Salem Transfer Station Exploratory Test Pits 2-2-21 Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Office of Energy &Environmental Affairs
Department of Environmental Protection
Northeast Regional Office•205B Lowell Street, Wilmington MA 01887.978-694-3200
Charles D. Baker RECEIVED Kathleen A.Theoharides
Governor
Secretary
Karyn E. Polito FEB 0
berg
Lieutenant Governor Martin Su loner
CITY OF SALEM �/ Commissioner
BOARD OF HEALTH
February 2, 2021
David Knowlton, P.E. RE: SALEM—Solid Waste Management
City of Salem Salem Transfer Station & Ash Landfill
Department of Public Works 12 Swampscott Road
93 Washington Street FMF# 39974
Salem, MA 01970
B WP SW45/Any Facility-Alternative Review
Authorization Number: SW45-0000100
Exploratory Test Pits
Conditional Approval
Dear Mr. Knowlton:
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Northeast Regional Office, Bureau
of Air and Waste, Solid Waste Management Section(MassDEP) has reviewed your application,
category BWP SW45 Any Facility—Presumptive Approval, Application Number:
2 1-S W45-0005-APP (the Application), to excavate approximately eight exploratory test pits at the
former Salem Transfer Station& Ash Landfill (the Site) located at 12 Swampscott Road in
Salem, Massachusetts. The Application was prepared and submitted to MassDEP on behalf of
the City of Salem(the City or Permittee) by Weston and Sampson, Inc. of Reading, MA.
DISCUSSION
The Application proposes a geotechnical investigation to facilitate a feasibility study for the
proposed redevelopment of the Site. The Site has not been capped and closed pursuant to 310
CMR 19.000, the Solid Waste Management Regulations. The purpose of this investigation will
be to collect geotechnical field data including thickness of the native soil materials at the site.
The investigation will include advancement of test pits on the back portion of the Site which is
outside the known limits of the ash landfill. Test pit locations are shown on Figure 1 included
with the Application.
As discussed in the Application, the subsurface assessment will include advancement of up to 8
test pits with an excavator to a maximum depth of 14 feet. The proposed test pit locations shown
on Figure 1 included with the Application may be adjusted in the field to account for obstacles
This information is available in alternate format.Contact Michelle Waters-Ekanem,Director of Diversity/Civil Rights at 617-292-5751.
TTY#MassRelay Service 1-800-439-2370
MassDEP Website:www.mass.gov/dep
Printed on Recycled Paper
SALEM—Salem Transfer Station&Ash Landfill Page 3 of 6
Exploratory Test Pits(BWP SW45/Authorization Number: SW45-0000100)
5. Required Submittals:
a. Notification of Construction Schedule: Prior to commencing work pursuant to the
Application and this decision, the Permittee shall notify MassDEP and the Salem
Board of Health(BOH) in writing of the scheduled date of the commencement of
work at the Site. In addition, the Permittee shall provide to MassDEP and the BOH:
i. The projected schedule for completion of the project;
ii. The name and contact information of the Engineer of Record for the project;
iii. The name and contact information of an on-site contact for the project; and
iv. A Health and Safety Plan for the project. (Also refer to Condition 6, below.)
b. Construction Certification Report: On or before sixty (60) days after the date of
completion of the project,the Permittee shall submit to MassDEP a construction
certification report. The certification report shall include, but is not limited to:
i. A site-plan showing the locations of the test pits prepared by a
Massachusetts Registered Professional Engineer;
ii. A report,prepared by the Engineer of Record,that provides, in part, the results
of the exploratory test pits and corresponding test pit logs; and
iii. Certifications by the.City and the Engineer of Record pursuant to 310 CMR
19.011.
6. The Permittee shall ensure that all necessary actions are taken to protect the health and
safety of workers and the general public during the test pit program. The ambient air
above each test pit shall be monitored for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and
methane, and the observations of said monitoring shall be documented. A Health and
Safety Plan for the project shall be developed that includes, but is not limited to,
protocols for monitoring of landfill gas (methane, hydrogen sulfide, etc.).
7. The Permittee shall limit all disturbance of the Site to the proposed test pits as depicted
and described in the Application Number: 21-SW45-0005-APP, and this decision. Any
additional activities or modifications not described in the Application may require
notification of MassDEP, and the preparation and submittal of a separate application for
permit modification.
8. All excavate from the test pits shall be placed and temporarily stored on a tarp. Once
each test pit has been completed, the excavate shall be returned to the test pit or shall be
managed as solid waste pursuant to 310 CMR 19.000. All test pits shall be backfilled at
the end of each work day. All areas disturbed during test pit activities shall be stabilized
as soon as possible upon completion of the test pits.
9. All excavate not returned to the test pit shall be managed pursuant to applicable state, and
federal regulations including, but not limited to the management of solid waste pursuant to
310 CMR 19.000 and shall be disposed of off-site at a disposal facility permitted for the
disposal of solid waste. In the event that excavate cannot be immediately transported off-
site,the excavate shall be placed in a secure container for temporary storage. The
02/02/2021
SALEM—Salem Transfer Station&Ash Landfill Page 5 of 6
Exploratory Test Pits(BWP SW45/Authorization Number: SW45-0000100)
NOTICE OF RIGHT TO APPEAL
The City of Salem (the City) is hereby notified that it may within twenty-one (21) days file a
request that this decision be deemed a provisional decision under 310 CMR 19.033(4)(b), by
submitting a written statement of the basis on which the City believes it is aggrieved, together
with any supporting materials. Upon timely filing of such a request,the decision shall be
deemed a provisional decision with an effective date twenty-one (21) days after the Department's
receipt of the request. Such a request shall reopen the administrative record, and the Department
may rescind, supplement, modify, or reaffirm its decision. Failure by the City to exercise the
right provided in this section shall constitute a waiver of the City's right to appeal.
Appeal. Any person aggrieved by the issuance of this decision, except as provided for under
310 CMR 19.033(4)(b), may file an appeal for judicial review of said decision in accordance
with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 111, s. 150A, and M.G.L. c. 30A, not later than thirty (30) days
following the receipt of the final decision. The standing of a person to file an appeal and the
procedures for filing such appeal shall be governed by the provisions of M.G.L. c. 30A. Unless
the person requesting an appeal requests and is granted a stay of the terms and conditions of the
decision by a court of competent jurisdiction, the decision shall remain effective.
Notice of Action. Any aggrieved person intending to appeal this decision to the Superior Court
shall first provide notice to the Department of their intention to commence such action. Said
notice of intention shall include the Department file,number and shall identify with particularity
the issues and reasons why it is believed the decision was not proper. Such notice shall be
provided to the Office of General Counsel of the Department and the Regional Director for the
regional office which processed the application. The appropriate addresses to which to send
such notices are:
General Counsel
Department of Environmental Protection
One Winter Street - 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02108
and
Eric Worrall, Regional Director
Department of Environmental Protection
205B Lowell Street
Wilmington, MA 01887
No allegation shall be made in any judicial appeal of this decision unless the matter complained
of was raised at the appropriate point in the administrative review procedures established in those
regulations, provided that a matter may be raised upon a showing that it is material and that it
was not reasonably possible with due diligence to have been raised during such procedures or
that matter sought to be raised is of critical importance to the environmental impact of the
permitted activity.
02/02/2021