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Select Board members and residents push for stronger oversight of Gardner sludge landfill expansion; board to coordinate comments with Conservation and EMA
Summary
Residents and members of the Select Board raised concerns about the Gardner sludge landfill DEIR, including groundwater monitoring, stormwater failure contingencies, air odor detection and public notification. The board agreed to coordinate a revised comment letter and consult Conservation Commission and emergency management before sending.
Town officials and residents pressed the Select Board to send a robust comment to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs on the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the Gardner sludge landfill expansion.
Select Board member Terry Griffiths presented a draft letter requesting clearer contingency and hazard mitigation measures, regular notification to Templeton officials, better groundwater and sediment testing, and modern air‑quality/odor detection technology. Griffiths noted that the DEIR language relied on measures that the town views as inadequate: “The development of a separate hazard mitigation plan for the project is outside the scope of this DEIR,” the applicant’s response said, a point Griffiths and others challenged.
Conservation Commission members and residents described ongoing exceedances and discharged material at the existing closed landfill and urged that any expansion include enforceable monitoring, a defined emergency response, and clear financial assurances in case of contamination. The board and Conservation Agent Jessica Case agreed to bring the draft letter to the Conservation Commission’s next meeting and to ask Emergency Management and the town’s water superintendent to review the text. The board asked staff to return a coordinated letter after those consultations and indicated it would send a formal comment to the EEA within the DEIR comment period.
Why this matters Residents and officials said the landfill sits upstream of Templeton water supplies and wetlands. They asked for enforceable protections — not recommendations — and want clarity on who will pay for corrective action if contamination occurs.
What’s next Select Board member Griffiths will refine the board letter and present it at the Conservation Commission meeting; staff will also invite the town emergency manager and Water Department to review the proposed language. The board expects a revised draft in time to submit formal comments within the DEIR comment window.
