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Gardner Board of Health hears update on landfill monitoring, leachate pumps and 1,4‑dioxane reporting
Summary
Residents pressed the board about nonworking leachate pumps and groundwater exceedances; health staff said monitoring wells were resampled, damaged wells were repaired and a revised exceedance report and risk assessment were expected from the monitoring contractor.
Gardner Board of Health members on June 16 addressed ongoing landfill monitoring after a resident raised concerns about nonfunctioning leachate pumps and repeated groundwater exceedances of 1,4‑dioxane.
Alan Russo, a Gardner resident, asked what the environmental impact would be of leachate pumps that “haven't been functioning for a few years” and whether the town had resampled groundwater locations that showed exceedances in April 2025. He also read from an email from Tory Murphy of CDC Incorporated saying, “the site is not located within the boundaries of a current or potential drinking water source area ... Down gradient receptors have been researched and no private drinking water wells are located within a thousand feet of the monitoring locations. We will provide a revised EMR to include further discussion of 1,4‑on‑site including a risk assessment.”
The email language was presented to the board as evidence that the monitoring contractor planned to submit a revised exceedance report (EMR) and a risk assessment. The board did not vote on any regulatory action at the meeting.
Micah (Health Department staff) told the board the department has reached out to two contractors for estimates to replace the leachate pumps; a second vendor visited the site the morning of June 16 and the health department expected an estimate soon. Micah also reported that groundwater resampling had been conducted on May 28 for wells that were previously in exceedance and that results were “expected any day now.” Micah said two damaged groundwater monitoring wells were repaired on May 21 and would be returned to the regular monitoring cycle.
Board members and staff discussed seeking further information from CDC Incorporated and from the Department of Environmental Protection about the revised EMR and any recommended next steps. No formal order, enforcement action, or funding commitment for pump replacement was approved; staff were directed to obtain the vendor estimate and to follow up with CDC Incorporated and DEP about the EMR and risk assessment.
The board also discussed the broader need for a licensed site professional or outside technical review to trace groundwater contamination sources if levels continue to change, but made no decision at the meeting.
