SACO -- The developer of the $100 million Saco Island project is in talks with the owner of a controversial trash incineration plant to buy and then shut down the plant, according to company officials.

"We are in discussions and they are good discussions," said Bob Martin, chief operating officer of Winthrop-based Mattson Development, LLC, , the company undertaking the Island Point redevelopment.

There is no deal on the table, according to officials at both Mattson and Casella Waste Management, the parent company of the Maine Energy Recovery Company.

"(The discussions) have not yielded anything of substance," Casella Vice President Joseph Fusco said.

Mattson approached Casella several months ago, Martin said. The idea was that Mattson, as a private company, could break through the political gridlock that had built up over the years between public officials and MERC representatives.

Saco Mayor Ron Michaud said he learned of the talks today. He said he was happy to work with anyone in order to facilitate MERC closing down: "It needs to go."

One option on the table, Martin said, was forming a non-profit entity that could be the vehicle to purchase the plant.

1:47 p.m.

SACO -- A real estate development company undertaking the $100 milliion Saco Island project is attempting to buy the Maine Energy Recovery Company, a company spokesman said today.

Winthrop-based Mattson Development, LLC, has been in talks with Casella Waste Management, the parent company of MERC, for several months, according to Mattson spokesman Mark Robinson. Calls to officials at Vermont-based Casella were not immediately returned.

Details about the proposed agreement were not available. Robinson said officials for the two companies have reached a verbal agreement about the type of plan needed to allow Mattson to buy MERC.

A press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Island Point.

The trash incineration plant sits on the Biddeford side of the Saco River, close to Saco Island.

Mattson indicated in a press release that the company would shut down the incinerator if it were successful in purchasing the controversial site. There have been numerous attempts to close it before.

In 2005, voters in Saco and Biddeford considered a proposal to buy the plant for $20 million and shut it down in 10 years. The proposal failed to pass in both cities, with many residents saying it was too expensive.

Last year, Biddeford's then-Mayor Wallace Nutting and his administration worked unsuccessfully with Casella to come up with a statewide plan for reorganizing solid waste disposal in Maine that would have allowed MERC to close. Current Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey has made closing the plant a high priority for her administration.

11:21 a.m.

Former Saco Mayor Mark Johnston announced this morning that he has filed a civil lawsuit in York County Superior Court against the Maine Energy Recovery Co. because of ongoing problems with the smell coming from the facility.

Johnston filed it under the state's nuisance law. He said he lives and owns a business near the trash incinerator site.

"I have tried to negotiate this to no avail," said Johnston, referring to efforts over the years by city officials. Johnston was mayor for 14 years. "For 21 years we have commissioned many lawyers and many consultants. As a citizen, I've decided it's time to do something."

Phone calls to Vermont-based Casella Waste Systems, the parent company of MERC, were not immdiately returned. A call to Johnston's attorney was not returned.

The odor problem from MERC, located in Biddeford just across the Saco River, is a well-known, long-fought battle in both towns.

"The city has spent milliions on their downtown and it is time for (MERC) to either close up shop or rectify the problem," Johnston said. "We might as well be handing out clothespins."

The lawsuit asks an injunction against the company, that it not emit odors beyond its property.

"This lawsuit is very low-tech," Johnston said. "When you think about it, the only evidence I need to bring in (to court) will be people with noses."

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