THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 Page 7 Majority of City Council signs onto letter supporting WIN Waste opinion from MassDEP By Adam Swift W ith one exception, the City Council, last Monday night, signed onto a letter presented by Councillors Jessica Ann Giannino and Richard Serino supporting a recent legal analysis against permitting a vertical expansion at the WIN Waste Innovations ash landfi ll in Saugus. City Council President Anthony Zambuto was the lone dissenting voice on signing onto the letter. The motion from Giannino and Serino is tied to a letter that state Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Commissioner Martin Suuberg recently sent to state Representative Jeff rey Turco concerning expansion of the WIN Waste facility, which was formerly known as Wheelabrator. “There was a meeting with Suuberg weeks ago, and the result of that meeting was that Representative Turco said, ‘I want something in writing that says this is what this call summarizes and these are our fi ndings and beliefs,’” said Giannino. “Because Representative Turco asked, we got a letter from Suuberg addressed to him, stating his fi ndings, and there were some big takeaways from that.” Among the takeaways, said Giannino, is that because the landfi ll is located in marshland that is an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) MassCOUNCILLOR | FROM Page 6 from the community. The site itself has been honed down to two locations, Keefe said – the current high school site and the Wonderland site. He said the plan on the table for the high school site would not include the taking of any nearby properties by eminent domain, as had been a previous possibility. “This is my issue; the entire process – the people didn’t have a say in it – it was just a select group,” said Rotondo. Keefe countered that the public has had a say through numerous public building committee meetings. “The problem is the process is being confi ned to a particular time frame, a particular use of medium, and that’s an issue,” said Rotondo. During previous school building projects, Rotondo said, the principals involved were in front of the City Council on a regular basis and provided it with regDEP will not allow any farther expansion. “What they are doing right now – think of it like a W – there are peaks and there are valleys; they are just fi lling all the valleys because they are allowed to,” said Giannino. “Eventually, when this maxes out, there is nothing left to fi ll, and they can only go higher. This letter from Suuberg said they basically agree that they should not be allowed to put anymore in once they max out at what they have.” Giannino, who is also a State Representative, said she and Turco will be submitting a letter in support of Suuberg’s recent statement to the City Council, as well as to the state Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR). “Alongside the legal issues of expansion, there are numerous environmental and health issues as well,” the letter from Giannino and Serino states. “Wheelabrator’s ash landfi ll is located within a one-mile radius of Environmental Justice communities in Saugus, and its impacts extend well beyond Saugus to neighboring Environmental Justice communities in Revere and Lynn. For decades, these communities have been burdened by pollution and nitrogen oxides being emitted by Wheelabrator.” Zambuto said some people see the letter diff erently than the assessment given by Giannino ular minutes of their meetings. “We are the ones who are going to sign off on this – and they are choosing where this goes without at least giving us a weekly update,” said Rotondo. Keefe disagreed and said anyone can participate fairly easily in the meetings. “These are held on Zoom, so you can participate in your pajamas, on your couch; it couldn’t be easier,” said Keefe. “If the councillors – if Councillor Rotondo wants to join, you can join; you’ve chosen not to.” Rotondo said he has watched all the meetings and that when he has tried to participate during the meetings he has found the public input process diffi cult and off -putting. City Council President Anthony Zambuto noted that the City Council is not currently getting weekly minutes from the building committee, as it has gotten in the past during other school projects. Keefe said he will ask the building committee to begin to send the minutes to the council. and Serino. “All it did, in my opinion, is state the obvious: that it is in an ACEC area, and that would be a major hurdle to expand the ash landfi ll,” said Zambuto. “So the bottom line is that nothing has changed but that you can interpret it anyway you want, so I interpret it as status quo.” SNOW BLOWER SALES, SERVICE & REPAIRS Pickup/Delivery Available 1039 BROADWAY, REVERE 781-289-6466 781-289-6466 WWW.BIKERSOUTFITTER.COM WWW.BIKERSOUTFITTER.COM Clinics Vaccination
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