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Council committee agrees to yearlong odor monitoring by plant operators for South End, tables petition
Summary
Councilors agreed that operators of the South Rodney French Boulevard sewage treatment facility will install four odor monitors covering one year; the committee tabled the petition and asked to revisit when data are available.
Councilors on New Bedford's Committee on Appointments and Briefings on May 20 heard an update on a long-standing petition from South End residents about odors from the sewage-treatment facility on South Rodney French Boulevard and agreed to accept a yearlong monitoring plan paid for by the plant operators.
Councilor Perera (sponsoring the petition with Councilor Gomes) told the committee that, after meetings with the Department of Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the city Office of Environmental Stewardship, the sewage-treatment plant operators agreed to install four odor monitors at locations in the South End and cover expenses for one full year. Perera said the year's monitoring would capture data across seasons, wind directions and weather conditions; the previously proposed monitoring covered only a small window.
After hearing that commitment, the committee voted to table the petition and related motion (items 7 and 7a) with the expectation that the administration and environmental staff will return to the committee to explain results and provide timelines and spending details once monitoring data are available.
Why it matters: Petitioners had asked the council to consider hiring an outside company to conduct odor analysis and to report on the expense and timeline. The committee's approach uses operator-funded continuous monitoring for a year to gather comprehensive data before the committee considers next steps.
During discussion Councilors noted that invited administration and agency representatives were asked not to appear at the meeting because the committee anticipated an update and agreed to reconvene when data are ready. The committee's motions to remove the petition from the table for action and then to table items 7 and 7a after receiving the monitoring commitment were approved on voice votes.
The monitoring plan as described at the meeting calls for four monitors, paid for by the plant operators, collecting data over a full year. The committee directed the Office of Environmental Stewardship and DPI to provide data, a spending summary, and a timeline for analysis when available and to appear before the committee to discuss findings and potential corrective steps.
No final remediation measures or budget appropriations were adopted at the May 20 meeting; the committee's action was procedural — to accept the monitoring arrangement and hold the petition until objective data are collected.
