by Joan Eliyesil ·
Friday, June 28, 2024
In 1984, when Harvard closed its old landfill on Depot Road and built a new Transfer Station, there were no state regulations to cap or otherwise officially close landfills in Massachusetts. But the state Department of Environmental Protection is now requiring Harvard to officially close the old landfill, and the first step is to determine its boundaries.
That work is now underway. Department of Public Works Director Tim Kilhart told the Press that buried trash has been found along all the boundaries of the Transfer Station, including behind the metal pile, but stopping short of Bowers Brook.
Trash was also found alongside the chainlink fence that separates the DPW facility from the soccer fields on Depot Road. Kilhart said more test holes will be dug in the asphalt at the Transfer Station, and possibly in the area of the fields that borders the DPW to determine the edges of what was the town’s old landfill. Once the boundaries have been established, monitoring wells will be drilled to test the groundwater under the old landfill for possible contamination,
Buried trash was initially found on the DPW site near the pole barn in 2023 during geotechnical testing that was done during the initial design and estimate for the new facility. The discovery came as a surprise because the landfill was thought to occupy only the area behind the trash bins at the Transfer Station.
Kilhart said he doesn’t know how long finding the boundaries will take or what DEP will ask the town to do about the buried trash. He didn’t eliminate the possibility that the Transfer Station might have to be dug up at some point if trash is found to exist throughout the facility.