Norton Selectmen Request Different Route, Less Material for Landfill Capping

Norton selectmen on Thursday approved a resolution of concern to state officials for the planned capping of the Attleboro Landfill on Peckham Street.

In the letter, selectmen requested that a new plan be drafted that excludes Norton roads from the truck routes. The former plan notes that 35 trucks a day will travel to the site, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday for about three years. This comes out to about four or five trucks an hour. They would travel from the Bay Street exit off of Route 495 in Taunton, going through Myles Standish Boulevard, Eddy Street, John Scott Boulevard, South Worcester Street and Union Road. Trucks leaving the facility will follow Peckham Street, Pike Avenue, Route 123, Starkey Street, Holden Street, Main Street, Robert Toner Boulevard and 95 North.

Selectmen also asked that the amount of material be reconsidered.

"The amount of material proposed by EndCap to complete the capping process in accordance with MassDEP standards now consists of 650,000 cubic yards, an increase of 1200% over the previously stated 50,000 cubic yards,” the letter states.

Selectmen Robert Kimball and Town Manager Michael Yunits went to a Mass Municipal Association meeting in Attleboro where they voiced their concerns with the project.

"These towns are scared to death of the future cost of this process," Kimball said.

Norton's resolution is a modified version of the one from the Attleboro City Council. Selectmen had asked Mayor Kevin Dumas to forward the document so they could use it as a template for their letter.

The deadline to submit comments on the project is today. A status report is due in December at the magistrate of Mass DEP from Attleboro Landfill Inc. regarding the future plans to cap and close the site.