GORHAM – Court action this week has temporarily halted Plan-It Recycling from accepting new material at its facility in Gorham, following complaints filed by the town of Gorham and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Gorham claims the recycling operation in the Gorham Industrial Park near the Westbrook line violated town rules, and the town and filed for court intervention last summer.

“This afternoon the judge granted the request of the town of Gorham and the State of Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection for a TRO (temporary restraining order) to prohibit Plan-It Recycling from bringing any new material into their site,” Gorham Town Manager David Cole said in an e-mail Tuesday to Gorham town councilors and other town officials.

“The judge also granted the town access to the property, if needed, for the purpose of securing the property, should the operator cease operations. The town will now work to help facilitate a cleanup of the site.”

Judge Thomas Warren signed this week’s decree, Cole said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

It is unclear what the next step is for the town and whether it would incur any cleanup costs.

“I expect it’ll be a fairly complicated process going forward from here,” Cole said.

Matt Robinson, Town Council chairman, said early Wednesday he had just seen Cole’s e-mail and declined comment about the matter without first talking with Cole.

“Obviously, we’re going to do what is in the best interests of the taxpayers of the town of Gorham.”

In July, the town filed a complaint in court claiming Plan-It Recycling & Transfer Inc., 18 Gorham Industrial Parkway, was in violation of town rules.

Court documents filed in July listed defendants as Plan-It Recycling & Transfer, Inc; company president Roland A. Smalley Jr., of Portland.; and CLRS Properties, LLC, which owns the property.

Smalley could not be reached by telephone Wednesday for comment.

A Westbrook neighbor on Conant Street, Bob Morrill, who has been vocal in his complaints about the facility, was pleased with the court decision. “That’s great news,” Morrill said about the temporary restraining order. “It’s thrilling, I couldn’t be happier.”

Last summer, Morrill said, he could see from his residence material above the company’s fencing and he complained about noise and odor from the facility.

“It’s wonderful for the town of Gorham and the city of Westbrook,” Morrill said this week.

The Gorham Planning Board granted approval for the recycling facility several years ago. In court documents filed last summer, the town said its approval required the company “to limit both the height and the horizontal ‘footprint’ of the waste piles; to provide mineral strips on the ground at least 30 feet in width between all storage piles for emergency vehicle access; to provide for dust control for the benefit of neighboring properties; to separate the waste piles by category of waste; to limit the types of solid waste accepted at the recycling facility; and to maintain a mesh screen to serve as a visual barrier separating the site from Route 25.”

“As of the date of this complaint, defendants are in violation of all these conditions,” the town said in the court documents filed in July.

Cole said Wednesday that Warren had signed a temporary restraining order in November that included requirements that Plan It Recycling put $200,000 in escrow, and also remove 600 tons more than it brings in every two weeks. The town went back to court when it felt the company was unable to fulfill terms of that order, according to Cole.

Earlier this month, Cole said, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection joined Gorham’s lawsuit after filing its own. Lawyers for all parties had met in court on Jan. 10, Cole said.

According to its website, the company accepts commercial and residential recyclable products such as wood, concrete, sheetrock, roofing, insulation, furniture, appliances, metal and cardboard. It doesn’t accept household trash, paints and other hazardous materials.

Gorham Town Councilor Matt Mattingly Wednesday felt the economy had impacted the recycling and said it’s unfortunate that the town seeking compliance had to “get into the face” of a business.

“It’s not a course of action that the town prefers to take,” Mattingly said.

Plan-It Recycling in Gorham has been barred from accepting new material at its facility, following complaints filed by the town of Gorham and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. File photo