To the editor:

Next week, Saugus Town Meeting members will vote on Article 34, a decision with serious consequences for public health, the environment, and the future of the community. Residents should understand that a “yes“ vote encourages expansion of the ash landfill. Environmental officials appointed by Governors Charlie Baker and Maura Healey have confirmed in writing in two separate letters that the landfill permit either sunsets when the landfill height reaches 50 feet or by Nov. 1, 2027.  A “yes“ vote signals to officials at all levels of government that you are urging the state to rescind that decision requiring closure of the ash landfill and instead prefer extending the life of the landfill beyond that deadline.

This matters because the landfill sits in the middle of Rumney Marsh, is entirely unlined, and impacts already overburdened neighborhoods. Serious health and environmental impacts locally will either continue to mount up or begin to abate when the landfill closes. That is the choice before Town Meeting Members. The Environmental Protection Agency has stated definitively that all landfills leak. The ash buried at this site contains heavy metals, PFAS “forever chemicals,” dioxin, and furans that build up and can contaminate the groundwater and the web of aquatic life in the local rivers and marsh.

This is the oldest trash incinerator in the country, so the health and environmental damage from this site has built up over decades. Families deserve relief, not another generation of pollution.

Importantly, closing the ash landfill would not shut down the incinerator itself. WIN Waste can and should still financially support the town as the incinerator will continue to operate. WIN’s support for local sports teams and other community activities can and should still continue.

To the Town Meeting Members of Saugus, please carefully consider your vote. Article 34 is a choice about the kind of future Saugus wants. Do not send the impression to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection that you’d like another 20 years of continuing pollution from the ash landfill.

Cindy Luppi, Senior Director for State Policy and Program
Clean Water Action
Boston
and
Erica Kyzmir-McKeon, Director, Communities and Toxics Environmental Justice
Conservation Law Foundation
Boston