Martin Corbett asked Board of Health members how come they weren't aware the town and Newport Materials had been in litigation over a proposed asphalt plant for the past six years. PHOTO BY JOYCE PELLINO CRANE
Board of Health members will soon be sending selectmen and Planning Board members a written objection over being excluded from a controversial settlement regarding an asphalt plant at 540 Groton Road.
Members voted unanimously on Oct. 20 to send the formal complaint along with a request for a joint meeting of the three boards.
Residents learned earlier this month that a six-year battle with the owner of a Nashua, New Hampshire company had come to an end when the Board of Selectmen and three out of five members of the Planning Board agreed to a settlement that would allow Richard DeFelice to build and operate the plant in exchange for a list of concessions to benefit the town. Although the agreement imposed stringent guidelines, the neighbors voiced misgivings about its environmental safety.
A group living in the Nabnasset section, and spilling over into the northwest corner of Chelmsford, formed the Route 40 Clean Air Coalition several years ago. Several expressed astonishment that the Board of Health had not been included in the $8.5 million agreement with DeFelice’s Newport Materials, LLC, and 540 Groton Road, LLC.
“What I was told is the health implications were not part of the settlement,” said Sandy Collins, the town’s Health Department director. “They said the health implications were taken off the table.”
Board members Sue Hanly and Chairman Michele Pitoniak Crawford both denied having knowledge of the court proceedings.
Afterward, in an email, Crawford provided clarification.
“I cannot speak for other board members, but although we were aware that (the) town remained in litigation, it’s been at least a year that we’ve heard anything other than occasional updates from staff that the town continues in litigation,” she stated. “We have not heard any specifics or anything directly from the Planning Board or selectmen.”
In 2011 the state Department of Environmental Protection approved a modified clean air permit, ending a two-year appeal filed by 47 Chelmsford residents. The residents waived their right to appeal the permit in April 2011.
A year before, the Planning Board had denied Newport a site plan permit and two special permits. Board members expressed concern that the plant did not meet the definition of “light manufacturing” under the town’s zoning bylaws. DeFelice appealed the decision and a Land Court judge remanded the matter back to the Planning Board. On April 14, 2015, the board again denied DeFelice a special permit. This time it was for a major commercial property.
Asphalt is bituminous concrete. The site, located on almost 3 acres of a 115-acre sand and gravel operation owned by Newport, would contain a hot mix asphalt drum, a fuel oil storage tank, a hot oil heater, various storage tanks and silos, a 68-foot venting smokestack, and conveyers, according to court documents.
One-by-one a dozen or so residents publicly expressed concerns over contaminants that the plant might emit into the air, the water and the soil. Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Kim Liner, whose preschool-age children will eventually attend the Rita E. Miller School, pointed to emissions data that concerned her. Saying both her children have asthma, Liner added, “I’m having a very hard time, so please, please, please, tell them we don’t want this.”
The Miller School, built in 2003, is located on Russells Way as part of a large residential development. The school is about 2 miles from the spot where DeFelice intends to build his plant.
Liner’s concerns prompted board member Sue Hanly to caution against stating health risks as fact.
“We have to be very careful of jumping to a conclusion of something we don’t know,” Hanly said. “We don’t know the risks that this plant will bring.”
Hanly, a nurse at Stony Brook School, added that she opposes the plant, but said the Board of Health members would be “hawks if this plant becomes operational.”
Midway through the meeting, the matter came to a head when Martin Corbett stepped up to the microphone and challenged the Board members’ assertions that they had no knowledge of the ongoing litigation for the past five years.
“So one of the biggest things in Westford is going on and you don’t know about it?” he said. “…You should be fighting this tooth and nail. You should be fighting Newport. You should be fighting everyone for leaving you out of the settlement.”
But Collins reminded residents that the Board of Health had been an advocate for the residents when the plant was first proposed around 2009.
“This feels like de jàvù to me,” she said. “We fought this so hard.”
Board member Helen Fu encouraged the neighbors to stay unified and continue to fight.
“I’m surprised to hear health is not one of the concerns,” she said of the agreement. “The Board of Health should be part of the decision.”
After listening to the residents voice their concerns and fears, board member Zac Cataldo made a motion to take action and issue the formal objection.
In an email, Crawford said Board of Health members will be vigilant should the plant become operational.
“If the plant is allowed to come into our town and they violate any agreements or cause any issues that could impact the public’s health, we will be poised to take action,” she stated.
Follow Joyce Pellino Crane on Twitter @joypellinocrane.
This story was updated on Oct. 23, 2016
