Environmental Justice

Saugus, Revere and Lynn residents who oppose expansion of the ash landfill at the WIN Waste Innovations trash-to-energy plant in Saugus are using a new weapon in their fight

By Mark E. Vogler

Current state environmental regulations do not allow expansion of the ash landfill at the WIN Waste Innovations trash-to-energy plant on Route 107 in Saugus. A group of residents from Saugus, Revere and Lynn who oppose any expansion of the landfill bolstered their stand late last week by including a new weapon known as environmental justice in their fight.

Undersecretary for Environmental Justice & Equity María Belén Power followed through on an invitation to visit with them and receive a briefing on the issues related to the ash landfill. “I appreciated the opportunity to meet with community leaders and hear their concerns,” Belén Power said in a statement to The Revere Advocate.

“Engaging in dialogue with those most affected by energy and environmental issues is important. These conversations help ensure that decisions reflect the needs of residents who live, work, and raise families in the neighborhood,” she said. “Meaningful engagement involves continuous communication between state agencies and all communities, especially those who live in environmental justice communities.”

Saugus, Revere and Lynn are each home to several neighborhoods classified by the state as “environmental justice populations” – based on criteria like income level, minority population and language proficiency – which are within close proximity to the WIN Waste plant and the ash landfill. To qualify as an “environmental justice population,” one or more must apply: the annual median household income is not more than 65 percent of the statewide annual median household income, minorities comprise 40 percent of the population in the neighborhood and 25 percent or more of households lack English language proficiency.

Belén Power’s office provided some background highlighting the current circumstances which do not allow for expansion of the ash landfill:

• The landfill sits within Rumney Marsh, a protected Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).
• MassDEP has no plans to amend regulations to allow landfill expansion into the ACEC.
• MassDEP issued two letters (Nov. 2021 and Mar. 2023) affirming MassDEP’s position on landfill expansion.
• Expansion of the landfill into the ACEC would require a modification to the facility’s site assignment and approval from MassDEP and the Saugus Board of Health.
• Based on the information and knowledge of the site before MassDEP, the facility fails to meet the necessary site suitability criteria to allow expansion within the ACEC.

“An important step”

State Rep. Jessica Ann Giannino (D-Revere) called last week’s informal gathering at locations near the plant significant for the three communities that are affected by WIN Waste operations. “Last week’s meeting with Undersecretary Maria Belén Power was an important step in bringing state and local leaders together with residents to address the environmental justice concerns tied to the WIN Waste incinerator and ash landfill in Saugus,” said Rep. Giannino, whose 16th Suffolk District includes Precincts 3 and 10 in Saugus.

“For fifty years, this facility has impacted the health and quality of life of families in Saugus, Lynn, and Revere. It was significant to have so many leaders at the table, united in the belief that our communities deserve stronger protections, better monitoring, and a real path toward zero-waste solutions. We must ensure that no community is left carrying the burden of pollution for another fifty years,” she said.

Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian is a longtime critic of the WIN Waste Innovations plant operations dating back several ownerships. Manoogian called Belén Power “the point person for the Healey Administration on environmental justice issues.”

“The Governor and her administration have stated that they believe that environmental justice must be more than a concept and they want to engage with its foremost advocates and those most deeply impacted by environmental pollution and empower them to create the change we need,” Manoogian said.

“The meeting allowed Ms. Beline to meet those advocates from Saugus, Lynn, and Revere. These three environmental justice communities that surround this antiquated incinerator and its unlined adjacent 50′ landfill have been burdened for far too long,” he said. “She is now aware of the issue with the unlined ash landfill. More importantly, when WIN tries to change the law or regulations to allow for a 100-foot tall ash landfill rather than the 50′ that is the current maximum height, she will be able to articulate our concerns and point out that any such expansion is counter to the stated goals of the Healey administration, the DEP, and the Secretary of Environmental Affairs.

Prominent leaders from three communities

Those attending the meeting included the following: Rep. Giannino; Manoogian; Cindy Luppi, National Field Director for Clean Water Action; Bernette Dawson, the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Community Organizer for Slingshot; Loretta LaCentra, an Alliance for Health & The Environment organizer and a Revere environmental activist; state Rep. Jeffrey Turco (D-Winthrop) of the 19th Suffolk District; state Rep. Sean Reid (D-Lynn) of the 11th Essex District; Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe; Saugus Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree; Saugus Selectman Michael Serino; Joseph Dorant, a Saugus Board of Health member; Angela Guarino-Sawaya, a Revere Ward 5 Councillor; Juan Jaramillo, a Revere Councillor-at-Large; Nicole McClain, a Lynn Councillor-at-Large; Stacey Herman-Dorant, a Saugus Town Meeting member from Precinct 1; Stephanie Shalkoski, a Saugus Town Meeting member from Precinct 4 and a Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment board member; Mary Kinsell, a Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment board member; Carmen Osuna, a Lynn Environmental activist; and Evan Smith, a Lynn Environmental activist.

Board of Selectman Chair Debra Panetta, who is also president of the Saugus River Watershed Council, was unable to attend last week’s meeting. But she sent a letter to Belén Power expressing her concerns. “Many residents, including Town officials, have been requesting a final closure timeline of the WIN Waste Saugus ash landfill since 1996, which is when it was originally supposed to close. They have received numerous extensions from the MA DEP, and they have no intention of ever closing,” Panetta said.

“Town Meeting voted to create a WIN Waste Closure Committee, where WIN Waste representatives refused to attend. The Committee reached out to them prior to every meeting and stressed the importance on having a closure plan regardless on when they closed,” she said.

“Currently, they send ½ their ash to Shrewsbury every day in order to keep the Saugus ash landfill open longer. Since January, the Board of Health has requested documentation showing that they are sending Shrewsbury ½ of their daily ash, but WIN Waste has yet to give the Board of Health this verification.

“We have many people with health issues, including respiratory illnesses, that live in this area. Being the oldest incinerator in the nation, WIN Waste Saugus cannot even make the emission standard for nitrogen oxide, where they need to purchase emission credit to come into compliance with the state regulations. That does not help the people in Saugus, Revere, Lynn, and the other surrounding communities.”

The WIN position remains pro-ash landfill

  “Mary Urban, Sr. Director of Communications & Community, WIN Waste Innovations, gave the following statement: “With waste disposal options in the state ever decreasing, we remain hopeful that the Town will collaborate with us on the continued use of our monofill while keeping thousands of unnecessary tractor trailers off the road each year. It is widely accepted that waste-to-energy is the most environmentally conscious method of waste disposal and it has been proven that our power-generation facility and ash monofill consistently operate in compliance with stringent local, state and federal regulations. Our goal is to continue that function in its current form while providing the Town with much-needed revenue.”

WIN has declined to accept repeated invitations by the Ash Landfill Closure Committee to participate as a non-voting member in all four meetings that focused on the future closure of the ash landfill located near the company’s trash-to-energy plant on Route 107. Last year’s Annual Town Meeting created the committee with hopes that WIN would be involved in the discussions about the future of the ash landfill. WIN Officials have repeatedly refused to participate in discussions about the future of the ash landfill, maintaining that the committee has no right to suggest future plans for the use of their private property.

Meanwhile, WIN Waste continues to point to the tentative Host Community Agreement (HCA) approved two years ago by a 3-2 majority vote of the five sitting selectmen as evidence that town officials are amenable to a deal that would allow expansion of the ash landfill in return for compensation and other conditions. Selectmen Jeff Cicolini and Corinne Riley at the time of the nonbinding vote said they supported the HCA as a precautionary measure in case the state weakens environmental regulations related to the landfill.

In fact, the HCA has no legal basis, under state law and under the Town of Saugus Charter. Furthermore, any HCA would have to be negotiated by the town manager and wouldn’t take effect unless the state allows the company to expand its ash landfill. If the state loosens the regulations at the ash landfill, the Board of Health would have authority to conduct site modification hearings to ultimately decide whether and how expansion of the ash landfill would proceed. Saugus would receive $20 million over the next 20 years while WIN Waste could continue use of the ash landfill, according to the hypothetical HCA supported by a majority of the selectmen.

Mary Urban, WIN’s Senior Director of Communications & Community, has previously told The Saugus Advocate that continuing to store the ash on-site would be more beneficial to the town than closing down the landfill and shipping the ash out of town. “We strongly believe the best financial and environmental option for the town, the state and our company is to continue to manage the ash onsite, as we have done safely and successfully for decades,” Urban said. “We are hoping the shipping of ash is temporary as we continue to work with the Town on a signed Host Community Agreement. The focus of our long-term plan is to continue to work with the Town on a mutual path forward where Saugus receives around $20 million over the next 20 years and we continue to safely dispose of the ash next door instead of shipping the ash, among other benefits.”

In his meeting with Belén Power, Manoogian recalled how the ash landfill continued to exist in spite of a law that required it to close in 1996. “What you see exists not as a result of law but a result of ‘consent orders’ issued by the DEP. Consent orders that are given without public input,” he said, reading from his statement to the Undersecretary for Environmental Justice and Equity.

“But the end is near for this ash landfill. It must close when it reaches 50 feet within the next two years unless there is a change in law or regulation. You see this area is an ACEC, an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The regulations for ACEC do not allow for an expansion of a landfill. So the only two options for expansion are through legislation or a change in regulations,” Manoogian said.

“Ms. Belin, we recognize that one of your goals is to weave EJ goals into the processes and goals of all state agencies. This is a civil rights issue. This landfill must close when it reaches 50 feet. Any suggestion that it be expanded is unacceptable. And it is unconscionable. We must – change the status quo,” he said. “We are looking to you to help make certain that the most vulnerable among us are not left out, left behind, and left to suffer disproportionately.”