Resident urges Gardner City Commission to keep sludge landfill enforcement order open over winter risks

Hamlin Russo, a local resident, urged the Gardner City Conservation Commission to keep the sludge landfill enforcement order open and to continue regular monitoring, saying recent weather and site conditions increase the risk of another washout.

Russo told the commission he provided Agent Enright a December 30 DPW email thread and that the outfall pipe 2 at the siltation barriers has been “half full of silt for months.” He said below‑freezing temperatures and repeated snowfall since January have left roughly “perhaps 2 feet now on the sludge landfill,” and warned that those conditions combined with a large rain event could cause a repeat of the sludge washout that occurred last March.

The commission acknowledged the concern and said staff had recently conducted a site visit; staff reported erosion and sediment controls appeared intact given the snowpack but noted some tertiary controls could use maintenance after winter storm damage. Commissioners directed staff to follow up with DPW to confirm planned maintenance to the outer line of erosion controls.

Chair moved — and commissioners approved — a continuance of the enforcement order to March 9 to allow continued monitoring and follow‑up with DPW and the applicant. The motion passed by voice vote; specific vote counts were not recorded in the transcript.

The commission did not adopt new regulatory language during the meeting and did not specify additional enforcement steps beyond continued monitoring and the March 9 continuance. The commission will re‑examine site conditions and any new documentation at that next hearing.