By GLYNIS HART
[email protected]
CLAREMONT – A waste transfer station on Industrial Boulevard could replace the old scrap metal recycling facility now owned by American Recycling. The building at 38-43 Industrial Blvd. would be torn down and replaced with a simple concrete pad where construction and demolition debris could be shipped by rail to Ohio. An estimated 300 to 500 tons per day would be transferred from trucks to rail cars, using 35 to 50 trucks per day.
The planning board heard comments from the public at its Thursday, May 28 meeting. The developer was requesting a conditional approval from the city prior to applying for approval from the state.
City Planner Scott Osgood said the site plan lacked information on environmental impacts, such as dust, noise and traffic. “I would like the applicant to give more details on some of [these] items,” he said.
Randy Rhoades of M & W Soils Engineering in Charlestown said he would prefer the applicant speak first, but “we think the information is there.” Rhoades said the permit is already detailed and the state requirements will cover issues like rainwater runoff and environmental impacts.
Francisco Finocchiaro of American Recycling told the planning board, “The state has put us on pause because we need a permit from the city as well as from the state before we can have an active permit. We’re in a pending process for both of you. We’re trying to get a contingent approval from the city.”
Finocchiaro said his understanding is the state takes care of environmental concerns, while the city makes sure a site plan fits with zoning laws.
The site on Industrial Boulevard now has room for five rail cars, which American Recycling is hoping to make into room for 10. With the building removed, a flat concrete slab will be put in, edged by concrete sills to block runoff and debris from falling or blowing off the slab. A solid 8-foot fence will be erected along the roadside. The waste will be loaded onto gondola cars (open tops, closed sides) during the day and shipped at night.
“Everything will be contained on site,” said Rhoades. “It’s just a question of how to make the state happy.”
Mayor Charlene Lovett, who sits on the planning board, asked about the effect on Amtrak passenger service. Finocchiaro said there are enough tracks at the site that the rail cars will not be sitting on the commuter rail.
Osgood said they should start the application to the N.H. Department of Environmental Services first. However, he didn’t expect the state’s application to cover everything. “It lets the city know what steps they’re not taking, so the city can step up to make sure things are done properly.”
“I think DES’s plan won’t have everything the city’s going to need,” said Osgood.
Residents of Westwood Village Condominiums, which abuts the property, objected to the noise and dust that will be generated at the revived industrial site.
“You can’t see our houses because of the trees, but we’re very close and we can hear,” said Alan Grigsby. “We’re very concerned about a wetland on our property and any additional noise that results from this.”
Judith Koester, a resident of Westwood Village for over 22 years, said she remembered the clash and clang of the scrap metal recycling facility. “I’d be awakened daily by the sounds of clashing, clanging … it went on all day, every day, and it was horrible. I was relieved to hear it stop.”
Koester remembered hearing rail cars being filled “all night, every night.”
“Now I’m in a position where I’m retired, and I have the right to enjoy the fruit of my labors … being able to sleep in the night.” Koester said it would be a tremendous hardship if she couldn’t sell her house because of a waste transfer facility next door.
Reb MacKenzie and Jim Contois objected strongly to the permit. MacKenzie asked that the process be slowed down so there could be an independent environmental review. Contois said, “This is a terrible idea for Claremont.”
Rhoades addressed some of the concerns of the abutters, beginning with the conditional approval. All site plan permits are conditional in that they require a list of actions on the part of the developer. He went on: “First of all, this is an industrial zone. Industrial uses have been permitted for years.”
He differentiated the current permit from previous usage of the site. “It was used for metal storage in the past; we understand the concerns the abutters have. I can only imagine what that sounded like … there’s no way the stuff that went on there would have been allowed under this process.”
Most C&D stuff comes in wet, he said. “If not, we hose it down. We don’t have a concern with odor, it’s going at the end of the day. Lead, arsenic, as far as being windblown contaminants, it’s a dust control problem, not a leachate problem. In this case they’re going on a concrete slab and being shipped out at the end of the day.
“When people moved into this neighborhood, this was an industrial site; it’s been nice for them for a few years, but it was an industrial site,” said Rhoades. “Thirty-five to 50 trucks a day; that road was built for an industrial road. Same weight as a fuel delivery truck going up to American Brush.”
The trucks would not be allowed to travel on Maple Avenue, he said.
The planning board approved the conditional permit after more discussion. There will be a second public hearing at the next planning board meeting on June 10.
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