North Smithfield planning board closes public hearing on MST Central Street warehouse as neighbors press environmental, traffic and visual concerns

The North Smithfield Planning Board closed a public hearing on a proposed MST warehouse on Central Street after neighbors and board members raised questions about environmental safeguards, vehicle traffic through a planned pedestrian walkway and the building’s visual impact.

A neighbor’s letter read into the record said the author’s family has lived on Central Street for 75 years and urged the town and the planning board to require stronger protections, including regular reporting and clear emergency plans after a recent chemical leak at MST’s current facility. The letter asked whether MST would store hazardous chemicals at the new warehouse and called for annual reporting to the town and emergency responders.

The neighbor’s concerns focused on wetlands that surround the proposed site on three sides and what would happen if equipment with hydraulics leaked fluids while crossing the area. “Last month’s chemical leak of silver, cyanide is a huge worry,” the letter said. The planning board and project representatives discussed whether the site’s engineered cap and permitting process addressed those risks.

Mr. Casale, identified in the meeting as the project designer of records, described the planned wetland cap and permitting. “That’s a suitable cap under any environmental condition. Four inches of impervious on top of eight inches of process is a suitable cap,” he said, and said the designer must submit an affidavit asserting substantial performance under the freshwater wetlands permit. He also explained SHGWT as “seasonal high ground water table, meaning the ground water table that is 100 year high through modeling.”

MST representatives told the board and neighbors that the company does not plan to store liquid processing solutions at the new warehouse and that material handled there would be solid circuit boards and metal reclamation feedstock. “None of the material would be liquid,” a company representative said; another described internal controls for removing hazardous components such as beryllium and mercury before processing and said dust created in processing is collected and treated as a commodity.

Board members and residents pressed both the company and town staff on monitoring and oversight. One citizen asked whether DEM (the Department of Environmental Management) would be asked to review routine follow-up testing after construction and during operation; Mr. Casale and a town staff member said the freshwater-wetlands permit process is enforcement-driven and that the designer’s affidavit and an operation-and-maintenance plan will be recorded in the land evidence records. Town staff said in some past projects the town has required annual maintenance reports for stormwater systems and suggested similar reporting could be required here.

Speakers also raised traffic and access concerns. Several asked whether the paved pedestrian walkway shown on the plan could become an everyday route for forklifts, pickup trucks or emergency vehicles. One resident said that while the walkway was described as pedestrian access, its width and strength could invite vehicle use. Planning board members recommended the applicant meet with nearby homeowners beforehand and produce an artist’s rendering of the elevation facing Central Street to show landscaping and façade materials.

Fire protection was described as part of the project: MST representatives said both buildings would be fitted with sprinklers and that a new hydrant and water line would allow fire apparatus to supply the sprinkler systems in the event of a fire.

After questions and discussion, a board member moved to close the public hearing; the motion received a second and the board closed the hearing by voice vote.

The board did not adopt any new conditions on the record at the hearing; members recommended follow-up items for the administrative final plan, including providing a larger public-facing artist’s rendering and confirming whether annual reporting of maintenance or monitoring will be required of MST and routed to the town and the fire department.