TOWN OF
Phone# (508) 234-3272 Fax# (508) 234-0821
The Northbridge Board of Health approved these
minutes at a meeting held
This meeting was
called to order at
Minutes: A motion was made by Ms.
Thompson to accept the minutes of
Title
Mr.
McKeon stated that this has been allowed in the past but that the owner was
required to pass the installer examination administered by Jim Malley, the
Board of Health engineer. Mr. McKeon stated that if he passed the exam the
Board could allow him to install the system and that the Board would waive the
insurance requirement.
Mr.
Lavoie stated that he has a friend that has installed over 300 systems under
someone else’s license and that he would be overseeing the work. Mr. Lavoie
stated that he has his own backhoe and was trying to save some money.
The
Board suggested that Mr. Lavoie find out if his friend’s employer would be
willing to take out the license to install the system, otherwise, Mr. Lavoie
would be required to take the installer’s exam prior to the Board considering
this waiver request.
Title 5 – Wal-
Ms.
Gniadek informed the Board that she spoke with Chet Myers from Apex Companies
due to concerns that 3700 gallons was pumped from a 2,000-gallon and a
1,000-gallon grease trap. Mr. Myers stated that during the “confined space
entry” to install baffles in these grease traps, the pumping was continual and
that is why there is in excess of 3,000 gallons on this pumping record.
Title
Motion made by Ms.
Thompson to postpone Hearing until the next meeting of the Board scheduled for
July 17, 2007. Motion seconded by Mr. Garabedian; the vote was all in favor.
Title
Motion made by Ms.
Thompson to issue a Notice of Non-Compliance to the owner declaring the system
in failure and requiring that the owner contract with an engineer for a soils
evaluation within 60 days and that the tank be pumped every 60 days or more
often if necessary and that the slips from the pumping of the tank be copied to
the Board of Health office. Motion seconded by Mr. Garabedian; the vote was all
in favor.
Berkowitz
Trucking – Site Assignment Modification: The Board reviewed correspondence from the
Department of Environmental Protection indicating that the Berkowitz Trucking
Site Assignment Modification application was deficient and therefore the
administrative review is on hold. The DEP has requested that the applicant
address MEPA regulations, provide certification that application was prepared
under the supervision of a registered professional engineer, and that they file
a Request for Determination of Applicability with the Northbridge Conservation
Commission to determine whether the waste handling area is located within a
Riverfront Area.
Ms.
Thompson noted that many of these deficiencies were included in the Board of
Health letter to the DEP with what we felt were deficiencies in the
application.
Ms.
Gniadek suggested that the Board consider a scope of work for the Technical
Review for consideration at the next meeting. She advised the Board that once
the DEP renders their decision on the site assignment, the Board will have a
limited time to hold their public hearing and therefore should initiate the
technical review aspect of this application.
The
Board discussed the DEP’s notice that the waiver request by Berkowitz Trucking
for distance from the waste handling area to an occupied structure was not
necessary. If the applicant is seeking a site assignment of the entire parcel,
then that distance would need to be addressed. Without a proper map of the site
and the abutting properties, it is difficult to address this matter.
The
Board requested that a letter be sent to Norfolk Ram Group requiring that they
submit a detailed map in accordance with the regulations governing this
application.
PUBLIC HEARING
– Outdoor Wood Burning Furnace: Mr. McKeon opened the Public Hearing. These regulations
had previously been adopted by the Board but were rejected by the Department of
Environmental Protection as a Public Hearing had not been held. There were no
participants in the public hearing.
Motion made by Ms.
Thompson to adopt the Outdoor Wood Burning Furnace Regulation effective July 1,
2007 with an application fee of $50.00. Motion seconded by Mr. Garabedian; the
vote was all in favor.
PUBLIC HEARING
– Title 5 Amendments: Present for this hearing were Francis Jacques and Melody
Nydam, septic system installers.
Mr.
McKeon stated that the Board is seeking to adopt four amendments to our current
regulations – those being:
1. Use of 2-compartment tanks
2. Venting of all systems
3. Level installation of
pipes
4. Certification of septic
sand from gravel pit
Mr.
McKeon stated that the alternative septic system seminars that he has been
attending consistently address the anaerobic benefits from system vents being
installed.
Ms.
Nydam asked if there was any documentation significant to the Town of
Motion made by Ms.
Thompson to adopt the following amendments to Title 5 regulations for the Town
of
1.
All
subsurface sewage disposal plans shall be designed so that the pipes are level.
2.
All
plans shall note the use of 2-compartment tanks.
3. Certification by the operator of gravel/sand pit where the sand fill material originated that the sand fill material is in compliance with DEP-Title 5 specifications must be provided by the installer to the Board of Health prior to issuance of the Certificate of Compliance. Certification shall be dated no greater than 60 days prior to the issuance of the Disposal Works Construction Permit to construct system.
Motion seconded by Mr. Garabedian; the vote was all in favor.
Visiting Nurse
Association (VNA) Contract – FY ’08: The Board reviewed the FY 2008 contract for nursing
services. The VNA contract increased from $5,000 to $5,750.
Motion made by Mr.
Garabedian to accept the VNA contract for FY 2008. Motion seconded by Ms. Thompson;
the vote was all in favor.
Motion made by Ms.
Thompson to submit an encumbrance request of all remaining funds in the
Old & New Business: Mr. Garabedian stated that he has received some complaints and asked
that the Health Agent conduct inspections of Hess Express due to pizza being
left out for too long and Friendly’s due to floor drains that are emitting an
odor. Ms. Gniadek will inform Ms. Gilchrist of these concerns.
Citizen’s Forum:
Shelley Buma,
Ms. Buma stated that the
2004 Board of Health decision that was filed with the DEP limited the site
assignment to .23 acres and allowed for the “handling” of solid waste – not the
“processing” of solid wastes. Ms. Buma stated that these are important criteria
for the Board to consider as the medical waste application was denied by the
DEP for 3 reasons – two of them being the limit of the site assignment to the
.23 acre building and the handling of waste only (the proposal was to “process”
medical waste in the administration building which is not part of the .23 acre
site assignment).
She stated her concern
that should the BOH alter the site assignment to expand it from its’ current
.23 acre (waste handling building) and to include “processing” – it is a very
short leap for the DEP if any medical waste applications in the future, which
are solely decided by the DEP, are submitted for their review.
Ms. Buma also questioned
whether the $17,000 for bills incurred during the 2004 site assignment
modification application had been paid by Mr. Berkowitz. Mr. McKeon stated that
he spoke with the previous Town Manager regarding that issue and was informed
that the Town would be sued if they pursued receipt of those monies.
Another matter Ms. Buma
discussed with the Board was the site suitability criteria which requires a
waste handling facility to be a minimum of 100-feet from the property line. The
Berkowitz handling building is just 20-feet from the property boundary. Ms.
Buma stated that in her opinion the Board of Health could deny the application
on that issue alone.
Ms. Buma also noted for
the Board that the parcel that they are requesting to be site assigned has a
considerable amount of wetlands on it. She questioned a site assignment of the
entire parcel as you would also be site assigning this large area of wetlands.
Ms. Buma stated that in
the SW 38 application it addresses zoning and that in 1997 when the site was
first assigned, there were no residences in the area and that the area to the
rear of the property had a zoning change. She stated that this is not true and
that the Planning Board endorsed the definitive subdivision “Castle Hill
Estates” on July 21, 1987 – 10 years prior to his 1997 site assignment
application. She stated that her review of town records indicate that this
parcel was residentially zoned since 1967. Mr. McKeon stated that this is
probably accurate as the area was farmland and where Northbridge does not have
an Agricultural zone, the property was in all likelihood zoned residential.
Ms. Buma stated that she
would also like to address Traffic Impacts. She stated that Mr. Berkowitz’s
previous testimony indicated that to haul 35 tons he utilizes 20 trucks. That
averages out to 1.75 trucks per ton. To haul 100 tons it would mean 37 additional
trucks for a total of 57 trucks.
Mr. McKeon stated that he
did not think Mr. Berkowitz would be handling 100 tons of waste right away. He
stated that he is most likely seeking the greatest amount his site can handle
to avoid additional fees and public hearings in the future.
William Cundiff,
Ms. Buma stated that
processing of waste could be very detrimental to the neighborhood if it occurs
outdoors and utilizes large noisy machinery.
Mr. McKeon stated that this
business has the right to expand but that he wanted to make sure it was done
properly. He stated that he had concerns regarding the construction and
demolition waste and will be cautious in his decision, possibly limiting the
amount to be handled until the Board is certain that it is being handled
properly – then the amount could be increased.
Ms. Buma used the analogy
that if she bought a 900 square foot condominium and proceeded to have 5
children, then that might not have been a very good decision. The same is true
of this site.
Mr. McKeon stated that he
felt from day one that this was a poor location for that business.
Correspondence:
Correspondence dispersed to the Board included:
1.
DEP Notice of
Noncompliance – “Got Trash”, Manchaug, MA
2.
Berkowitz Wood
Chipping Notice – Month of June
There being no further business, motion to
adjourn by Ms. Thompson, seconded by Mr. Garabedian – all in favor.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:40 PM.
Attested by,
Jeanne M. Gniadek, Administrative
Assistant