Blizzard cleanup efforts underway

As the region emerged from beneath 2 to 3 feet of snow Wednesday, local officials credited a statewide travel ban and local parking bans with helping snow-removal efforts and allowing public-safety officials to attend to emergencies.But officials also warned that the cleanup effort could take several days … and now they have to find a place to put all the snow.”Parking wise, I think the city was in pretty good shape,” Robert Stilian, Lynn assistant parking director, said Wednesday night. Stilian said that citizens (for the most part) followed the parking ban during the blizzard in comparison with previous storms … although he did not have a final number of tickets issued as city departments continued to cite violators.”The parking ban is on until noon (today) – and we’re still out ticketing and towing,” he added.Meteorologists had warned that Boston would get more than 2 feet of snow by Tuesday night, and the National Weather Service said the city ended up with 24.4 inches, the sixth-highest total on record. Other areas received around 2 to 3 feet, as predicted.Schools remained closed Wednesday for a second day, but subways, buses and trains were up and running again Wednesday morning and many businesses reopened as people returned to work. Schools in Lynn and Revere are closed again today, while Swampscott has a two-hour delayed opening.Meanwhile, public-works crews continued the cleanup effort that had begun before the first snowflake fell Monday.”People were pretty diligent about getting their cars into their driveways because we were going to tow for sure,” Swampscott DPW Director Gino Cresta said Wednesday afternoon.”We appreciate the cooperation. We got more thumbs up – we usually get the middle finger up – but got the thumbs up this time.”Cresta said the town did not tow any cars.Saugus Police reported towing only seven cars from town streets, a break for local police.”The driving ban that was put in place by the governor was very helpful in terms of reducing the number of calls for disabled motor vehicles, car accidents, and in assisting snow removal and plowing of roadways,” Saugus Police Assistant Chief Ronald Giorgetti said. “We tagged and towed seven vehicles, which was a significant reduction from previous storms.”Now comes the next challenge, however: finding a place to put all the snow.”In the old days, we used to be able to put it in the ocean,” Cresta said. “The new catch phrase now is snow farms.”The state instituted guidelines in 2001 prohibiting the dumping of snow into waterways, areas that could contaminate groundwater (including such places as certain aquifers, or areas near public water supplies), and in areas designed for storm damage.”While we are all aware of the threats to public safety caused by snow, collected snow that is contaminated with road salt, sand, litter, and automotive pollutants, such as oil, also threatens public health and the environment,” according to the guidelines on the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs website.Swampscott’s snow farm is at Phillips Park, in the area of the former Kid’s Cove. Cresta said a front-end loader cleared out the three-plus-acre site Wednesday, and five dump trucks began hauling snow to the park Wednesday afternoon.Lynn DPW Commissioner Andrew Hall said the city puts most of its snow in the impound lot by Harding Lane, with a secondary site located off Great Woods Road. Officials are also considering a site on Riley Way, if necessary.”If you get to the stage where you don’t have a place to put it, then we have to apply to the state for an environmental waiver,” Hall said. “You have to weigh the interests of the tree huggers with the safety of clearing off the streets.”Saugus generally piles snow behind the Essex Street firehouse, Giorgetti said.While the storm may have been over in about 24 hours, the cleanup is likely to extend much longer.”We’ll be hauling snow into next week sometime,” Cresta estimated.Nor is the ticketing ove