THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, August 9, 2019 Page 3 Wheelabrator apologizes for the noise, but insists it kept the state and Board of Health informed of its response to problems By Mark E. Vogler A top Wheelabrator Technologies official told the Saugus Board of Health the company regrets disrupting the lives of residents living near its trash-to-energy plant during a five-week period in June and July. “We understand that noises from an industrial operation can be bothersome and we want to start by saying directly that we are sorry if the recent turbine outage disturbed members of the community,” Wheelabrator Technologies’ Vice President of Environmental, Health and Safety Jim Connolly said during Monday’s show cause hearing. “Our goal is to be a good neighbor and if we failed to do that we want to do better, and we commit to you that we will,” Connolly said. “Obviously, in the recent outage, which was unexpectedly extended, there were concerns raised about the noise and we did not meet our community’s expectations. Again, we are sorry that happened and we commit to do better,” he said. Connolly provided the Board of Health with a detailed explanation of how the plant’s operation during the turbine refurbishment contributed to the plant’s noise problems – as did several measures intended to silence the noise. But Connolly also rebutted criticism that Wheelabrator had not done enough to keep the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Board of Health informed throughout the period. He provided a log of communication between Wheelabrator and the DEP and the Health Board during the period of June 10 through July 12. “Wheelabrator did keep the BOH and the DEP informed in advance of and throughout the event, through the Chairman of the BOH and through the appointed contacts at the DEP,” Connolly said. A REBUTAL: Wheelabrator Technologies’ Vice President of Environmental, Health and Safety Jim Connolly at Monday’s show cause hearing, addressing the Saugus Board of Health on recent noise complaints. (Saugus Advocate Photo by Mark E. Vogler) “We had multiple contacts with the BOH, and we were in regular, almost daily communication with the DEP,” he said. “In addition, there were several calls from our community relations liaison to the Chairperson of the Saugus Board of Selectmen. We felt that through these communications we were keeping both the BOH and DEP informed of our progress,” he said. While addressing the board, Connolly also noted: • The steam turbine is taken down for service about every five years “and the full scope of service cannot be anticipated until the turbine is opened up and inspected.” • When Wheelabrator became aware of the concerns being raised in the community about the noise being generated, the company took “immediate steps to mitigate the noise by finding an alternate/enhanced silencer,” which was obtained from Texas and shipped to Saugus. • Once the silencer was turned on and put in use, Wheelabrator determined “the sound reduction was not sufficient to address the community concerns we were hearing and we, therefore, took one of our two boilers off-line to reduce the amount of steam we were producing. The single boiler operated with minimal sound impacts until the steam turbine was returned to service and we no longer needed to vent steam, and normal facility operations resumed.” • Wheelabrator continues to investigate improved solutions to the concerns raised about the noise. The company is exploring additional steps it can take in the future to minimize noise issues when there is a need to take the turbine offline for an extended period. “We would also be happy to discuss with the Board a communications protocol that we would use if there is a need to vent steam over any prolonged period,” Connolly said. “If there is a better way to communicate, we are happy to discuss it,” he said. “We apologize to any who were inconvenienced by dine drink gather enjoy Friday, August 9 at 9 PM The North Shore's Greatest Party Band WILDFIRE Saturday, August 10 at 9 PM BACK TO THE 80'S SUMMER BASH! sound during the period when both boilers were running. 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