SAUGUS — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved a revised Host Community Agreement (HCA) with WIN Waste Innovations, which would provide the town a variety of economic and environmental benefits should the company be able to secure the necessary permits to expand its ash monofil beyond its current 50-foot capacity.
The agreement was approved by the Selectmen by a 3-2 vote, with Chair Anthony Cogliano, Jeff Cicolini, and Corinne Riley voting in favor of the agreement and Vice Chair Debra Panetta and Michael Serino voting against — the same vote taken by the Board in September.
In a statement, WIN Vice President of Environment Jim Connolly said the approval represents “a historic step toward sustained economic growth and enhanced environmental protection” in Saugus.
“We applaud the Board of Selectmen, under the leadership of Chairman Cogliano, in achieving this public-private collaboration and we look forward to working with the Board of Health and MassDEP to demonstrate how we can continue to enhance the environment and deliver on the promise of the HCA,” Connolly said.
The final terms approved by the Board stipulate that if the company receives the permits, the town would receive an initial $1 million payment and free tipping for the 20-year life of the agreement should the company spend less than $20 million during the permitting process. But, if the company spends more than $20 million, the town would still receive the initial $1 million payment, but in lieu of free tipping would receive a payment of $3.50 per ton of trash disposed escalating by consumer price index over the life of the agreement.
During a presentation to the Board Tuesday, Connolly laid out the financial implications of either pathway, estimating the total payout for the first scenario, where less than $20 million is spent, at $34.1 million by year 20. In the second scenario, the town would receive between $23.1 and $27.4 million, according to Connolly.
The agreement would also see the company voluntarily lower emissions below currently permitted levels, with NOx emissions limited to 175 parts per million by volume, and levels of cadmium, lead, particulate, and dioxin all also lowered.
Tuesday’s vote marks the second time the Board has approved a version of the agreement, after the company sought to revise the initial document passed in September. That initial document had the financial contingency removed and amended the agreement to add free tipping in lieu of a lump sum payment.
The company returned to the Board in January to present a version of the agreement with a $5 million contingency added back in, but the Selectmen opted to table a vote pending a request for more information from the company.
In the intervening months, Cogliano’s role in aiding the company’s defense of a class-action lawsuit came to light. In doing so, he signed declarations on behalf of residents living near the facility, which prompted some to question the ethical implications of Cogliano continuing to vote on issues related to WIN. On Tuesday, he said he had filed a disclosure with the town clerk’s office but would not recuse himself.
Cicolini was the first member of the board to address the revised agreement, and represented the deciding vote on the proposal, as Cogliano and Riley were staunch supporters of the agreement through the process. Throughout the meeting, he repeatedly emphasized his belief that the Board’s vote did not signify final approval of the agreement, which has to go before the Department of Environmental Protection and Board of Health, and that any vote he took would signify an attempt to represent the best interests of the residents.
“The decision lies with the Board of Health and MassDEP,” Cicolini said.
He added that he believed Saugus and neighboring communities should “get something out of this.”
“I can support the numbers that are in this thing,” he added. “It’s not my job to approve or disapprove the expansion. My constituents shouldn’t see my support for the [agreement] as support for expansion.”
For the agreement to be finalized, WIN would need to earn a positive site suitability assessment from MassDEP. Officials in that agency have repeatedly said it is impossible under current conditions as the landfill is located in Rumney Marsh, an area of critical environmental concern (ACEC). Several speakers on Tuesday noted that fact and said any vote by the Selectmen would be moot.
Among them was Panetta, a staunch opponent of the expansion because of perceived environmental risks, who said the Selectmen have “no jurisdiction” to sign a Host Community Agreement. She said it was her belief that WIN only put the proposal before the Board so they could indicate to state officials that the town was in favor of its expansion proposal.
“We have no authority to sign a Host Community Agreement … that’s not our job,” she said. “So why is WIN coming before us today? The only reason I can think of is to have a piece of paper in hand to say the Saugus Board of Selectmen want a landfill expansion. Why else would you be here?”
Riley was the last member of the Board to address the agreement, and said she believed it could serve as an insurance policy for the town should WIN receive the necessary permits to expand. She noted that DEP has allowed WIN’s expansion in the past, and allows the company to purchase emissions reduction credits.
State Rep. Donald Wong (R-Saugus), who said he attended the meeting in an effort to listen to both sides on the issue, indicated he would like to see the agreement pass to establish a set of guidelines for the company.
WIN has said previously that should they not receive the permits to expand the landfill, they will continue to operate the waste-to-energy facility and would truck ash from Saugus to Shrewsbury and Putnam, Connecticut.
Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian, another staunch opponent of the expansion, read a letter from state Reps. Jessica Giannino (D-Revere) and Jeffrey Turco (D-Revere) to Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper during the meeting. In the letter, they dubbed the incinerator and landfill an “environmental nightmare.”
“It is the only unlined ash landfill in the state, and it is threatened by sea level rise,” the letter, which urges Tepper not to relax the ACEC designation to permit expansion, reads.
After Manoogian’s remarks, Cogliano summarized a report from Tech Environmental, a third party hired by the town to assess the conditions at WIN, which deemed the company’s facilities were operating as they should be and were within permissible limits.
He added that it was his belief WIN would find a way around the state law prohibiting landfill expansion in an ACEC and wanted to ensure Saugus receive a benefit should the company do so.
“This is a win for the town of Saugus, this is a win for the city of Revere, this is a win for the city of Lynn,” he said. “We have an opportunity to keep the ash here, the money here.”
“WIN has a long way to go, they have to present this to the DEP, once the DEP approves it, if they do, it comes back to our Board of Health, if our Board of Health approves it, it goes to our town manager to sign,” he added. “This is a long haul … let them go to phase two.”
