Guest Editorial by Chris Keohan

STOPPING THE DUMP…STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY

BY: CHRIS KEOHAN

THE MEETING
On Wednesday, December 6th the Boston Conservation Commission held a meeting regarding the proposed materials handling facility (i.e. sludge dump) located at the border of Everett and Boston on Lower Broadway. I was proud to be one of those in attendance, opposing the project and representing what I believe to be the stance of a vast majority of Everett citizens.

Senator Barrios, Representative-Elect Smith, Mayor Hanlon, Aldermen, City Councilors, and everyday citizens attended the meeting and spoke against this proposal. The meeting lasted well over 3 hours, and during that time the people attending from Everett spoke passionately about their concerns. We were prepared well beyond what the City of Boston and its representatives were ready for. Advocates for the project were clearly not expecting us to have the breadth of information or quality of questions asked. In the end our voices sent a clear message…Enough is Enough!

The people of Everett are not going to allow a closed process on such an important issue to our future health and development. We will not sit idly by while the City of Boston attempts to push forward with a plan that will have a direct impact on the quality of life of our citizens without having our voices heard.

THE PROJECT
There are many facts that Everett residents must know about the proposed development:

On April 28, 2006, the City of Boston purchased a section of land directly across the street from the Mystic Power Plant. The sole purpose of this purchase was to place an unwanted City of Boston waste material handling facility on land that, while technically in Boston, has virtually no direct effect on its citizens. This project will, however, have a far greater influence on the City of Everett. It will directly affect the health, environment and economy of our city and its residents.

Representatives from Boston have undermined the authority of the City of Everett as an affected community at every turn. Our elected officials at both the state and local levels were not notified of the project until recently, and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission has gone to great lengths to keep Everett from having their concerns voiced and heard. We are fighting this every step of the way, but people need to be outraged by the complete lack of respect that the City of Boston has shown us as its neighbors. The affects of this facility WILL greatly increase traffic, the potential for pollution, undermine the redevelopment projects on lower Broadway and along the waterfront, and destroy one of the final areas left undeveloped in Everett.

Each day over 100 tons of sewer and drain debris will be shipped-in via 62 dump trucks over the Alford St. Bridge, which is the gateway from Boston, and into this facility. Once inside this “sludge” will sit in order to dry out and be prepared for shipping to a landfill in New Hampshire.

*Note- If this sounds like a temporary dump to you, then you are 100% correct.

The EPA readily admits that the substances being transported have a likelihood of contamination from oils and other roadside run-off. To combine the added trucking on an already impassable roadway, the likelihood of contamination, and the undoubtedly detrimental effect on our businesses, our housing prices, and US is staggering.

The stench that will emanate from each of the 62 trucks is only comparable to that of the one coming from Boston City Hall, and their handling of this project to date. This is a project that can and must be stopped, not just for our current residents, but also for the future of Everett, its economic development, and the environment that we have fought so long and hard to repair from years of dumping and toxic waste.

THE SOLUTION
You may be thinking…What can I do to help? Currently there is an online petition being emailed throughout the city for anyone residing, owning a business or working here. Please contact me at christopherj.keohan@gmail.com if you have not received it and would like to be included as a signer. If you do not have email please do not hesitate to call me at (617) 892-2765.

Finally, there is a meeting scheduled for the night of January 4th at the Knights of Columbus hall in Charlestown in which the people of Everett must be represented in large numbers. Please contact me if you would like to attend but need help finding a ride to the meeting. I will do my best to help arrange transportation for as many people as possible with elected officials throughout the city.

Together we must stand up for our city and our neighbors! There has been a partisan political divide within this city for many years now. This project, this injustice, this clear violation of our rights must be met head on with the force of an entire community. Together we must forget about the differences that have separated us politically for so many years and come together for what is a defining moment in the history of our great city. Anything less will result in defeat and another blight on a community struggling to move forward from its industrial past and find a new identity with its growing population.