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Regional transfer-station operator briefs Bourne board on schedule, permitting and funding risks
Summary
Warren-area transfer-station managers told the Bourne Board of Health the site-assignment and permitting process is underway, that DEP review and a Sept. 25 decision deadline will trigger a public hearing cycle, and that the town could face months without transfer capacity if phase approvals slip; managers said town-meeting funding is available but timing is tight.
Dan Barrett, general manager of the regional integrated solid-waste facility, updated the Bourne Board of Health on the site-assignment and transfer-station project and warned of tight scheduling risks that could interrupt local transfer capacity.
Barrett said the building permit for an office and maintenance garage issued on 06/30/2026 and the contractor mobilized in late June; he gave the projected completion date for the office and maintenance garage as "07/20/2027." He described the DEP site-assignment timeline (public-notice proof filed June 30; DEP set a clock that began July 6 and a decision due by Sept. 25, with public comment and a follow-up response period), and told the board that if the construction of phase 7 liner and permitting does not keep pace the transfer station could be temporarily unable to operate, creating a multi-month gap in capacity.
Barrett said the operator has contingency tools to compress the schedule and that some funding exists: the enterprise fund and prior town-meeting approvals have left closure/capping money available. He reported a current approved town-meeting allocation of $2,026,488.23 for capping phase 9 and said additional amounts will be requested at fall town meeting. He also noted a previously cited debt number in the transcript that is inconsistent and should be treated with caution; the transcript contains both "$2,600,000,000" and a later reference to "2,600,000," which appear to conflict.
Board members asked about energy options from landfill gas; Barrett said the site's gas quality and quantity have not made a gas-to-energy project viable, and that the more practical opportunity for renewable energy will come after capping when solar panels could be sited on the closed landfill. He also said the DEP and Cape Cod Commission reviews have focused on traffic impacts and that the operator has provided traffic mitigation in prior emergency operations.
Barrett closed by saying the operator will work with Bourne staff on the hearing schedule and that the board must act in its role reviewing the state's technical site-suitability findings; he emphasized the town's need to make a defensible record if the board were to deny site assignment for public-health reasons.
Next steps for the board, per Barrett, include receiving DEP's comments, initiating the town public hearing process if DEP's decision is favorable, and rendering a board decision within 45 days after the hearing's initiation.
