THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, April 15, 2022 Page 5 lawmakers and MassDEP addresses WIN Waste landfill closing Forum organized by two area By Adam Swift T he ash landfill at WIN Waste Innovations in Saugus is likely to close and be capped within the next several years, and local and state officials are planning for what comes next. State Rep. Jessica Giannino ( D-Revere ), whose district includes Precincts 3 and 10 in Saugus, and state Rep. Jeffrey Turco ( D-Winthrop ) whose 19th Suffolk House District includes part of Revere, last week ( April 5 ) cohosted a public discussion on the future permitting of the WIN Waste Innovations ( formerly Wheelabrator Technologies ) ash landfill. Joining the two legislators were state ever, the WIN Waste incinerator could remain in operation and ship its ash to a separate location. While there was a generally upbeat tone to Tuesday’s meeting and the possibility that the decades-long battle against the ash landfill may be over, there were a number of residents who live near WIN Waste Innovations who said they would believe it when they see it. “ I want to thank Commissioner Suuberg for sending us the letter back in the fall that his understanding of the current law is that once the landfill reaches its capacity it will not be able to expand beyond that, ” Turco said. ting the chemicals and the toxins and heavy metal into the air, and they were creating ash, ” Pecci said. “ For every four tons of trash, they generate a ton of ash, and that ash has to go there, and they put it on top of the municipal solid waste — and they made the ash mountain you see now. ” By the late 1980s, it was no longer legal to have an ash mountain in the middle of a marsh, Pecci said, and the area was declared an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. “ In 1989, there was what’s called a consent order, saying this is closing December 1996 ; this landfill is done, ” PecFORUM | SEE PAGE 6 $$ CASH FOR YOUR CAR, TRUCK OR SUV! $$ GET YOUR VEHICLE SPRING READY! Our Spring Service includes: • Complete Safety Check • AC Check • Engine Light Check • Suspension Check with Oil Change Special 2006 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL 2015 HYUNDAI TUSCON Only $39.95 Town Car, Signature Series, Every Option, Only 140K Miles, Warranty. TRADES WELCOME! $5,995 Easy Financing Available! EddiesAutotech.com ESTIMATED LANDFILL LIFE : State Department of Environmental Protection officials say there is enough remaining capacity of the ash landfill at the site of the WIN Waste Innovations trash-to-energy plant to last through the end of 2025. ( Saugus Advocate file photo by Mark E. Vogler ) Department of Environmental Protection ( MassDEP ) officials at the Point of Pines Yacht Club, in the shadow of the WIN Waste incinerator on Rumney Marsh. Late last year, MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg issued a letter stating that MassDEP would not allow the expansion of the WIN Waste ash landfill as it’s currently proposed. At last week’s meeting, MassDEP representatives estimated it would be about four years before the ash landfill reaches total capacity and would have to begin closure procedures. How“ That led to a discussion among people who said let’s start talking about what happens after the landfill reaches capacity, ” he said. Kirstie Pecci, director of the Conservation Law Foundation’s Zero Waste Project, ran through the long legal history of the WIN Waste site, which stretches back over seven decades to its original use as a trash dump. In the 1970s, people were sick of the odor from the landfill, and the site was transformed into an incinerator plant. “ What really happens is nothing goes away, and they were emit(Most vehicles) Warranty, Only 89K Miles! 4X4, Most Power Options, Heated Seats, Back-Up Camera, Heated Seats, Back-Up Camera, Warranty, Only 89K Miles! PRICE REDUCED! (781) 321-8841 • (617) 571-9869 1236 EasternAve • Malden For Your Vehicle! $13,900 We Pay Cash Gerry D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657 AUTOTECH
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