SAUGUS — The state Department of Environmental Protection will hear opinions on Wheelabrator Saugus’ request to place additional ash in two valleys on the landfill site at a forum Thursday night.
The company is proposing two things — to stage ash residue on the landfill before transport off-site, and to place some additional fill in two valleys on the landfill, according to MassDEP spokesman Joseph Ferson. The requests were submitted separately as a Minor Permit Modification and a Major Permit Modification.
A final decision for the Minor Permit Modification was issued on Nov. 1, and allows Wheelabrator to temporarily stage ash residue within the limits of the landfill for transport to offsite ash management facilities, subject to specific conditions.
On the same day, MassDEP issued a provisional decision for the Major Permit Modification, which, as drafted, would allow Wheelabrator to place additional ash fill in two valleys within the limits of the landfill, subject to specific conditions.
The decision of whether or not the company can place additional ash fill in two valleys is separate and independent of permitting for the staging and transport project.
Residents can express their opinions on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Saugus High School auditorium, or send written comments to [email protected] or the Solid Waste Section of MassDEP Northeast Regional office at 205B Lowell Street in Wilmington.
The deadline for written comment was set for Dec. 1, but extended on Nov. 27 for 45 days until Jan. 12, 2018.
“We appreciate the DEP’s diligence, professionalism and transparency throughout the permitting process, and we look forward to hearing public comment on the provisional permit that we believe represents the best environmental and economic solution for the town and the region,” said James Connolly, vice president of environment, health and safety at Wheelabrator Saugus.
In a public comment period on the Minor Permit Modification earlier this year, residents voiced concerns about traffic and health issues.
“My daughter has a brain tumor, like most kids in Saugus — it doesn’t matter anymore,” said Cathy Dreyer in her response to an email requesting public comment on Sept. 8.
Another respondent, who was identified as only the second commenter, included similar grim remarks.
“There are hundreds of people in East Saugus with medical conditions from that ash dump, including cancer, myself included. Family across the street lost their mom to cancer. The man remarried and she got cancer. Another family across the street lost their dad to cancer. Three on the street next to them have had and lost a family member living there to cancer. That’s just the ones I know on our street.”
MassDEP responded in its decision that the State Department of Public Health conducted an evaluation of cancer rates in town in March 2016 and concluded that “overall, there does not seem to be an unusual pattern of cancer in the community of Saugus.”
State Rep. RoseLee Vincent (D-Revere), who chairs the Alliance for Health and the Environment, an organization opposed to the expansion of Wheelabrator, said in a statement that she is concerned that approving the Major Permit Modification will be detrimental to the health of the plant’s neighbors.
“Approving this expansion would expose people in Revere, Saugus, and Lynn to another decade of public health risks associated with contaminated ash that goes along with operating this ash landfill,” said Vincent.