A Penobscot County decide has delayed the sale of the shuttered Hampden trash plant to the group of cities signed up to make use of it, derailing plans to finalize the transaction by the top of June.
Superior Court docket Justice William Anderson on Friday ordered that the sale of the Coastal Assets of Maine trash plant, which has been closed for greater than two years, not proceed till a listening to on the sale phrases takes place. The ruling got here after two collectors who put up funds to pay for building formally objected to the sale phrases as a result of they wouldn’t see any proceeds from it.
The Municipal Evaluation Committee — the group that represents the 115 Maine cities and cities that used the power within the six months it ran earlier than closing in Could 2020 — is shopping for the waste processing plant after a last-ditch effort to discover a purchaser yielded no certified bidders.
The sale of the power was to shut by June 30. Nevertheless, that received’t occur following Anderson’s Friday ruling, during which he set a listening to for Friday, July 1 — sooner or later after the sale deadline — to find out how cash from the sale shall be divided among the many facility’s collectors.
The Municipal Evaluation Committee is shopping for the waste facility after it reached an settlement with the plant’s financiers earlier this 12 months to launch a brand new bidding course of to hunt out consumers. The Municipal Evaluation Committee agreed to place up its personal, last-resort bid if no eligible consumers got here ahead. The group’s $1.5 million stalking horse bid is price only a fraction of the greater than $50 million the financiers, largely out-of-state funding funds, put as much as construct the power.
Anderson’s ruling got here in response to the collectors CP Manufacturing and SNC-Lavalin, who objected to all proceeds from the sale going to U.S. Financial institution, the most important creditor. CP Manufacturing and SNC-Lavalin argued that their losses from the Hampden facility’s closure needs to be prioritized over U.S. Financial institution’s.
“Whereas the Court docket understands the explanation why the Receiver is advocating a sale within the type proposed, the Court docket is unable to approve such a sale right now,” Anderson mentioned in his order.
The Municipal Evaluation Committee acknowledged the ruling would set again its timeline however mentioned the group thinks the sale might nonetheless occur quickly.
“We stay optimistic {that a} sale can happen within the subsequent week or two to focus our efforts on re-opening the power,” the group mentioned in an announcement to members.
The Municipal Evaluation Committee has been working to wrangle management of the power because it closed in 2020. The group solely owns the land off Coldbrook Street on which the Hampden trash plant sits. The financiers that funded the power’s building have the ability to promote it.
Whereas the municipal group has funds readily available to buy the power, it’ll have to look elsewhere for the cash to restart and run the power. It’s estimated that restarting the power might price $20 million.
In a city corridor assembly in April, Municipal Evaluation Committee leaders mentioned they need assistance from member municipalities to lift these funds.
