Casella to close Southbridge landfill next year
By
Brian Lee
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Aug 3, 2017 at 9:19 PM
Updated at 5:53 AM
SOUTHBRIDGE – To the delight of longtime opponents of the Southbridge
landfill, and in the wake of a failed landfill ballot initiative,
Casella Waste Systems said it plans to close the facility next year
rather than continue efforts to expand it.
The Vermont waste management company had been seeking approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection to expand the 51-acre landfill to five adjacent parcels totaling 19.17 acres, and build new landfill cells on top of existing cells.
Instead, Casella announced in its quarterly financial report Wednesday that it had recognized a charge of more than $64 million for closing Southbridge landfill.
In the report, chairman and CEO John W. Casella noted “the innumerable regulatory and political roadblocks we have faced over the last three years as we have worked to develop additional capacity at the site.”
Mr. Casella said the company does not believe further development at the landfill site would generate an adequate risk-adjusted return.
Casella, which provides the town more than $4 million a year in revenue and services, said it will continue to operate in Southbridge until Dec. 31, 2018, unless the landfill capacity is exhausted before that.
It said it will fulfill contractual obligations, such as curbside waste collection through 2027, payment for an access road on Commercial Drive, and payment of up to $5 million for a water line in a Charlton neighborhood where private wells are contaminated.
Casella has a permit to accept up to 405,600 tons per year of household trash, making it the state’s second largest operation of its kind.
In June, a referendum resulted in a resounding defeat of a petition by Casella to engage in talks with town officials to expand the landfill.
In a statement, Casella said, “Environmental facilities work best -
for a community and an operator - when there is support within the
community for a partnership with a facility, and when the community
shares a vision for the future for the facility and seeks a ‘win-win’
partnership.”
The landfill has been in operation since 1980. Casella began managing it in 2003.
Casella said it is proud of its accomplishments in Southbridge, arriving to find “a highly distressed unlined and lined landfill that had been poorly operated.” At the time it was subject to legal and regulatory enforcement actions for violations, Casella said.
“We fixed these issues at a cost to us of approximately $15 million,” the company said. “Since then, we’ve invested millions of dollars more, significantly improving much of the landfill’s infrastructure, and its operation, including the construction of an entirely new access road to the landfill and the town’s industrial park, taking traffic out of previously overburdened neighborhoods.”
Town Manager Ronald San Angelo met with Casella officials Thursday. He noted, “The referendum question, I think, really sent them a message that the town isn’t supporting any kind of expansion.”
As it is a legal issue, Mr. San Angelo said the correspondence from Casella would be turned over to town lawyers for review. The manager said the town intends to call a meeting involving himself, inspectional services director Andrew R. Pelletier, town lawyers, and Casella representatives “to discuss the future and direction that they’re going in.”
Mr. San Angelo said the meeting Thursday was “positive,” and he suggested it’s been a good business relationship.
“Like every issue in town, there are positives of this and negatives
of this,” Mr. San Angelo said.
“The positives are, some people will like the fact that the landfill is closing, and there will be fewer issues with truck noise and smell. That will all be reduced.
The Vermont waste management company had been seeking approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection to expand the 51-acre landfill to five adjacent parcels totaling 19.17 acres, and build new landfill cells on top of existing cells.
Instead, Casella announced in its quarterly financial report Wednesday that it had recognized a charge of more than $64 million for closing Southbridge landfill.
In the report, chairman and CEO John W. Casella noted “the innumerable regulatory and political roadblocks we have faced over the last three years as we have worked to develop additional capacity at the site.”
Mr. Casella said the company does not believe further development at the landfill site would generate an adequate risk-adjusted return.
Casella, which provides the town more than $4 million a year in revenue and services, said it will continue to operate in Southbridge until Dec. 31, 2018, unless the landfill capacity is exhausted before that.
It said it will fulfill contractual obligations, such as curbside waste collection through 2027, payment for an access road on Commercial Drive, and payment of up to $5 million for a water line in a Charlton neighborhood where private wells are contaminated.
Casella has a permit to accept up to 405,600 tons per year of household trash, making it the state’s second largest operation of its kind.
In June, a referendum resulted in a resounding defeat of a petition by Casella to engage in talks with town officials to expand the landfill.
The landfill has been in operation since 1980. Casella began managing it in 2003.
Casella said it is proud of its accomplishments in Southbridge, arriving to find “a highly distressed unlined and lined landfill that had been poorly operated.” At the time it was subject to legal and regulatory enforcement actions for violations, Casella said.
“We fixed these issues at a cost to us of approximately $15 million,” the company said. “Since then, we’ve invested millions of dollars more, significantly improving much of the landfill’s infrastructure, and its operation, including the construction of an entirely new access road to the landfill and the town’s industrial park, taking traffic out of previously overburdened neighborhoods.”
Town Manager Ronald San Angelo met with Casella officials Thursday. He noted, “The referendum question, I think, really sent them a message that the town isn’t supporting any kind of expansion.”
As it is a legal issue, Mr. San Angelo said the correspondence from Casella would be turned over to town lawyers for review. The manager said the town intends to call a meeting involving himself, inspectional services director Andrew R. Pelletier, town lawyers, and Casella representatives “to discuss the future and direction that they’re going in.”
Mr. San Angelo said the meeting Thursday was “positive,” and he suggested it’s been a good business relationship.
“The positives are, some people will like the fact that the landfill is closing, and there will be fewer issues with truck noise and smell. That will all be reduced.
“The negative side, for the town, is the revenue we received from
landfill royalties (in excess of $2 million a year) will decrease and
eventually disappear,” he said.
Daniel Butler, a resident of Brookside Road, which is near the landfill, said he’s been involved in a grass-roots effort to combat Casella for five years. Efforts by residents of Southbridge, Sturbridge and Charlton against Casella have lasted more than a decade.
“Nobody’s asked each other whether you’re a Democratic, Republican, their religious beliefs, none of that junk,” Mr. Butler said of the local movement. “It’s just been a group of citizens concerned about the health of future generations.”
Mr. Butler said odors and noise from the landfill are the biggest nuisance for his neighborhood.
“I’ve said at past meetings that we can’t open our windows the entire year because of odors,” Mr. Butler said. “It’s just not fair. The quality of life should be the same for everybody in town. You try to have a few friends over for cookouts, or during evenings, and you have to apologize to guests for why the air stinks.”
With respect to noise, Mr. Butler said he appeared before the Town Council in 2012, a year after a tornado ravaged his neighborhood.
Trees that were destroyed in the tornado had acted as a sound barrier to noise.
As a consequence, Mr. Butler said, he asked councilors for remediation. He said at least one councilor promised shrubbery would be planted at the base of Commercial Drive. But nothing’s been done, he said.
Erin Lapriore, who lives near the landfill on Worcester Street, said, “For us, it wasn’t about the revenue Casella generated for the town. It was about protecting the health and safety of citizens, not only in Southbridge, but in bordering towns within proximity of the landfill. Wells have already been contaminated, and we still have no idea what else could possibly rear its ugly head down the road as a result of what’s already been put there.”
Town Councilor Kristen Auclair, another opponent, said, “I’m proud of all those involved in the ‘No on 1’ campaign and am confident it was the community’s voice against additional expansion that led to this announcement. The great trash experiment has ended in failure, and I’m excited to move forward with cleaner and more progressive sources of revenue.”
Toxics Action Center and Environment Massachusetts filed a lawsuit in federal court in Worcester against Casella and Southbridge over what they said is the release of toxic pollutants from the Southbridge landfill that have contaminated drinking water wells and a nearby stream and wetlands.
“When citizen action drives enforcement of environmental regulations, polluting facilities are no longer profitable and they get shut down,” said Kirstie Pecci, a lawyer at the Conservation Law Foundation and resident of Sturbridge. “This doesn’t change the fact that the wells in our community are contaminated, but at least Casella has abandoned its plan to bury another 4 million tons of waste here.”
John Jordan of Charlton and Clean Wells, a community group for the three towns, said, “One of our major wishes seems to have come true. Since this horror show began we have pushed for closure. We don’t want any more families, drinking water wells or wetlands to be contaminated, and expansions would have made a bad situation worse.”
The future closing of the landfill, however, does not resolve the groundwater pollution problem, Mr. Jordan said.
“We need to know what Casella and Southbridge are going to do to stop and remediate this pollution,” he said.
Daniel Butler, a resident of Brookside Road, which is near the landfill, said he’s been involved in a grass-roots effort to combat Casella for five years. Efforts by residents of Southbridge, Sturbridge and Charlton against Casella have lasted more than a decade.
“Nobody’s asked each other whether you’re a Democratic, Republican, their religious beliefs, none of that junk,” Mr. Butler said of the local movement. “It’s just been a group of citizens concerned about the health of future generations.”
Mr. Butler said odors and noise from the landfill are the biggest nuisance for his neighborhood.
“I’ve said at past meetings that we can’t open our windows the entire year because of odors,” Mr. Butler said. “It’s just not fair. The quality of life should be the same for everybody in town. You try to have a few friends over for cookouts, or during evenings, and you have to apologize to guests for why the air stinks.”
With respect to noise, Mr. Butler said he appeared before the Town Council in 2012, a year after a tornado ravaged his neighborhood.
As a consequence, Mr. Butler said, he asked councilors for remediation. He said at least one councilor promised shrubbery would be planted at the base of Commercial Drive. But nothing’s been done, he said.
Erin Lapriore, who lives near the landfill on Worcester Street, said, “For us, it wasn’t about the revenue Casella generated for the town. It was about protecting the health and safety of citizens, not only in Southbridge, but in bordering towns within proximity of the landfill. Wells have already been contaminated, and we still have no idea what else could possibly rear its ugly head down the road as a result of what’s already been put there.”
Town Councilor Kristen Auclair, another opponent, said, “I’m proud of all those involved in the ‘No on 1’ campaign and am confident it was the community’s voice against additional expansion that led to this announcement. The great trash experiment has ended in failure, and I’m excited to move forward with cleaner and more progressive sources of revenue.”
Toxics Action Center and Environment Massachusetts filed a lawsuit in federal court in Worcester against Casella and Southbridge over what they said is the release of toxic pollutants from the Southbridge landfill that have contaminated drinking water wells and a nearby stream and wetlands.
“When citizen action drives enforcement of environmental regulations, polluting facilities are no longer profitable and they get shut down,” said Kirstie Pecci, a lawyer at the Conservation Law Foundation and resident of Sturbridge. “This doesn’t change the fact that the wells in our community are contaminated, but at least Casella has abandoned its plan to bury another 4 million tons of waste here.”
John Jordan of Charlton and Clean Wells, a community group for the three towns, said, “One of our major wishes seems to have come true. Since this horror show began we have pushed for closure. We don’t want any more families, drinking water wells or wetlands to be contaminated, and expansions would have made a bad situation worse.”
The future closing of the landfill, however, does not resolve the groundwater pollution problem, Mr. Jordan said.
“We need to know what Casella and Southbridge are going to do to stop and remediate this pollution,” he said.
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