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Resident urges MassDEP review after alleged leachate releases at sludge landfill
Summary
A public commenter told the Gardner City Conservation Commission the city lacks needed leachate test data after a March 6, 2025 incident and urged a formal MassDEP review; commissioners discussed drafting email and certified mail to the landfill operator but recorded no formal vote.
A resident told the Gardner City Conservation Commission during public comment that the commission has not received adequate water or soil test results from outfall pipe 2 at the city’s sludge landfill since the March 6, 2025 incident and urged the commission to request a formal review by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The comment said the Department of Public Works director, Dan Arnold, “did not have complete answers,” that the landfill operator (referred to in the meeting as BO) had not attended requested meetings, and warned of potential releases of hazardous contaminants including PFAS and 1,4-dioxane to nearby wetlands and ponds.
The resident recommended that the commission “formally request in writing that MassDEP review and provide a report on design functionality and operations and maintenance of the [sludge] landfill,” and asked whether the leachate collection system and daily flow data for the sludge landfill are being reported to the commission.
Commission members said the inspection reports the commission received on the topic earlier the same day contained mixed pass/fail entries and handwritten notes that require clarification. One commissioner proposed drafting an email and following up with certified mail to the landfill operator; another commissioner volunteered to draft the message and copy the commission. No formal vote to request MassDEP review or to send certified mail was recorded during the meeting.
Why this matters: the commenter tied the concern to potential contamination of wetlands adjacent to the landfill and said the commission lacks the requested leachate daily flow data needed to evaluate whether the leachate collection system is containing stormwater within the landfill liner.
Commission staff said they will re-review the inspection reports and return with further information at the commission’s next meeting, scheduled for July 14.
