wet pulping process, which offers the opportunity to recover high-quality recyclable materials using technology with which there is experience in other applications in Maine, and with a minimum of manual picking;
    • use of the sugar platform, which provides opportunities to produce a variety of products that include bio-methane and precursors to production of industrial sugars and/or ethanol, with prospects for a high level of diversion and a low level of residuals requiring landfill disposal; and
    • interest, willingness and capability to facilitate major capital investment in a commercial facility in Maine. Concentration on production of bio-gas makes the project  positioned to achieve financing while retaining the flexibility to convert to production of other byproducts if markets dictate. This flexibility is a significant advantage of the Fiberight plan.
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  • 2. Will out-of-state trash be used at the Fiberight facility to fulfill volume?
     

    No. From the outset, out-of-state trash was never discussed by the MRC as an option to generate larger volumes of MSW for Processing. It is not allowed per contracted language in the Master Waste Supply Agreement and the site lease. In addition, the DEP permit does not allow for out-of-state deliveries - the MRC did not ask for it to be permitted.

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  • 1. Our town is a Departing Member of the MRC. When will the MRC return our shares of the Tip Fee Stabilization Fund?
     

    After the PERC partnership is legally closed, the MRC will return the shares of the Tip Fee Stabilization Fund to the Departing Members. MRC will continue to track and share what each Equity Charter Member is owed regardless of whether they are a Joining Member or a Departing Member. Please review a recent mailing to a Members for further details. Memo on Release of Reserve Funds

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  • 1. What is the major change coming in 2018? Why are things changing?
     

    PERC presently has a very favorable Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Emera, the former Bangor Hydro. PERC sells the electricity it generates from burning MSW to Emera under the terms of this PPA and receives payments for it that have always been, and continues to be, substantially above current market prices. The members of the MRC presently have individual contracts with PERC that requires them to dispose of the MSW under their control at PERC for a managed tipping fee until March 31, 2018. When the Emera PPA expires in 2018 the member’s contracts with PERC also expire providing the MRC and the members to consider other MSW disposal options. The majority of MRC members will be disposing their MSW at a new facility in Hampden called Fiberight. PERC’s private owners state that they will continue to operate post 2018.

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  • 2. Were the owners of PERC provided an opportunity to respond to the RFEI?
     

    Yes, they were. Although PERC received the RFEI, the MRC did not receive a proposal from them, nor did PERC ever submit a comprehensive proposal submitted outside of the RFEI process that was targeted to meeting the needs of the MRC membership for affordable MSW disposal on realistic terms.

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  • 3. What is the status of the litigation between MRC and PERC’s private partners?
     

    The MRC Board of Directors approved a settlement agreement between USAE and the MRC at a Special Board Meeting on September 30, 2016.

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  • 4. What is the status of PERC’s private partner’s legal appeal of the permits awarded to MRC and Fiberight for the facility?
     

    The appeal was denied by the courts. All permits are valid.

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  • 1. What benefits will Fiberight provide to Hampden residents?
     

    As the estimated cost of the facility is $60 million, this project will have a significant positive impact on the town’s commercial tax base. The project has been designed to have very minimal impact on Hampden residents by conforming to the Town’s comprehensive vision for planned land use in and around the project location. Fiberight will become a new, large paying customer of the Hampden Water District. The project will build out water and sewer infrastructure into a part of town that presents great promise for adding non-residential taxable value to this small area of town targeted for this purpose.

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  • 2. How does this project fit with the Town's development plans?
     

    This area has already been zoned for industrial/commercial use and is targeted for development in the town's comprehensive plan.  MRC carefully reviewed the town's plan in assessing the compatibility of this site and the facility is a great fit for the kind of commercial development that the town is seeking in its plan. Not only does the facility itself fit, the MRC will be building out the access and other infrastructure that will make this area more attractive for future businesses to join it at the site.

    This site and the facility is a great fit for the kind of commercial development that the town is seeking in its plan. Not only does the facility itself fit, the MRC will be building out the access and other infrastructure that will make this area more attractive for future businesses to join it at the site.

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  • 3. Will this project involve construction of a landfill in Hampden? Will any of the solid waste be staying in Hampden?
     

    There will be no landfill constructed in Hampden and no solid waste will remain in Hampden beyond the short time it is there for processing. Recyclables and the processed fuels will be shipped for sale and the small portion of residuals will be taken to one of the state's existing, active landfills outside of Hampden.

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  • 4. Will the facility affect groundwater?
     

    All processing will take place inside enclosed buildings, and procedures will be put in place for spill containment and control, no different from other industrial facilities. Groundwater is also a part of the project that was carefully reviewed by the Maine DEP and the Hampden Planning Board during the permitting process. During the project's planning phase, the site was reviewed by professionals and a plan was put in place to protect groundwater.

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  • 5. Would the Town of Hampden have a role in monitoring the operation and performance of the facility?
     

    Yes. As an MRC member, the Town of Hampden has access to all of the operational and performance information that the MRC possesses as part of its oversight of PERC and that arrangement would continue with this new facility.

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  • 6. Will the facility result in changes in traffic movement?
     

    There will be new traffic flows on the short portion of Cold Brook Road from the new facility site access road to the Interstate 95 on and off ramps. Trucks will be bringing MSW in from member communities and out in the form of recyclables, processed products and residuals on a daily basis. As part of the development planning process, MRC conducted a traffic study to fully understand any material changes in traffic movement. The road is professionally designed and reconstructed to accommodate this traffic.

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  • 7. Odor Containment Controls
     

    Fiberight is designed and will implement a comprehensive plan to be a responsible neighbor by mitigating off site impacts of the facility’s operations including an innovative system that prevents odors from migrating off site.

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