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Selectboard approves recycling permitting at former paper mill site

7 mins read
Leon Dorr, project manager for Clarks
At far left, Leon Dorr, project manager for Clark’s Cars & Parts, points to an area where a pit scale is planned as part of a proposal to operate a scrap metal recycling business on the former Otis Mill property in Jay.
An existing building on the former Otis Mill property is in the plans for use by a metal recycling company.
An existing building on the former Otis Mill paper-making  property is in the plans for use as storage by a metal recycling company.

JAY – The Selectboard unanimously approved issuing junkyard and recycling permits for a scrap metal recycling business that intends to operate on the former Otis Mill property.

Both the Planning Board and the Selectboard, along with a few residents and a state Department of Environmental Protection representative, met for a site visit Monday morning. If state and local permits are approved, the family-owned Clark’s Cars & Parts plans to open up Riverside Scrap by the end of September and run the operation five days each week, possibly half days on Saturdays.

Concerns voiced both at Monday’s meeting and during the tour included truck and crusher equipment noise that may be heard by the neighbors nearby and the proximity of the river to a business that has the potential for vehicle fluid leaks.

A shoreland zone and floodplain permit will need approval by the Planning Board. Approval of a solid waste permit needs to come through the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

MAC Development LLC, managed by John Clark, III, of Farmingdale, bought the little more than 4-acre former paper-making mill property a few months ago from Otis Ventures LLC. Plans are to sell it to Badge Properties which will then lease it to Clark’s Cars & Parts. Clark’s has three other scrap metal facilities in Maine.

Plans include using an existing mill building for storage, building a 70-foot pit scale and a 20-foot by 40-foot office brick building near it, adding two concrete pads with catch basins where trucks and rail cars stand for unloading and loading, paving access roads, extending the railroad’s existing track 60 feet for loading  the rail cars with scrap metal materials. A pool for collecting vehicle and equipment oil and antifreeze fluids from the pads’ catch basins will also be located on the site. The liquid runoff is to be separated for shipment to businesses that recycle those materials.

The project’s manager for Clark’s, Leon Dorr led a tour of the site pointing out where the buildings, truck and rail car scales will be located and how the incoming truck traffic circulates to get weighed, off-loaded then leave the facility. A fence and large gate will be installed to keep the property secure, Dorr said.

Residents attending the site review, asked about the noise level of trucks-numbering from two to seven a day- coming and going, and the crusher equipment to be used. Operation is planned for 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Clark’s buys and sells scrap metal items that include cars, household appliances, such as washers, dishwashers and other items made of copper, brass, aluminum and stainless steel for recycling back into use.

William Butler of the DEP’s Non Hazardous Waste Transporter Program which oversees licensing requirements for businesses such as Clark’s, noted that although the town of Jay doesn’t have a noise-related ordinance, the state’s solid waste permit does have a provision for keeping it under 75 decibels during the day and 60 decibels at night.

Crushers and trucks “typically operate under 60 decibels,” Butler said. Homes along Main Street are situated above the mill property, about 320 feet from the site, Dorr said.

Clark’s chose the site for its proximity to the railroad tracks for more efficient loading and shipping of scrap metals. Two to three people are expected to be hired as material handlers and or truck drivers initially.

With the Androscoggin River shore within 250 feet of the planned operation, “my concern is how close it is to the river,” Butler said. “It’s going to require some work,” he said of both keeping the river clean and keeping neighbors happy.

Monday evening, Dorr noted that runoff from the site platforms would go through a treatment system before being discharged. That discharge would be tested monthly by the company and quarterly by a third-party contractor to ensure compliance.

“There are some moving parts, but I’m confident we can work together,” Butler added.

“Setbacks is something we can work on,” Dorr said. “We can set hours so we’re not a nuisance. We’ll do what we can to make it work.”

The project will also require a shoreland zone and floodplain permit that will need to be approved by the Planning Board. Approval of a solid waste permit needs to come through the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

A concern voiced by residents was the amount of noise that might be generated at the scrap metal recycling site.  Homes along Main Street above the former paper mill property can be seen.
A concern voiced by residents was the amount of noise that might be generated at the scrap metal recycling site. The back of homes along Main Street above the former paper mill property can be seen at center.
Another concern is the proximity of the Androscoggin River which borders the former paper mill property where a scrap metal recycling company wants to operate.
Another concern is the proximity of the Androscoggin River which borders the former paper mill property where a scrap metal recycling company wants to operate. Marked is the 100-year flood level. Leon Dorr, at right, leads, Planning Board member Barbara Cook and the town’s code enforcement office, Ronda Palmer, at left, down to see the outfall area of the filtered water  in the plans for building a scrap metal facility on the property of the former Otis Mill in Jay.
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