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Earth Night

Senate Bill 1190

Merrimack Valley
Environmental Coalition
P. O. Box 1072
Haverhill, MA 01831

June 18, 2003

Honorable Chairs and Distinguished Committee Members:

My name is Brent Baeslack and I represent the Merrimack Valley Environmental Coalition. The Merrimack Valley Environmental Coalition is composed of several grassroots citizen groups located in the greater Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill areas of Massachusetts. The member groups work separately on issues in their own town/city and collectively to improve the environment and health of the broader region. The Coalition's work focuses on solid waste issues and includes education of the public and local government officials/legislators, community organizing to influence legislation and state environmental policy. The coalition actively works to prevent further pollution of an already overburdened area, and promotes recycling/composting to reduce the waste stream and the wise use of natural resources.

The Merrimack Valley Environmental Coalition urges the Joint Committee to favorably report on the Clean and Healthy Communities Bill (S. 1190).

The every day, on the ground face, of an area burdened by a disproportionate environmental burden is the view from the upstairs window of a two or three decker located in Tower Hill of Lawrence. Looking southwest one sees the recently closed Stericycle medical waste incinerator (250 tons per day). Looking west the recently closed Ogden-Martin RDF trash incinerator (1050 tons per day). Gazing to the east we spy the currently operating MRI trash burner (1500 tons per day) adjacent to the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District facility which combusted sewerage sludge until 1988 or 1989. As we move our gaze northward we see the Covanta Energy trash incinerator (1650 tons per day) that abuts its' ash landfill located on the banks of the Merrimack River. All these facilities process waste and are enclosed in a four mile diameter circle. This small area that is home to low income and minority populations combusts 32% of the waste burned in the whole state.

The Clean and Healthy Communities Bill (S. 1190) would assist participation by the affected communities in the public hearings and siting process that precedes these facilities being built here. Recently the DEP finally conducted a hearing on the nine acre expansion of the ash landfill (applied for March 2001) which is located one and a quarter mile from the designated Environmental Justice community in Haverhill. The DEP responded to public complaints about their lack of outreach and documents in Spanish by stating that they were not required to provide them and that the community was English centered. This is a mistaken belief as indicated by the widespread distribution of a Spanish community newspaper. The good intentions of the policy are negated by lack of follow through by the DEP because it is not "required" to contact and engage those community members in the hearing process.

The result is that waste handling facilities attract more waste handling facilities. Today construction nears completion on the New England Fertilizer Pelletization facility that will heat dry sewerage sludge on the grounds of the Greater Lawrence Santary District and emit pollutants in the shadow of the MRI trash incinerator.

Thus the cycle continues, despite the best intentions (policy), old polluting facilities close and new ones are built in their place. The emissions, which consist of persistent bioaccumulative toxins, will continue to plague our community's health for decades. Please provide us with the important tools in the Clean and Healthy Communities Bill (S. 1190) so that we can return Brownfield areas to productive use and promote cleaner development will contributing to the economic health of our communities.

Thank you for your consideration.