Templeton conservation commission raises concern about Gardiner sludge‑landfill DEIR, urges protection of local wetlands

On Monday evening the Templeton Conservation Commission reviewed a draft comment letter from Select Board member Terry Griffiths on the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the Gardiner Sludge Landfill expansion and voted to express concern that the Gardiner project may affect wetlands in Templeton.

The commission meeting convened April 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Griffiths said the DEIR and the existing enforcement order against the Gardiner landfill left unanswered questions about groundwater and air monitoring, notification protocols and whether the city of Gardiner would finance corrective actions if contamination reached Templeton. "We wish to keep our residents safe and informed of potential threats to their drinking water, wetlands, and air," Griffiths said in the packet letter she read aloud.

The commission’s vote was not a wholesale endorsement of Griffiths’s full draft; commissioners said the body should limit an official municipal comment to topics within its jurisdiction (wetlands protection) and that subject‑matter experts should sign off on parts of the letter dealing with drinking water and air quality. After discussion the commission adopted a narrowed statement: as Templeton’s Conservation Commission it will prioritize protection of Templeton wetlands and express concern that the Gardiner project may impact those wetlands. The motion passed with two votes in favor, one opposed and two abstentions, a result commissioners said constituted a passing vote under the commission’s rules.

Water Superintendent Scott Schwinger told the commission that Templeton communicates routinely with MassDEP and that laboratory results and exceedance reports go directly to DEP. "That lab sends test results directly to DEP. I get the results, but it goes directly to DEP," Schwinger said. He added he had not received any DEP notification that contaminants from Gardiner had reached Templeton wells. Emergency management official Rich Curtis said his office receives notification from neighboring towns’ emergency managers when issues rise to hazard‑mitigation levels.

Griffiths and some commissioners said Gardiner’s current closed sludge landfill already shows exceedances in monitoring wells and that the DEIR did not clearly describe contingency funding, notification protocols to neighboring towns or automated air‑quality detection. "The DEIR describes an elaborate stormwater management system ... but it lacks substance in the event of a natural failure," Griffiths read from her draft. She recommended asking for a detailed hazard mitigation plan reviewed by technical experts and emergency management officials.

Commissioners agreed on next steps: Griffiths may submit her letter in the public comment period (any member of the public may do so), and the commission will limit its formal municipal comment to wetlands concerns while inviting input from the water department and emergency management on water and hazard questions. Amanda (the commission agent) said a MassDEP appeal is still pending and that the DEIR comment period remains open; she urged residents who wish to comment to submit their remarks to MEPA.

The commission also encouraged Templeton emergency management and the water department to develop clearer notification protocols for cross‑jurisdictional monitoring results and Scott Schwinger said he would pursue a baseline test for certain contaminants through DEP procedures. The commission placed the issue on its next meeting agenda for May 19 to consider any updated information or a refined municipal comment.