State Rep: Proposed Wilmington Rail Project Needs To Be 'Buried'

WILMINGTON, MA -- State Rep. James Miceli (D-Wilmington) says the recently-released Surface Transportation Board study for the proposed New England Transrail in Woburn and Wilmington is just more evidence that the project is a bad idea for residents and needs to be "buried" once and for all. NET wants to build facilities where goods are transferred from rail to truck in Wilmington and Woburn.

"It is my firm belief that nothing could be found by this study that would allow it to occur safely," Miceli said. "This project is well overdue for being flat out buried. Wilmington has suffered the environmental impacts of the Olin Chemical site enough already, and we certainly don’t need an organization who clearly has no concern for our town and residents to be putting us in danger."

A spokesperson for NET was not immediately available for comment. Contamination at the Olin Chemical site, which made chemical blowing agents, stabilizers, antioxidants and other specialty chemicals for the rubber and plastics industry until it closed in 1986, forced the town to close five public water supply wells serving more than 7,000 people. In some sections of Wilmington, Olin still provides bottled drinking water.

"I don’t know how a project could be a worse fit for the location," Miceli said "It’s just common sense to not construct a loading and unloading rail facility anywhere near a superfund site, let alone on top of one."

NET wants to acquire 5,727 feet of existing track, to rehabilitate or construct a combined 10,838 feet of track, and to operate as a rail carrier over the total 16,565 feet of track on and adjacent to property currently owned by the Olin Corporation. In June of 2016, New England Transrail filed a petition for exemption from an environmental review from the Surface Transportation Board, which was later denied, leading to the Final Scope of Study that was released earlier this month.

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).