A message from Everett

This is Keith Spencer's article from March 18, 2009 Everett Independent.

Board of Health and Wood Waste sign agreement
By Keith Spencer

After months of debate and hours of negotiating, Mayor Carlo DeMaria recently announced the signing of a much anticipated consent agreement between the Everett Board of Health and Wood Waste of Boston, Inc. The agreement was signed on Monday, March 9 and was put into effect immediately according to the Mayor.

“I think we have worked out an agreement that will start to bring a real resolution to what many residents feel is a nuisance,” said Mayor DeMaria in an interview earlier this week.

According to the Mayor and members of his administration, Wood Waste has complied with the agreement since its issuance more than a week ago. According to receipts and documents provided by DeMaria’s office, Wood Waste owner William Thibeault has initiated a number of initiatives at his Boston Street facility, including the removal of C&D fines and residuals from the controversial debris piles.

The agreement includes provisions to properly maintain debris piles located at the company’s Boston Street facility. The height of the piles, which has been at the heart of the debate, is addressed with Wood Waste agreeing to remove at least 50 tons of material per week. The agreement also includes methods of deodorizing, dust control techniques, and parameters for air quality testing. It also requires that Wood Waste maintain personnel at the facility to monitor odors from 7AM to 9PM.

DeMaria indicated his approval of the agreement during the interview, noting that “other administrations had gotten nowhere” in dealing with Wood Waste. While disappointed with the load size agreed upon, DeMaria has assured that his administration will continue to monitor the situation. According to the document, the Mayor and Wood Waste will revisit the agreement eight weeks following its endorsement to evaluate the company’s progress. Both parties involved will then discuss a potential increase to the removal of debris.

“The agreement has provisions to make it possible to evaluate the conditions in the future to determine if any changes are necessary,” said DeMaria.

According to receipts provided to the Board of Health, Wood Waste made some effort in the first week to begin removing debris from the piles. On March 13th, the company removed two truckloads of “fines”, weighing in at 28.42 and 27.87 tons respectively. While the company met the amount required by the consent agreement, 50 tons minimum per week, DeMaria estimates there could be as much as “80,000 tons” of materials at the facility.“

We are going to make sure that these receipts indicate that the materials being trucked out are actually taken from the piles,” said DeMaria. “While we know that 50 tons is a little, we do believe it is a start.”

Wood Waste also submitted their initial plans to build a permanent, enclosed facility for their company’s activities at their Boston Street facility. The business was first ordered in 1995 to build a permanent, enclosed structure for its recycling operations just off Revere Beach Parkway. The company submitted the plans as part of a larger agreement between Wood Waste and the Everett Board of Health to bring the business into compliance with local and state regulations.

The plans were submitted on Friday, March 13th as required by the recently signed agreement.

The Health Department, the Building Inspector, and other city departments before being returned to Wood Waste are now analyzing the plans. According to the agreement, the company will have ten days to submit all applications and documents to the Health Department and state regulators.

DeMaria also noted that current movement by Mayor Joan Moak to resolve similar issues in Newburyport might offer a potential “light at the end of the tunnel”. Thibeault may be able to begin trucking materials from his Everett facility to the Crow Lane landfill in Newburyport, which he owns and operates through his company New Ventures. Debris piles began to build up in Everett when the City of Newburyport issued a cease and desist order against New Ventures’ capping of the landfill.

“The resolution of their issues in Newburyport could provide some relief for us here in Everett,” added Mayor DeMaria. “The owners of Wood Waste will appear in court in April, our initial eight week period will end around the same time, and we will certainly be evaluating the amount of debris being removed at that point.”

Last week, Mayor Moak informed members of his city council that he would soon issue an administrative order through Board of Health Director Jack Morris to cap the landfill according to regulations set by the Department of Environmental Protection. By issuing an administrative order, Mayor Moak will able to take action without the approval of the city council.

New Ventures will be required to maintain the site in a way that meets the city’s noisome trade agreement” in addition to capping the landfill. It would also require the company to comply with a previous injunction aimed at minimizing the smells and nuisances long associated with the Crow Lane landfill. DeMaria also expects that the result of an April hearing in Suffolk Superior Court could ultimately determine the fate of Thibeault’s landfill in Newburyport and his materials on site at Wood Waste in Everett.

“If things don’t go well for him [Wood Waste owner William Thibeault] in April, we may be looking to ask him to remove anywhere from 200 to 400 tons of materials per week,” the Mayor added.

DeMaria’s statements during the interview reiterated the views expressed in a prepared statement that was released on Monday as well. The Mayor called the agreement “the beginning of a positive relief process” noting that “residents have been through enough”.

DeMaria also acknowledged, “that there’s a lot of work still to be done, by Wood Waste and by our Board of Health to bring closure to this issue.”

When asked about the continuing inspections of the facility, Mayor DeMaria wanted to assure residents that the Everett Board of Health is going to be making daily trips to the Boston Street facility as well as collecting receipts and information about Wood Waste’s compliance with the new agreement. According to the Mayor, an inspector must check the Jerome Meter reading in person because the device does not print a receipt recording the results of the air quality testing.

“It is our intention that monitoring will be done on a daily basis by the Board of Health,” added DeMaria. “We will have someone down there to visually confirm the readings of the Jerome meter seeing as there is no print out to keep record.”

The city solicitor and the Mayor both agreed that while the specific language is not included in the agreement, a cease and desist order would ultimately be pursued if the company fails to comply with the agreement at any point. According to the terms of the agreement, Wood Waste would have seven days to rectify any violation of the agreement before the city would “ exercise its enforcement discretion and seek penalties in Middlesex Superior Court up to the fullest extent of the law”.

DeMaria once again defended his approach to the Wood Waste issue, by working with the company’s owner and various city departments to get the business into compliance with all local and state regulations. The Mayor acknowledged it will take “continued effort on his part” to assure the city has the teeth to resolve this situation no matter what the outcome is during the next eight weeks.

“I am sure we will have some reaction from members of the city council,” said DeMaria at the close of the interview. “Many of the local critics will probably not be happy with the agreement. They wanted an immediate cease and desist order and nothing else. I hope to continue working with the 98% of the city council that has been willing to open up a dialogue and get the movement we are seeing now.”

“In these financial times, we really do not have the funds to go into litigation,” said DeMaria. “I didn’t want to draw the line in the sand with the property owner, and get no movement in the end. Nothing has ever been done with this facility in past administrations. At least we are now seeing movement.”