GEORGETOWN – G. Mello
Disposal Corp. will begin operating its new transfer station at 20
Carlton Road on Monday, Feb. 23, ending several years of hard-fought battles with three town boards and commissions over the controversial trash station.
The 15,000-square-foot facility sits on 15 acres about a mile from Interstate 95 at the end of the two-lane Carlton Road. Called a state-of-the-art facility on the corporate website, the new transfer station will feature a 15,000-square-foot tipping floor and a 70-foot scale.
There is an enlarged truck staging area and a residential drop-off area.
The Planning Board last month authorized the town planner on the Jan. 28th meeting to sign off on the occupancy permit.
The town’s three-member Board of Health voted unanimously to approve the proposed 500-ton/ per day trash transfer station, but under conditions that limit the size of the station for the first four years and required the reconstruction of the 1,600-foot Carlton Road.
The station is limited to 150 tons per day for the first two years. Mello must apply to the board for permission to increase operations to 350 tons for the third year, 450 tons for the fourth year and 550 tons for the fifth year and beyond. The health board could then conduct a review of operations and order changes to the operations within six months after the expansion.
The board required Mello to submit a report every two weeks on how much tonnage is being processed each day at the station. It is unclear if there would be an independent review of those reports.
The Highway Engineer told the Planning Board that Carleton Road has been rebuilt. It will be striped in warmer weather.
The health board was the first town regulatory agency that approved the controversial station. The Planning Board and Conservation Commission initially voted to deny permits for the station, but Mello appealed to state courts and had those decisions reversed. The Planning Board and Conservation Commission reluctantly approved the station.
A major concern in town is the increase in large trucks using the Carleton Drive intersection with state Rte. 133 (East Main Street) once the station is open. The limit on tonnage for the first two years will reduce the number of large tractor-trailer trucks, which will haul trash from the station to incinerators.
In a letter to the town’s health board, Mello wrote: “GMD understands the concerns around truck traffic on Rt. 133 and the safety concerns during AM and PM peak hours. GMD proposes to allow transfer trailers to arrive and leave the site from 6:30 -7:30 a.m. and in the afternoon when school buses are NOT present on Carleton Drive. This proposal is consistent with the Planning Board’s Special Permit which prohibits transfer trailers from accessing or leaving the site during the morning peak hour of 7:30 a.m.- 8:30 a.m. and during hours when school buses are present on Carleton Drive.”
The board also insisted that Mello add signage on Carleton Road and on East Main Street that notifies motorists about trucks entering and exiting the intersection.
Mello proposed to hire a police detail for the first 60 days of operations to help with traffic flow at that intersection. The board insisted on 120 days and will ask the Georgetown Police Chief to issue a report on any problems with traffic incurred during the first four months. The board said it could then impose additional conditions on the station to remedy any traffic issues.
It also required Mello to build a six-foot fence around the station to reduce the amount of litter from trucks. The trucks must be covered coming and going from the station. Drivers will be fined if caught without covering the trash load.
In the months after the station begins operations, the board required several independent studies of noise, traffic congestion and odors. Based on the findings of those studies, the board can require more mitigation efforts by Mello. ♦
