Berkshire Concrete Ceases Work for Controversial Dig Site
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| The Griffins' map showing the proximity of the worksite from the neighborhood. |
DALTON, Mass.— The town ordered Berkshire Concrete to stop work because of a "clerical error" that resulted in abutters being improperly notified.
During a well-attended meeting on Feb. 19, Town Planner Janko Tomasic explained that the parcel Berkshire Concrete was excavating, number 105-16, was not listed on the permit application, even though it was shown on the site map that was submitted.
"So they, on their end, whatever the reason was, they did not put that parcel number on there. Which is the abutters were not notified who are next that parcel who have been having issues with the dust," Tomasic said.
At the advice of town counsel, all work has stopped, and Berkshire Concrete will be required to reapply for this permit under this parcel number. As part of the process, a public hearing will need to be held so that resident concerns can be addressed.
The meeting was well-attended. At the start, nearly 100 people were in attendance, both in person and via Zoom.
However, after the first agenda item, which lasted more than an hour, attendance dwindled to about 40, including online participants, as another controversial item, Ray Robert Excavation & Trucking's request for a new special permit, was also on the agenda.
Abutters of the dig site have been very outspoken, attending multiple town meetings en masse, including the Board of Health, Conservation Commission, and the Planning Board. They also emphasized that they will be attending Monday night's Select Board meeting.
During the meetings, they complained about dust and particulates from Berkshire Concrete that are allegedly affecting their health. They urged action and demanded that a clear process be put in place. More information here.
Residents Ronald and Lynne Griffin presented a map of the affected area, demonstrating how the silicate was blowing across the neighborhood and emphasized that the area is not an industrial zone.
According to their map, the dig site is a little farther than 300 feet from the closest residential street, Off Prospect Street.
Planning Board member Robert Collins, who is also the newest member of the Select Board, reassured residents that their complaints are not going unnoticed.
"I have been at every meeting. I have been called. I've answered my phone, and I have answered every email that I've received from everyone of you that have called. And I promise you, I am on this…"I want to help resolve it, but it can't be overnight," Collins said.
A process is being developed to ensure all legalities and information are correct moving forward, and updates will be provided next week, he said.
Berkshire Concrete has been responsive and stopped all work, Collins said.
Planning Board member Don Davis said that the board had not had an issue working with Berkshire Concrete before this clerical error and felt confident that Berkshire Concrete would work with the town to resolve the situation.
Berkshire Concrete violated the permit because it didn't adhere to the stipulation that "all reasonable efforts, including roadway growling and periodic watering, shall be implemented to reduce dust emissions at the Berkshire Concrete operations site," Griffin said.
During the Board of Health meeting, Trevor Leja, associate manager of Berkshire Concrete, said they do water down their roadways, equipment, and open piles.
During the summer, the water truck runs multiple times daily, he said at the Board of Health meeting. Additionally, as they move along from an area they dig up, they replant trees, he said.
"We are not doing any current mining on the property. We are aware of the situation. We're addressing it. We're in the process of putting in a new application and filing all the proper paperwork," Leja said.
Zack McCain, Planning Board vice chair, said that he attended the Board of Health meeting, where it was highlighted that trees at the dig site had been removed. He asked if there is any vegetation barrier between the site and the residential properties.
"Yes, it's mostly vegetated. There's one little area that we're looking at that's kind of open to one of the neighbors," said Mark Dzbenski, Berkshire Concrete's operations manager of production control.
Berkshire Concrete is putting together a mitigation plan that would possibly include some kind of barrier there, he said.
This year, there has been a drought, which may have worsened the dust, Dzbenski said. "I assume they mean like a berm or something, which we already kind of have nature built that little hill there and put trees there. The trees, for the most part now, are gone," resident Sue Persson said.
Persson highlighted how long it takes trees to grow and the amount of time it will take for the natural barrier to grow back to its original state that worked "somewhat as a screen."
Resident Pete Persson said he has been in construction since high school.
"I can't drill a hole in concrete without having an attachment to catch silica, so you can't tell me that it's okay to get that much silica airborne," he said.
Persson said if he were to do that on the job, he would possibly be fired, and the company he worked for could get fined.
Resident Lisa Pugh thanked Brian Duval, the building commissioner and zoning enforcement officer, and Collins for their responsiveness and efforts since finding out about the situation in the last few weeks.
"However, my frustration is it should not have been an issue to begin with. We were not notified…This is negligence. This is not a clerical error. This has been years, several years, because the abutters were never informed. We never had the opportunity to respond and hopefully prevent the situation, which is now negatively impacting our legal rights to clean air," Pugh said.
"We were denied due process of law. We have now endured conditions that are endanger to our health. I know we're waiting for testing to confirm the presence of silica. Even if silicon were not present, that would be wonderful, but the inhalation of fine particulate matter is a serious health concern, so much so that it is regulated by the Clean Air Act and the [state Environmental Protection Agency.] This is not us just being upset about some dust we have to wipe off of our decks."
Tomasic explained that abutter notifications were sent to anyone within 300 feet of the application. However, parcel 105-16 was not listed on the permit application, so notifications were not sent out to those abutters.
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