Attleboro Landfill: Brilliant Math and The Rail Option

The Patch is a great source for following the . To Attleboro City Councilor Richard Conti, I applaud your ! $2.52 per ton for Attleboro. Norton will not name a price.

But does it not strike anyone as really stupid to accept an offer of 25 cents a ton when the standard fee is at least $1?

And the nerve of EndCap to lowball this, not only in its 2009 "mitigation agreement" signed by Mayor Dumas, but that same miserable figure is part of the agreement that EndCap attorney Richard Nylen has been trying to get Norton's new town manager to sign since January.

Someone should also set the record straight: ALI Phase B is NOT an "environmentally dangerous site."

And one does NOT "protect groundwater" by piling 1.2 million tons of contaminated debris on a relatively benign site—creating an additional Noxious MOUND.
I also wish everyone would grasp the concept of MassDEP's approval process, and that "community acceptance" is a critical element for DEP approval. MassDEP issues "enforcement actions' to landfill owners. They do not issue "ultimatums' to communities" (except where the municipality is the owner).

And DEP must give very serious consideration to the impacted towns and cities positions (acceptance or not) of a landfill closure project proposal.

Also, the so-called "rail option" is for EndCap to haul in 1.2 million tons of contaminated debris to be dumped at the ALI Phase B Site is quite frankly—a red herring.

While it may have been mentioned in passing back in 2008, this option never received serious consideration by anyone and certainly was NOT a preferred alternative.

EndCap is a trucking operation. They would have no interest in even exploring rail transport.

Everyone should stay focused on EndCap's project proposal as it was presented at the Aug. 14 public information meeting in Norton and not allow this red herring of an idea to be a distraction. It's dump trucks, not trains! Always was, always will be ...

Heather Graf is a resident of Norton. This commentary originally appeared on Norton Patch.