PORTLAND —An Arundel compost facility is appealing a York County Superior Court Feb. 14 decision that Department of Environmental Protection staff had the right to enter the property without permission.

Dubois Livestock and Excavating is an agricultural compost facility that processes fish and shellfish as well as hen and cow manure, according to the company’s website.

According to court documents, the DEP granted a compost facility license to Dubois in 1999, which was amended in 2012 to accommodate a larger amount of compost material.

The amendment required Dubois to get the compost tested once a year to make sure it passed air quality standard.

Staff from the Division of Solid Waste Management at the DEP visited the compost facility after the department received 15 odor complaints in May 2015.

There was no evidence presented in Superior Court or on record that Dubois failed to comply with DEP measures, wrote Attorney Alan Shepard, representing Dubois Livestock and Excavating, in court documents.

“When considering the benign nature of the Dubois composting facility, it almost defies logic that it’s considered to be solid waste,” wrote Shepard. “This is just a decomposition of organic materials that contains no hazardous substance.”

The state received more complaints in October of 2015. The state did not provide the facility with information on the nature of the complaints, and Dubois denied DEP staff access to the property, according to court documents.

The state asked the York County Superior Court to determine whether it had authority to enter the Dubois property without permission and the court ruled in favor of the state. Dubois is appealing the court’s decision to Maine Superior Court. The appeal is scheduled to be heard on Oct. 13.

Shepard argued that the warrantless search sought by the state violated his client’s constitutional rights, and, like a local code enforcement officer, the state must gain permission of the owner or obtain a search warrant to inspect any residential or commercial establishments.

Assistant Attorney General Katherine Tierney responded, stating in court documents that though the law requires the DEP to obtain permission or a warrant to go into a building, in this case, the DEP did not enter a building, but rather were at the facility to inspect a field. Tierney also states that Dubois, when he signed paperwork for the DEP permit, gave the DEP permission to enter the property during reasonable hours.

 — Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].