THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, OCTObEr 4, 2024 Page 3 The ash landfi ll argument rages on A new landfi ll committee created by Town Meeting plans for the days after closure while WiN Waste innovations still hopes the state and town will support extending its life By Mark E. Vogler T he town’s newly created Ash Landfi ll Closure Committee has put the state on notice that the Town of Saugus has no interest in expanding the life of the ash landfi ll after it reaches capacity near WIN Waste Innovation’s trash-to-energy plant on Route 107. “As this landfi ll approaches capacity, it is the stated desire of Saugus Town Meeting to explore other economic uses of the site which could include a large solar farm, something Town Meeting has already authorized through a zoning overlay amendment,” the committee chair, Peter Manoogian, wrote in a recent letter to Mark Fairbrother, the Northeast Region Solid Waste Chief of the state Department of Environmental Protection. “We therefore wish it to be known that Saugus is not supporting any expansion of the ash landfill, and we are opposed to any amendments to the ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern) prohibitions on siting a solid waste facility in an ACEC. Any suggestion by WIN that Saugus is in the process of negotiating for more ash is completely false,” Manoogian wrote in a letter that was approved by the committee unanimously last month. The letter corroborates what MassDEP offi cials have already confi rmed several times in recent years – that expansion would not be allowed under existing state regulations. But WIN Waste has not given up on the possibility of the life of ter. Furthermore, any HCA would have to be negotiated by the town manager and wouldn’t take eff ect unless the state allows the company to expand its ash landfi ll. If the state loosens the regulations at the ash landfi ll, the Board of Health would have authority to conduct site modifi cation hearings to ultimately decide whether and how expansion of the ash landfi ll would proceed. Saugus would receive ASH | SEE PAGE 6 RUNNING OUT OF ROOM: WIN Waste Innovations is currently trucking 50 percent of its ash to a landfi ll in Shrewsbury to prolong the life of its ash landfi ll located adjacent to its trash-to-energy plant on Route 107 in Saugus. (Saugus Advocate fi le photo by Mark E. Vogler) the ash landfi ll being extended at least another 20 years – the time period stipulated in the Host Community Agreement (HCA) approved on a 3-2 nonbinding vote of the Board of Selectmen last year. “While we appreciate the recommendations on potential uses for our property, it’s important to keep in mind that the predecessor to this closure committee, the landfi ll committee, spent 18 months doing the exact opposite of everything the closure committee is doing: The landfill committee worked with WIN in an eff ort to maximize the economic and environmental benefi ts of our monofi ll operations,” Mary Urban, Sr. Director of Communications & Community, said in a statement to The Saugus Advocate this week, responding to the Ash Landfi ll Closure Committee’s letter “Our waste-to-energy facility and monofi ll play a critical role in the state’s waste-disposal infrastructure, which is under growing pressure due to decreased capacity,” Urban said. “There are many people in the town and the region who understand our integral role in local, reliable and sustainable waste disposal and we hope to shift the conversation to again focus on how to sustain this asset, which includes the crucial conservation work being done at WIN Waste’s Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary.” WIN Waste continues to point to the tentative HCA approved by a majority of the fi ve sitting selectmen as evidence that town officials are amenable to a deal that would allow expansion of the ash landfi ll in return for compensation and other conditions. Selectmen Jeff Cicolini and Corinne Riley at the time of the nonbinding vote said they supported the HCA as a precautionary measure in case the state weakens environmental regulations related to the landfi ll. In fact, the HCA has no legal basis, under state law and under the Town of Saugus CharEastern Bank Building on Rte. 1S 605 Broadway, #301 * Saugus (781) 233-6844 www.bostonnorthdental.com Dr. Priti Amlani Dr. Bhavisha Patel * Restorative Dentistry * Cosmetic Dentistry * Implant Restoration * Zoom Whitening * Teeth in a Day - All on 6 * Invisalign * CEREC Crowns (Single Visit Crowns) * Root Canal Treatment * Sedation Dentistry ~ Full Mouth Rehabilitation ~ Before After Monogram D4 Double siding Cedar impression half rounds Harvey Vinyl 66 Replacement Windows Custom Aluminum Trim work Windows & Doors Top quality Vinyl Siding! •Vinyl Siding •Carpentry Work •Decks •Roofing •Free Estimates •Replacement Windows •Fully Licensed •Fully Insured
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