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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
 Posted - 08/16/2007 : 11:20:38 AM
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This is Wood Waste.
NEWBURYPORT
In turnabout, landfill's owner pins bill on city
By Kay Lazar, Globe Staff | August 16, 2007
Neighbors are incensed. State environmental officials declined to comment. And Mayor John Moak of Newburyport said he isn't sure what to make of it.
The owner of the Crow Lane Landfill, already facing substantial city and state legal penalties for several alleged violations in its efforts to cap and close the facility, has taken a new legal tack and is demanding that the city shoulder 95 percent of the costs for the project.
In an Aug. 6 letter on behalf of New Ventures Associates LLC, company attorney Richard Bennett wrote that complaints filed against his client by the state's Department of Environmental Protection last month in Suffolk Superior Court had changed "the legal landscape." Bennett's letter said that because the DEP invoked a state law, known as Chapter 21E, governing the release of hazardous waste, it opens the door for New Ventures to ask that any entity that "disposed of waste or arranged for its disposal" at the landfill be held liable for its cleanup.
"Among other things, New Ventures intends to ensure that liability for any response action costs incurred under Chapter 21E are allocated equitably among all financially viable parties that bear responsibility for the materials that have been deposited in the landfill over the decades," the letter states. "First and foremost on that list is the City of Newburyport."
The letter goes on to say the landfill served as the city's municipal waste dump for decades, beginning in 1958, "if not earlier."
New Ventures, which is based in Everett, took title of the Newburyport property in April 2000, and subsequently received state approval to cap and close the landfill facility.
New Ventures estimated in its letter that the company has spent "at least" $7.1 million on the project, and that because the city and its residents were the "principal contributors" of waste at the site, the city should be liable for 95 percent of current and future costs, and New Ventures should pay 5 percent.
James Caponigro, whose house is closest to the landfill on Crow Lane, is outraged.
"New Ventures should be ashamed," said Caponigro, 40. "The city should be ashamed if we end up paying, and the state should be most ashamed because they have more jurisdiction than the city does."
The landfill's neighbors, who frequently complain of noxious odors from the site, have been lobbying local and state leaders to force the company to install required equipment that would ease the problem.
Several who are members of an e-mail group that regularly chats about the landfill expressed anger and amazement over the latest twist.
In its most recent complaint filed against the company in Suffolk Superior Court, the DEP said New Ventures failed to comply with "numerous requirements and conditions" set by the court last October, resulting in the shutdown of landfill closure work on four occasions since January. DEP spokesman Joe Ferson declined comment on the new letter from New Ventures, citing the ongoing litigation.
The company's letter stated it would expect a reply from the city within 45 days, and, if the two sides could not reach an agreement, New Ventures would sue the city to recover its costs.
The mayor said he referred the letter to the city's attorney.
"It's a countersuit that attempts to bring us to our knees as we attempt to get New Ventures to be responsible in their closure of this landfill," Moak said.
New Ventures is under a court order to complete the capping and closing of the landfill by Aug. 30, a deadline all sides agree is unlikely to be met.
Kay Lazar can be reached at klazar@globe.com.
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Edited by - massdee on 08/16/2007 11:27:48 AM |
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H1ghCh4r1ty
Advanced Member
967 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2007 : 2:13:53 PM
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Good work, massdee.
According to the Secretary of State's office, William J. Thibeault is the owner of New Ventures Associates, LLC. Which apparently is registered in the State of Delaware (probably for liability and tax purposes).
This guy is slick, too slick............
Emile Schoeffhausen |
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ItalianDevil021
Member
41 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2007 : 08:42:20 AM
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| Eventually, even those who are slick do fall on their asses....just a matter of time... |
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Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2007 : 09:06:27 AM
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| Well, I hope Mr. DeMaria took a shower immediately after the fundraiser. This cannot be good for his campaign. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2007 : 3:31:41 PM
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| Why would Carlo want to dirty his hands with the likes of Thibeault? I don't get it. |
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Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2007 : 3:54:04 PM
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| Money. Dinero. Yen. Beaucoup d'argent. Pesos. Euros. Pounds. Marks. Francs. etc. etc. |
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Ellen
Senior Member
173 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2007 : 5:27:12 PM
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| There are a lot of people int his city who know exactly what Mr. Thibeault is. I don't think Mr. DeMaria was figuring on that. You know that old saying, "You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time." |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2007 : 9:54:45 PM
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| I can't believe all the crap you can find on Thibeault and Wood waste if you do a little web surfing. He is not a nice person. |
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Globe Wood Waste
