• Soil broker concerned over Rutland project

• 
  


Patrick J. Hannon, chairman of Uxbridge's Conservation Commission. T&G Photo/Paula J. Owen
• »  RELATED CONTENT
• • • Contaminated soil trucked to Blackstone Valley prompts local alarm...
  • 
    
• 
  

  By Paula J. Owen
  Telegram & Gazette Staff
  

  
  Posted Jul. 16, 2016 at 9:07 PM
  Updated Jul 16, 2016 at 9:08 PM
  
  
  

  RUTLAND - In a 2013 meeting that Patrick J. Hannon had with Rutland officials and the state Department of Environmental Protection about contaminated soil being trucked to the Jordan Overlook Farm, he appeared to be concerned.

  Mr. Hannon was president of Mass. Environmental LLC. He also runs several other businesses, including Agritech Inc., that oversee the importation of such soils at two sites in Uxbridge that have come under fire.

  In Rutland, he told town officials he found it unusual that Rutland would be willing to accept “lightly contaminated” soil from Boston, according to news articles.

  “I’ve been in the (landfill) business for 15 years and I couldn’t believe this was happening - contaminated soil at a farm that had no history of contamination. From the limited information that I have there’s a lot of interpretation and professional terms being used,” Mr. Hannon was quoted in an April 25, 2013, news article in The Landmark weekly newspaper.

  “You folks have become the depository of Boston soil,” he reportedly said.
  

  Mr. Hannon argued against allowing the soil into town, stating required testing was not enough to ensure the sites would not be contaminated, and stated he was concerned about the town’s groundwater, particularly the risk of lead or arsenic. He told officials they were “running a big risk” because the soil was either contaminated or it wasn’t.

  “It’s not virgin material, and taking soil samples every 650 cubic yards won’t necessarily tell you what’s in the soil,” he said at the time.

  “It’s nothing you will know right away, but 10 or 15 years go by and you may find you’ve let a big problem into town. You’re in a position where people are taking regulations and creating a facility. You have no soil bylaws or filling bylaws … Even soils used to fill landfills are sampled to see if they meet permit requirements and specs. These people have found a way to make a crack in the foundation and they are doing a business through that crack,” he cautioned.

  In a recent interview with the Telegram & Gazette, Rutland Board of Health Chairman Scott Gilroy said the town felt railroaded by the DEP with the Jordan Overlook Farm project and helpless to do anything at the time. Years later, concerns still linger, he said.

  “Ten years from now we’ll have kids born on East County Road with diseases or cancer when we find out contaminants are in it,” Mr. Gilroy said.

  “The state said we know that it is good, clean and has no issues. We’re a small town. We’re not going to fight when we’re told ‘no’ by the state. I hope down the road there are no ramifications. We’re a poor town and property owners are on the hook for the cleanup and lawsuits. The state will have wiped their hands of it by then.”