TOWN OF LEWISTON — Supervisor Fred Newlin has agreed to press Modern Landfill for answers to questions raised earlier this year by a community advisory group.

During a meeting Monday at Town Hall, board members supported Newlin’s request to send a formal letter to Modern asking company officials to respond, in writing, to questions about its operations that were raised in May by the Modern Community Advisory Committee.

The move comes in the wake of Modern’s decision to notify the town of its intent to sue over the discovery of hazardous materials on a former dumpsite the company took over under an agreement with the town several years ago.

Newlin told the board that the town has funds in a reserve account that can be used to address the situation, if necessary.

“The town is prepared to deal with this,” Newlin said.

The CAC examined Modern’s host community agreement and have participated in negotiations with Modern officials for several months. In May, the CAC provided the town board with a list of recommendations, including a request that an independent auditor be hired to determine Modern’s level of compliance with the terms of the host community agreement. The CAC also sought changes in the process for notifying the public about proposed modifications in Modern’s agreement as well as improvements in the handling of truck noise and other issues. At the time, the town board accepted the recommendations and agreed to hold off on negotiations on increased tonnage for the landfill.

On Monday, Newlin questioned the timing of the town’s decision to deny the tonnage increase and Modern’s decision to notify the town of its intention to sue. Newlin said he found the prospect of a lawsuit by Modern “disturbing” and “unfortunate,” but not entirely surprising considering Modern officials told him during negotiations that they intended to sue if they were not granted a new agreement by the town.

“I don’t like negotiating with a gun to my head like that,” Newlin said.

Newlin said the waste barrels in question were on the property when it was deeded over to the town by the federal government in 1999. He added that the town may have no choice but to hire outside legal counsel to defend its position in this case.

“I think the town should draw a line in the sand here and stand up for its legal rights,” Newlin said.

Modern notified the town on Sept. 9 of its intent to sue. The notification was also delivered to the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The notification allows the company to file a formal civil lawsuit against the town within the next 90 days.

The company’s claim stems from the discovery of several barrels of hazardous waste that were found last year on an old town dump. Gary Smith, chief executive officer for Modern, said the town agreed in 2002 to allow Modern to clean up the area in question. As part of the agreement, Smith said the town provided assurances to the company that there was no hazardous waste materials on the former dump site. Smith said clean-up crews working in the area in 2008 found drums containing trichloroethylene, or TCE, a chemical believed to be leftover from the old Hooker Chemical company. Smith said company officials reached out to the town in an effort to address the situation, but their concerns went unanswered, prompting the company to move forward with the notification. Smith said Modern estimates the cost of cleanup between $100,000 and $500,000.

“When we entered into that agreement, it was with the understanding that it wasn’t a hazardous waste landfill,” Smith said.

CAC Chairman Vincent DiMarco attended Monday’s board meeting and suggested it was Modern that failed to do its part to keep the lines of dialogue open. DiMarco said Smith and other company officials have not attended CAC meetings in at least six months, making it difficult for both parties to negotiate in good faith.

“No negotiations can occur when he’s not present and we did not have other options,” DiMarco said.

Smith did not rule out the possibility of avoiding court by reaching an amicable agreement with the town.

“We’re always open to discussion,” Smith said. “We will continue to be.”

Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250