THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022 Page 9 WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE TOWN? Members of the Board of Health’s Landfi ll Subcommittee listen to a presentation on WIN Waste Innovation’s proposed Host Community Agreement. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) committee will recommend to the BOS [Board of Selectmen] to approve a Host Community Agreement,” Cogliano said. “Then, WIN must meet all the requirements of the DEP [state Department of Environmental Protection] before they can apply for a site assignment from the BOH [Saugus Board of Health],” he said. State Rep. Donald Wong (R-Saugus) said he thinks WIN Waste Innovations covered some important ground in the presentation. “I think it was good,” Wong said. “I would have liked to have seen more information — more information and what the Town will use the money for,” he said. Selectman Riley, who is secretary for the subcommittee, said she’s happy with the progress of the subcommittee since it began its discussions with WIN Waste Innovations about 18 months ago. “I am pleased that the committee, from the beginning, worked collaboratively with WIN to get to this point,” Riley said after the meeting. “I will do my homework on the presentation: what I feel are important points to ask about during our next meeting. Going into this, I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know and learned much during these meetings,” Riley said. “I look forward to our next step to continue to work towards the environmental improvements, like reduced NOx levels and improved monitoring, as well as having the town benefi t from the revenue that the agreement might provide,” she said. “As it was stated at the meeting, this is just the beginning of a long process. Our committee was to open the dialogue, share our concerns and ask questions as well as listening to what WIN had to present on their future plans,” she said. “I feel our committee did what we set out to do and the rest of this process will be determined by the Board of Health and the state once our committee votes to move the agreement to the Selectmen or not. No matter what happens moving forward, we were a committee of residents from all parts of town, meeting with WIN representatives with professionalism and respect for one another.” Two years away from capacity WIN Waste Innovations is expected to reach capacity at its ash landfi ll within two years, according to Connolly. “What we are asking is that we continue using the monofi ll on the same footprint with the same environmental controls, rather than trucking the ash to facilities that could be hours away, with environmental impacts that long-haul trucking would present,” Connolly said. Connolly said WIN Waste appreciates the spirit of collaboration with the Town and looks forward to an open, fact-based discussion on the proposed Host Community Agreement. “Like in many towns across the region where essential industries call themselves home, we are confi dent we can achieve a solution that mutually benefi ts Saugus and WIN Waste,” he said. If WIN Waste Innovations is successful in securing the necessary permits to continue operating the ash landfi ll for another 25 years on top of the two years ’til capacity, Connolly said, the next step would be to develop an engineering plan and go through a rigorous environmental impact process. Cogliano said it’s inevitable that the trash-to-energy plant on Route 107 will continue to operate for many years to come. “To think we left money on the table for the past 40 years,” Cogliano said, while referring to a past history of adversarial relations with the company. “I think it’s time to work with them and come up with the best solution for the town,” he said, noting that Saugus has left many needed projects on the table that it didn’t have the funds for — like the West Side Fire Station. “It’s just high time the Town of Saugus started reaping the benefi ts of having this plant in town,” Cogliano said. Board of Health Chair William Heff ernan, who co-chairs the Landfi ll Subcommittee, declared, “It’s important for everyone to keep an open mind.” He noted that relations with WIN Waste Innovations (formerly Wheelabrator Technologies) have improved dramatically over the past 18 months. In previous years, he recalled, public meetings about the trash-to-energy plant were “downright nasty” to the point where people were “pushing and shoving in the hallway.” In the days since the Landfi ll Subcommittee was created, Heff ernan said, he’s noticed more collaboration between the town and the company. Open a 2-year CD with one of the region’s highest rates. 419 BROADWAY. EVERETT, MA 02149 771 SALEM ST. LYNNFIELD, MA 01940 WWW.EVERETTBANK.COM Member FDIC | Member DIF
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