Town officials work with EPA, MassDEP and DCR on siting air quality monitors in East Saugus

(Editor’s Note: The following press release was submitted by Mike Gaffney, Media Website Content Manager for the Town of Saugus.)

Town Manager Scott Crabtree is pleased to announce that town officials met with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation to scout potential sites for the placement of an air quality monitoring station in the Rumney Marsh Reservation.

Crabtree joined Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta, Selectman Michael Serino, some members of the Saugus Board of Health, Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian, Director of Public Health John Fralick and several residents during Aug. 19 site visits in the Rumney Marsh area to tour two possible sites to locate the state-of-the-art air quality monitors.

It was a very productive meeting and MassDEP will now proceed to a feasibility phase to determine the location that best meets logistical needs such as having an electrical source present and sufficient access.

MassDEP is working with the Saugus Board of Health and the town to find a location to install air quality monitors that are designed to measure fine particulates and carbon-based emissions. These monitors will provide real time air quality data that the public can access via MassDEP’s

MassAir Online database and the EPA’s Air Now database

MassDEP is responsible for maintaining 24 stations across Massachusetts that collect air quality data. This data is then submitted to the EPA to ensure Massachusetts air quality complies with the regulations of the Clean Air Act.

When MassDEP published its 2023 report listing the stations where air quality would be monitored for the next year, the agency heard during the report’s comment period from residents in Saugus, Lynn, and Revere who suggested establishing a regulatory air monitor station in Saugus.

Sean Dunn, the deputy division director for MassDEP’s Air Assessment Branch, explained that one monitor at the Saugus site would measure fine air particulates of 2.5 microns or less and 10 microns or less. The other monitor planned would measure carbon emissions such as diesel and wood smoke.

MassDEP plans to utilize federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to pay for the air quality monitors housed in Saugus. MassDEP is tasked with managing the site in East Saugus.

The goal behind the Rumney Marsh site visits was to identify an area that is feasible, is acceptable to DCR, and is representative of public exposure, Dunn explained. He called the Aug. 19 meeting a “great step forward,” adding that he would like to get the air quality monitors installed as quickly as possible if all goes well with site feasibility determinations.

Town Manager Scott Crabtree said he was impressed to see elected and appointed town officials, residents, and representatives of MassDEP and the EPA come together to make significant progress on the siting of air quality monitors in the Rumney Marsh area.

“This was a very professional and organized meeting and I think we made some headway,” Crabtree said. “The community asked for air quality monitors in Saugus and we are trying to meet that need. We look forward to the Commonwealth getting these monitors up-and-running that will provide residents with informed data on air quality conditions in our community. It’s always great for the town to collaborate with state and federal agencies for a common goal.”