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DEP Public Comments

AFTER REPEATED REQUESTS, WE HAVE BEEN GRANTED A SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, WHICH IS NOW OPEN!

COMMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED BETWEEN NOVEMBER 13, 2024 AND DECEMBER 4, 2024.

Parallel Products (now d/b/a South Coast Renewables) submitted its site suitability application to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) on February 13, 2023 and the first public comment period took place between July 13, 2023-August 24, 2023. Since then, the review period has been extended multiple times, and the company has been asked to conduct additional studies and provide additional information. In light of those extensions and additional information, we have asked many times for an additional public comment period, and our request has now been granted. We anticipate the MassDEP will render its determination for site suitability soon, therefore,

THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE INPUT AT A CRITICAL POINT IN THE PERMITTING PROCESS.

If you are concerned about how the proposed municipal solid waste and transfer station could impact your quality of life, health, and property, or the environment, local roads and economy, you need to

LET THE MASSDEP KNOW!

You can do so in one of the following four ways:

  1. Go to: https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/EEA/PublicApp/ and click on Search and/or Comment in the orange box. Select South Coast Renewables, DEP FILE # 201-004-A, and on the next page provide your information and write/submit your comments.
  2. Email [email protected] and in the subject line include the project number:
    DEP FILE # 201-004-A     **PLEASE** BCC: [email protected] so we can ensure they are receiving and counting all individual comments! Thank you!
  3. Mail your letter to: Attn: Mark Dakers, DEP File # 201-004-A, MA Department of Environmental Protection, 20 Riverside Drive, Lakeville, MA 02347
    PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONTAINS: DEP FILE # 201-004-A
  4. Sign this PETITION to have a letter sent on your behalf to the MassDEP.

The MassDEP has created fact sheets, which contain information about the project and instructions on how to submit your comments. Those documents have been provided in the following languages:

Read in English HERE

Leia em Português AQUI

Lea esto en Español AQUÍ

Ler kel li na Criolo ALI

MassDEP intends to make all comments available to the public to view online at: https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/EEA/PublicApp/. If you would like to remain anonymous, please state this in your comment and MassDEP will redact all personal information.

For help with crafting your comments, see a list of concerns residents have shared below. Personalized comments are best, so please send 1 email/letter per person, instead of 1 email/letter per family or home, if possible. This will reflect the number of people in the community who would be impacted by this facility if it were built, and the DEP is required to read and acknowledge each separate submission in their report response.

SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS/REQUESTS

#1 – If you heard about this project from a source OTHER THAN the company, please advise the MassDEP of this. All state permitting agencies are obligated to enforce the 2017 Environmental Justice enhanced participation policy, and if they are made aware that the company has not conducted sufficient or acceptable outreach to this diverse community, they should be found in violation of that policy.

#2 – If you would like to craft your comments to align them with the mission of the Mass DEP, and/or its criteria for site suitability of solid waste facilities, you can find that information HERE.

#3 – Other concerns shared by residents about potential impacts of this project:  

  • Facility will operate 24/7, with truck tipping hours Monday-Friday, 6AM-7PM, Sat 7AM-4PM
  • Hazardous conditions and toxic emissions from increased truck traffic and idling (up to 386 trucks trips per day)
  • Leachate from the 1,500 tons of waste trucks will deliver to the site per day will leak dangerous chemicals onto the roads and seep into the ground and groundwater
  • Odors, noise, lights, and air pollution (exhaust air dispersed from multiple elevated ventilation stacks)
  • Additional wastewater production may cause a significant burden on the city’s aging sewer system
  • Flyaway litter from the trucks and trailers bringing waste to the site will land on our streets and in our yards, pollute our environment, clog our city sewer system, and end up on our beaches and in our rivers and the ocean.
  • Facilities like these can produce hydrogen sulfide gas and other noxious odors and fumes containing Particulate Matter 10 and 2.5
  • Municipal Solid Waste sites contain substances such as heavy metals, lead, arsenic, and highly toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAs, which are known to harm human health and cause developmental delays in fetuses and young children.
  • The city’s wastewater treatment plant does not currently test for PFAs, nor does it have or anticipate having the capability or the funds to test or treat for PFAs.
  • Health issues for residents and children attending nearby elementary school (New Bedford already has higher than average asthma and respiratory disease rates)
  • Additional health risks from facilities such as these include cancer, infertility, cardiac disease, stroke, allergies, and more
  • Threats to native and endangered species (Acushnet Cedar Swamp is adjacent to property, which contains wetlands, native species, and an ecologically sensitive environment)
  • High risk and incidents of fires at these kinds of facilities should require a comprehensive and tested emergency plan, especially since the neighborhood across the street from this one has only one road in and out of the development, and fire department staffing in the city is strained.
  • Vectors, vermin & pest infestations
  • Health and environmental impacts caused by the excavation of a previously contaminated site
  • Cost for road repairs/maintenance (the max $800,000/year kickback to the city negotiated by the Mayor won’t even cover the paving of a sidewalk)
  • Decreased property values

Details pertaining to the proposed project can be viewed in documents and filings posted on the company’s website:  https://parallelproductssustainability.com/