Erving approves wastewater, paper mill deal
Representatives from the paper mill attended Wednesday night’s selectboard meeting and offered a proposal based on previous conversations with the town.
What was eventually reached, a one year trial period with the option to renew for 10 years, came after some back and forth between the board and the mill.
The agreement, once formally approved, also includes more formal conditions, including the trial period, and a right to refuse the outside sludge at any and all times.
After the presentation, the board expressed several concerns, and the Mill representatives went to another room to discuss. They returned to the open meeting with an amended offer that the board discussed and gave early approval to.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I think we can find common ground here,” chairman Jacob Smith said after the mill’s first presentation.
They also extended the temporary agreement the town and the mill are under until the final terms could be formally approved.
If they want it, let them keep it. Ten years goes by fast. Then what ? Just Stay the hell out of Templeton !
ReplyDeleteWas Millers Falls where our current Superintendent at the WWTP worked? The sludge will most likely be dewatered with Erving's WWTP sludge and then what? Is this the Bio-Mix we were supposed to get at the Erving Sludge Farm on Gavin Road? We need to make sure our out of town waste by-law is up to date because this material is not going away any time soon and dumping it in Templeton sure looks good when you don't live here.
ReplyDeleteCompanies, especially companies who make paper, process waste as a byproduct of doing business. These companies are having problems dealing with this byproduct. This has always been a fact. In the seventies, Templeton had to deal with a problem. A company from outside of Boston, had gone to the Town of Hubbardston with a proposal to start a landfill. This company wanted to bring trash to this site by rail car.The residents of Hubbardston wanted nothing to do with this plan and made this position extremely clear. This company then approached a Templeton official. This time the plan was not brought to the residents. The official and a land owner decided to proceed in their own. There were no public hearing, no plan approved by the State or Conservation Commission. Trucks just began to bring trash, of a undetermined composition into the dumping site off the Hubbardston Road, in Templeton. By the time the area of trash was discovered, it is difficult to say how long this activity was going on. Two Templeton residents found the dump while hunting. Once the parties running the dump learned they had been discovered, action was taken to cover the area over with gravel. Officials were notified. A hearing took place in Boston, with the hunters, Templeton Police Chief,and Conservation Chairman attending. As a result, no fines were paid, the trash was not removed, and Templeton residents were left with a potential pollution problem brewing in their community. As a positive result, Gladys Salame and Beverly Miganowicz presented to Town Meeting, a bylaw to prohibit rubbish and garbage from entering the Town of Templeton from outside of the town. This bylaw was approved by Town Meeting.
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