Gardner’s Mayor Spoke of the Sludge on WGAW’s Hotline Radio
The popular Hit Show on WGAW Radio airs Saturdays from noon to 2pm on AM 1340 and 98.1 FM. There’s also a live stream of the station 24/7, Click Here.
Walk-Through of the Proposed Landfill Expansion
Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson commented that the proposed project was under review by MEPA. According to MEPA, “The MEPA review process provides meaningful opportunities for public review of potential environmental impacts of certain projects for which certain actions by state agencies are required. It requires state agencies to study the environmental impacts of projects requiring state permitting, financial assistance or land disposition, and to use all feasible measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate damage to the environment or, to the extent damage to the environment cannot be avoided, to minimize and mitigate damage to the environment to the maximum extent practicable.”
We could be “Up the Creek”
The Mayor warned that “We only have about 3 to 5 years to figure out something for this, otherwise we’re really gonna be up the creek in terms of potentially tripling our rate for our sewer rates in order to truck the sewage someplace else or some other type of really expensive alternative here.” Referring to the proposed expansion, the Mayor continued, “this was the most cost feasible and just quite frankly safe.” According to Nicholson, the comment period ends at the end of January. The Mayor also confirmed that the City had taken a look at a number of alternatives and determined the current proposal was the best option. He also confirmed a willingness to take a deep look when new technology pops up.
Other Sewer News
Mayor Nicholson stated, “We run sewage operations for Gardner, Ashburnham, and Templeton.” He confirmed that as of Thursday, Ashburnham is caught up with its fees – apparently they had been late for some time. “We’re back on track now for the close to half a million dollars that they owed us since 2015 in sewer payments.”
Other matters discussed were spoken about by the Mayor in his substantial Mayor’s Update of January 20, 2023, CLICK HERE. Nicholson did speak of the $1million Federal earmark the City will receive to proceed with the water transmission line this year, stating, “we’re happy to secure that funding.”