Dunbar and Ryder lay out landfill options, promise community engagement

A recent comprehensive site assessment of the town’s land on Depot Road confirmed that the old landfill boundary extends beneath approximately three-quarters of the Transfer Station and several Department of Public Works structures. The Select Board met Tuesday, Aug. 4, to hear from Town Administrator Dawn Dunbar about the options available for state compliance in capping the landfill.

The landfill was closed in 1984 under regulations dating to 1971, but never received post-closure use approval. Dunbar said she is working with DPW Director Eric Ryder to come up with a comprehensive catalog of ways to address the situation to present to the Select Board and residents for final decision-making. A timeline for capping the landfill will be determined in the coming weeks, after Ryder and Dunbar meet with officials at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

“Our current parcel carries a compliance problem, a safety problem, and a land-use problem all at the same time,” said Dunbar, referring to issues both she and Ryder have raised to the Select Board in the past, including the lack of ADA compliance, inadequate bathrooms and locker rooms, no storm-response space, and pest infestations.

Board Chair SusanMary Redinger opened the meeting by emphasizing that no decisions have been made. “There are a lot of moving pieces,” Redinger said. “Our interest in this process is to figure out what’s best for the town, what’s best for the area, and what’s best for residents.”

Dunbar outlined a range of possible solutions she and Ryder have researched. Among the options are keeping the Transfer Station at Depot Road while relocating the DPW; keeping both facilities on the existing property in redesigned configurations; moving the Transfer Station to the Upper or Lower Depot athletic fields; replacing the Transfer Station with townwide curbside collection; or sharing Transfer Station services with neighboring communities.

Dunbar said she reached out to Bolton, Littleton, Boxborough, and Ayer about possible regional arrangements. Bolton’s town administrator indicated their facility could not accommodate all of Harvard’s approximately 1,214 Transfer Station users. Dunbar and Ryder are also investigating alternative sites for the DPW, including other town-owned properties. “I think the big driving factor here is going to be the Transfer Station, and what happens with that,” Dunbar said.

COMM-97: Dirty dirt?

One contentious option, based on public comments during the meeting, involves using COMM-97 soil as part of the landfill cap, a choice that could significantly reduce the town’s cost. COMM-97 is soil that contains contaminants but meets Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection standards allowing it to be reused under certain conditions rather than disposed of at a lined landfill. Ryder said any COMM-97 material brought to the Harvard site would have to be approved under the landfill closure plan and tested and reviewed by a licensed site professional. The town could also set limits on the types of material it would accept.

The closure design would include measures such as a membrane over the landfill and stormwater controls. Using COMM-97 could potentially offset some or all of the cost of capping because generators of the waste pay to dispose of the material, while using clean fill would require the town to purchase and transport soil to the site. Dunbar and Ryder said they are still researching how big the cost difference would be, and what environmental risks each option might carry.

Dunbar estimated landfill capping at roughly $6 to $9 million, depending on the material and amount required, but said engineers are now developing alternatives. The town would generally have three years to complete capping once the state regulatory clock starts.

Collecting information

Board members largely focused on gathering enough information to compare those trade-offs. “Not everyone is going to be happy about everything,” said board member Eve Wittenberg. “That’s just the nature of these decisions.” Board member Eric Ward asked for visual information showing the eventual height and topography of the capped landfill and more details about how curbside collection would work for residents with long driveways. Redinger, herself a Transfer Station user, called the facility “a town institution” and suggested surveying residents once the town can provide realistic costs for keeping it versus alternatives.

Residents raised many of the same concerns, particularly about cost, environmental impacts, and relocating facilities. Fred Hays of Depot Road asked for a comparison of capping costs with and without COMM-97 soil and whether buildings could be redesigned to reduce the DPW footprint. Piali De of Mill Road questioned whether COMM-97 is appropriate so close to Bowers Brook, saying she would “gladly pay for clean soil” rather than risk contamination downstream. Mario Cardenas of Oak Hill Road objected to moving the DPW or Transfer Station onto the athletic fields, calling it an inappropriate use in a residential neighborhood. Later in the meeting, Ben Alexander of Depot Road urged the town to prioritize two pieces of information: the comparative costs of COMM-97 and clean fill, and the timeline imposed by the state.

Dunbar and Ryder said they will continue working with engineers, consultants, MassDEP, neighboring communities, and other potential partners to develop costs and determine which options are actually feasible. Community sessions are also planned once the town has enough information to present meaningful alternatives. “We’re just going to continue gathering all the information, putting all the different scenarios together,” Dunbar said, “And then just keep bringing stuff as we get it, so that you have it in real time.”