Page 2 THE REVERE ADVOCATE - Friday, August 9, 2019 State Rep. Vincent sounds off about the recent Wheelabrator plant noise (Editor’s Note: The following is the statement that State Rep. RoseLee Vincent delivered to the Saugus Board of Health on Aug. 5 regarding recent citizen complaints regarding noise emanating from Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc.’s trash-to-energy incinerator on Route 107 in Saugus.) Thank you, honorable members of the Saugus Board of Health. My name is RoseLee Vincent. I am the State Representative for the Town of Saugus and the City of Revere. Before I begin my remarks, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Saugus Board of Health for standing up to this environmental bully by hosting tonight’s meeting. I also want to express my deep appreciation to you for allowing members of the Alliance for Health and Environment, and neighborhood representatives to address your Board this evening. I am here to voice my deepest concern over the safety, health and environmental impact that the oldest incinerator in the country (circa 1975) has on the people I represent in Saugus and Revere. The recent and unprecedented noise assault on our neighborhoods that lasted for well over 6 weeks is unconscionable. It is a very real signal that there is something very wrong with this nearly 50 year old incinerator. Although the 24/7 noise has somewhat abated, it’s still occurring, and is a clear indication that this incinerator does not, and will NEVER meet the same standards that are afforded to people who live in other communities across the Commonwealth. What our neighbors have We Carry... * Lifetime Waterproof Warranty * Ceramic, Porcelain & Stone Tile Phil Russo Owner 31 Osprey Rd., Saugus * 781-289-9676 had to endure these past weeks, and continue to endure with this ungodly noise, is unacceptable by any reasonable person’s standards. It should be noted that since November, 2016 our neighbors who live in the shadow of the Wheelabrator have had to endure these types of noise occurrences at all hours of the day and night no less than SEVEN times due to issues at the plant, again demonstrating that perhaps this dinosaur of facility should be reaching the point of extinction. However, noise is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Wheelabrator Saugus. Put aside, for just a moment that the Wheelabrator Saugus inof the existing boilers and furnaces” (as stated in their September, 2018 Emission Control Plan to the MassDEP). Put all the environmental concerns aside for just a moment. Put simply, the issue of noise READY TO TESTIFY: State Rep. RoseLee Vincent heads into Saugus Town Hall on Monday night (Aug. 5) to address the Saugus Board of Health at a show cause public hearing for Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. to explain recent noise issues at its trash-to-energy incinerator on Route 107 in Saugus. Vincent, a Democrat representing the Sixteenth Suff olk District, was one of 12 people who testifi ed before the board. (Revere Advocate Photo by Mark E. Vogler) cinerator and landfi ll are situated within the Rumney Marsh and abut two rivers that fl ow into America’s First Public Beach. Put aside the fact that according to the DEP, the Saugus ash landfi ll is the only unlined landfi ll still in use in the Commonwealth. Put aside, for just a second, that the DEP has approved a plan that will extend the life of the landfi ll for another fi ve to ten years without requesting an Environmental Impact Report, even though that very landfi ll was supposed to close in 1996. Put aside that there is currently an application before the DEP which would allow Wheelabrator to skirt emissions standards because the facility could not meet the current 21st century standards without “major modifi cations that we are talking about tonight shows that this is a real quality of life and health issue in addition to an environmental one. What the people in Saugus and Revere have been dealing with on a regular basis demonstrates clearly that this facility has outlived its usefulness. Wheelabrator Saugus is not a state-of-the-art incinerator – it cannot be retrofi tted to give our constituency in Saugus and Revere the protections they deserve. As I alluded to, the fact that Wheelabrator is arguing to MassDEP that they cannot meet new emissions monitoring standards without major modifi cations of the existing boilers and furnaces is alarming. This is another example of Saugus residents not having the same protections as the rest of the Commonwealth. The people we represent are calling on you, the Board of Health, to fi nally hold Wheelabrator accountable for their actions. This honorable body has the power to insist that the people in Saugus, Revere and beyond have a safe and healthy environment. By requiring Wheelabrator to come before you for a Site Assignment that is long overdue is a start to hold Wheelabrator accountable for their actions. Sadly, it does not appear the State and the Courts are going to help us protect our friends and neighbors. At this point, all of us are looking to the Town of Saugus and the Board of Health specifi cally, to take action. Please, honorable members, use your legal authority to hold Wheelabrator accountable. We are counting on you … we need you. Thank you.
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