Finance Panel Discusses Landfill Cap, Transfer Station

Town officials spent much of the summer finalizing plans for a recently-approved on Stony Brook Road. Now, members of Marblehead's Solid Waste Facility Committee are focused on moving forward with the capping of the old landfill and the construction of the town's new transfer station.

At their meeting Monday night, Finance Committee members were given a brief update regarding the landfill cap and transfer station projects from fellow member Matthew Herring, who serves as Chair of the town's Solid Waste Facility Committee. 

"As a town we voted on this all in one piece. It was one vote but it is really two different projects," Herring said. "There's Stony Brook Road and then there is the capping of the old dump and the construction of a new transfer station. We deal only with the latter half."

At Town Meeting in June, local residents approved spending $18 million to cap the landfill and replace the 54-year-old trash transfer station. The approval also included funds to buy or remediate several pieces of private property on Stony Brook Road that were contaminated by the landfill.

"Let it be clear that a great deal of work was done this summer. It just wasn’t done toward the capping and the transfer station," Herring said. "What we’ve done is put out a series of requests to the SEA asking for answers to some of our questions."

Herring said he expects the answers to the subcommittee's questions will be delivered in time for the group's next meeting on Oct. 11.