Aggregate Industries has received a draft administrative consent order from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection that — along with town approval — will allow the company to fill its rock quarry in Saugus, Massachusetts with acceptable materials.
Lisa Young, the director of land and environment for Aggregate, met with the Aggregate Post Closure Committee April 10 to update members on the status of the ACO and the work that has been done to prep its quarry for fill intake, reports Saugus.wickedlocal.com.
In the spring of 2016 the Aggregate Post Closure Committee voted to support a Fill Management Plan submitted by Aggregate that details procedures to fill the rock quarry, including how the quarry reclamation will be completed using materials that meet state DEP approval.
Committee members also voted unanimously last summer to adopt a Land Reclamation Agreement between the town and Aggregate that spells out desired types of uses for the redevelopment of the 40-acre quarry off of Route 99. At the start of the April 10 meeting, Aggregate Post Closure Committee Chairman Bill Leuci said he heard from a resident who thought that Aggregate has already started to fill in the quarry.
Young assured the committee that no materials have dropped into the quarry, noting that Aggregate doesn’t have the necessary permits yet. Aggregate has requested a meeting with the state DEP to discuss the draft ACO, Young said.
The hope is to have the consent order signed by the middle of May, she noted. Young informed committee members that a wheel wash is in the process of being installed that will clean the wheels of vehicles transporting material to Aggregate. Concrete has been poured for the construction of a scale house to weigh fill material, Young said. ?
The presence of nesting peregrine falcons living in the quarry also triggered a Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) review of the quarry reclamation proposal, Young said. At this point Aggregate is still gathering proposals for its master plan, Young said. “We won’t enter into a master plan agreement until we have a consent order,” Young said.
Aggregate representatives are looking at ongoing quarry reclamation sites to tour, according to Young. Paul Rupp, a consultant for the town, asserted that touring other reclaimed and redeveloped quarries is important so that committee members can see what has been done in other communities.
Rupp suggested committee members look at redeveloped quarries in cities such as Revere and Quincy to get an idea of what the finished product can look like.
