Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wastewater Siting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Southborough wastewater panel rejects $30,000 site study amid watershed uncertainties
Summary
The Town of Southborough Wastewater Study Committee voted June 29 to reject a $30,000 consultant study after members said watershed mapping and site-viability doubts made spending premature; the panel will consult MassDEP and seek additional technical review before reconsidering.
The Town of Southborough Wastewater Study Committee voted June 29 against spending $30,000 on a consultant-led site study after members said widely mapped watershed restrictions left too much uncertainty about feasible locations.
The committee chair opened the meeting at 8:02 a.m. and reviewed an initial desktop analysis that identified 532 Turnpike Road (the David Ferris Building site) as a potential location. Committee members raised concerns that much of the town falls inside the Subberry Reservoir watershed and that the consultant’s assumptions may have excluded many parcels north of Route 9.
"A is within 400 feet of the water, B is within 0.5 mile of the water, and C is everything else in the watershed area," the chair said, summarizing the zoning terminology discussed by members and noting uncertainty about what is allowed in zone C.
Members also questioned whether the firm under contract had the technical wastewater siting expertise the committee needs for a second, more detailed pass. The chair said the current consultant described itself as an economic development and marketing group and "doesn't have really the technical credentials" the committee would prefer. Committee members said the combination of limited technical review and an unclear map of watershed protections made spending the $30,000 fiscally imprudent at this time.
Claire Reynolds formally moved that the committee support a $30,000 study. A committee member seconded the motion. The committee then took a roll-call vote: Claire Reynolds — No; Joey Truman — No; Brian Shea — No; Alan Balniak — No; Sam Seivers — No. The motion failed.
After the vote, the chair said the committee would follow up with staff at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in Worcester to clarify which parts of the watershed carry restrictions and what, if any, opportunities exist in zone C. The chair also asked Brian Shea, identified by members as the committee’s most experienced member on wastewater matters, to review the initial consultant artifacts and provide his technical read ahead of the next meeting, which the chair said would be scheduled for July 25.
The meeting ended with a procedural adjournment vote that passed unanimously.
