DEAL | FROM Page 10 town meeting.” The deal WIN Waste offered the town provided $18.8 million in direct payments – a lump sum payment of $15 million plus $125,000 in 25 annual payments (for total addition value of $3.8 million). However, WIN Waste said it would pay the town $10 million in a lump sum if required to invest more than $5 million due to regulatory requirements, including: • Approximately $10 million paid at a rate of $2.50 per ton of ash disposed. • Capital improvements made at the facility would generate additional tax revenue. The total value of the deal, including investments made by the company in capital improvements and environmental enhancements, is about $30 million. In addition to providing economic benefi ts, the HCA stipulates that WIN Waste would reduce NOx and other emissions below the current permit limits, which are already protective of public health and the environment. It off ers to reduce its current NOx permit limit of 185 ppm to 175. The company said it would spend about $7.2 million over the term of the agreement to achieve the lower limit. The company would also install a stand-alone ambient NOx monitoring station in Saugus and request that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health update its 2016 health study. WIN Waste also off ered to voluntarily reduce permitted emissions levels of lead (400 to 140 ppm), cadmium (35 to 10 ppm), dioxin (30 to 13 ppm) and particulate (25 to 20 ppm) to levels required of new waste to energy units under the federal clean air regulations. Revere Councillor-at-Large supports agreement Among the 10 citizens speaking in favor of the HCA was Revere Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto. The councillor, who spoke in favor of the agreement at a hearing of the Saugus Landfi ll Committee, said it would be improper for a Revere city councillor to “dictate to” Saugus selectmen how they should vote on a Saugus issue. “However, Revere certainly is part of the discussion because Revere’s waste is picked up curbside in Revere and brought to WIN Waste for disposal,” Zambuto said. “And it’s disposed of in the most energy and environmentally effi cient way, from waste to energy,” he said. Zambuto said he wants to challenge the use of the words “toxic waste” to describe the wastes produced at WIN Waste’s ash landfi ll. “Toxic waste is a lie,” Zambuto said. “It’s not toxic waste. … DEP, the people … I was in construction for many years – the people who made me move piles of dirt that babies could actually eat are the same people that called this ‘non-toxic ash.’ So, I’m very offended when I hear offi cials calling it toxic ash. Facts and science are important. And some people get up here and talk emotionally about what they think [are] the health causes and the health effects of the plant. This is fully permitted and it’s in compliance in all areas,” Zambuto said. “My biggest fear is that the nontoxic ash will have to be trucked through Revere to Shrewsbury, and that’s the equivalent of 40 trucks a day. And to my environmental friends, I say, ‘How’s that to your carbon footprint?’ The biggest problem I have with that is it’s going to probably put 30 bucks a ton on our tipping fees. And that’s going to make seniors homeless. Okay? Because they are on fi xed incomes. Thirty bucks a ton is probably going to compute to 300 bucks on the tax bill.” Precinct 8 Town Meeting Member William E. Cross III, a Saugus Fire Department captain who served on the Landfi ll Subcommittee, also spoke in favor of the WIN Waste deal. “I’m not going to beat a dead horse,” Cross said. “This is a vote to send it to the DEP. I think we have to trust in the DEP. If this is dangerous, if this is bad for the environment and this is leaching into the salt water, then the DEP should tell us that and this thing should shut down. “But that being said, I don’t see that happening. After we’re gone, this is going to be here for a long time. So, I urge this board to take this vote, push it to the DEP. Let the people who are experts in this fi eld decide whether this can move forward,” he said. Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member William S. Brown recalled how bad things were at the landfi ll years ago when he was growing up. “It was awful. The smell was awful; I don’t know how the people in the surrounding neighborhoods could put up with that,” Brown said, recalling the rats and seagulls converged on the area “But moving forward, I’d say that WIN-Wheelabrator has proven themselves to be good neighbors. And they worked hard to try to clean up their act. There isn’t much they can do with their building. It’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen,” Brown said. “But I think it’s time that the Town of Saugus takes a diff erent tact on this. The past 40 years has been an adversarial relationship with Wheelabrator and WIN. I think the door is open now a little bit for us to maybe try and work together a little bit, and I would urge the board to show the leadership that this town needs and support this agreement.” THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 Brown said that perhaps in time, “a genius at MIT” might fi gure out a future use for the ash. “Tear it down; build a new one.” Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian said he is “appalled” by the low standard selectmen are willing to accept for NOx emissions. “If the plant was torn down and built brand-new, it would be 45 parts per million,” Manoogian said. He added, “170 (ppm) – for them to agree to that is not a win for Saugus. The health study that they’re suggesting be enhanced only looks at cancer rates. NOx is a cause of asthma, particularly in young children.” “Their Baltimore plant – their City Council in Baltimore sued the plant and passed a regulation to have NOx emissions much lower – below 100 [ppm]. They ended up settling and they’re around 110 [ppm] now. There are plants that are 45 parts per million,” Manoogian said. “Let me cut to the chase. What I would suggest you consider is what we did back in 1990 when everybody said we can’t get scrubbers on the plant because it’s grandfathered. Well, what had to happen is legislation had to take place that required every community to pay its fair share,” he said. “I have no problem with an incinerator that meets the lowest attainable rate, such as 45 parts per million. But 170 is wholly inadequate to protect the public health and environment. I wouldn’t celebrate this 170 as an environmental victory. It’s not. 50 [ppm] is the standard and new incinerators are at 45 [ppm].” Manoogian suggested that Page 11 Saugus consider having the current incinerator replaced. “Have a Host Community Agreement that says, ‘Okay, we want the best for Saugus.’ Tear it down; build a new one and pass the costs on to the member communities. Saugus cannot keep subsidizing the trash disposal costs with our health,” he said. Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Martin Costello said the town should take heed of climate change and weather conditions that threaten the future of the ash landfi ll. “Close this facility as soon as possible,” Costello said of the ash landfi ll, reading from a letter he wrote to MassDEP back in 2018. “We’re at sea level here in Boston. It wouldn’t take much – the climate change that we’re dealing with right now – for this ash pile to suddenly become seaworthy,” he said. WIN Waste should consider an exit plan and closure instead of expansion of the ash landfi ll, he said. Jackie Mercurio, the lone member of the Landfi ll Subcommittee to vote against the HCA, said she would like to see “a more concrete community agreement” before selectmen vote on it. “The site suitability is at risk for future ash,” Mercurio testifi ed. “I’ve asked WIN how they would propose to make the site suitable. They have no answer, “she said. “Currently, the ash landfi ll sits on an environmentally critical area. It cannot expand in height nor expand wider, based off of Massachusetts law. We have no answers about what the plan would look like. How can offi cials support all the unknowns?” Mercurio questioned why there was no proposal being considered to bring the incinerator to current standards. 2.50 %APY* With rates like this, earning while you save is easier than ever. Ask about our concierge service. EARN INTEREST WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS FROM A NEW MILESTONE SAVINGS ACCOUNT. Saving is hard. We get it. Life gets in the way. That’s why we created the Milestone Savings Account. With an amazing 2.50% APY* and no restrictions, reaching those New Milestone Savings Account. Go to everettbank.com for details. * This account is available to all new customers and for existing customers with new monies of $50,000. Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of the earn the advertised Annual Percentage yield. Fees could reduce earnings.
12 Publizr Home