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Harvey New Bedford manager and Board of Health say post-fire rat problem is under control after stepped-up monitoring
Summary
Harvey New Bedford and the Board of Health told the committee that a May 14 fire at a Harvey facility reduced daily incoming trash and displaced rodents into nearby streets; the company and its contractor increased bait stations and monitoring and say activity has largely subsided under ongoing DEP and Board of Health oversight.
The committee received testimony from Harvey New Bedford's district manager and the Board of Health about a post-fire rodent problem that affected neighborhoods near the Shawmut Avenue facility.
Cliff Bassett, district manager for Harvey New Bedford, said the May 14 fire interrupted regular municipal solid-waste intake and removed a food source that had kept rodents contained inside the facility. "We stopped taking in the the MSW... Through the daily activity of the trucks coming in and coming out, we provided, I would say, an area for the rats to want to be when that steady flow of trash every day did stop going into the facility," Bassett said. Harvey contracted Flynn Pest Control, increased on-site bait stations (he said they expanded to about 110 bait stations) and performed intensive, repeated monitoring; he said the company also assisted board-of-health-directed street monitoring in the surrounding area.
Board of Health representative Stephanie told the committee that staff had worked closely with Harvey and MassDEP and that monitoring showed "little to no activity" in the neighborhood; she said parks in the area were reopened after checks showed no active infestations. The committee received documentation and placed communications on file; after hearing from Harvey and the board, the committee approved a motion of no further action on the matter at this time.
