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Date: 4/18/2023
CHESTER — Due to the actions of one as-yet-unidentified permit holder, the town of Chester has closed its transfer station for two weeks on the recommendation of the state Department of Environmental Protection, and is facing potential permanent closure.
Twice, the transfer station has been cited by its waste hauler for human feces found in the trash dumped by town residents. Board of Health Chair Nicholas Chiusano and Clerk Elizabeth Massa have informed the town of the seriousness of the situation, and their frustration after putting in a lot of work over the last three years to turn things around at the transfer station.
The transfer station will be closed on April 22, 26, 29 and May 3, and reopen on May 6.
Massa said the first time feces was dumped was two months ago. Chester’s waste hauler, Dave Wickles Trucking of Hatfield, contacted her at the Board of Health office and told her what had happened, and sent her some pictures. Wickles said the company’s driver can’t handle the cleanup of feces, which is considered hazardous waste. She was also told it was a large amount, a family’s worth. Massa said not knowing what to do, she called the local DEP representative Thomas Speight in Springfield, and asked him for advice. He asked her if there were any failed septic systems in town, camps or illegal houses.
“I know which septic systems in town are failed because we get the reports, and we give directions to the homeowners,” Massa said, referring to the septic permitting process known as Title 5.
She said Chiusano works on Title 5 reviews, and homeowners are advised in a letter if they need a repair or a complete new system. She said sometimes it’s just a pump that’s needed.
“You give them direction, and they go through the permitting process to make it a passing system,” she said.
Massa said septic system repairs for a standard groundwater system can be costly, anywhere from $12,000 to $50,000. She said there is state help available, and they have directed people on how to access that help.
However, Massa said the few issues that have arisen were taken care of, and they do not know currently of any failed systems among permit holders, only two at abandoned houses, one of which is being repaired.
Promising to be more vigilant, the Board of Health put out a notice on the Chester Community Facebook forum and on the town website, and signage at the transfer station. Attendant Ann Daley checked the permits of everyone coming into the gate, asking them if they were bringing in other people’s garbage, and reminding them that dumping human or animal feces is illegal, with the exception of cat litter.
Then it happened again, when the hauler picked up trash at the compactor on April 11. Except this time, Dave Wickles contacted the DEP first, and when the trash was delivered to Casella Waste Systems in Springfield, that company also called the DEP, before contacting the Chester Board of Health.
The DEP office in Boston then called the Board of Health and left a voicemail.
“He said they were aware of the situation with human feces in our compactor, and it can’t happen — it’s a waste ban item that can’t be dumped. He also said, ‘you guys are going to have to figure it out,’” Massa said.
She said the DEP also asked if there are failed septics in town.
“I think it’s either of two things — somebody with a failed septic that hasn’t done a Title 5 and they’re just living in a house where the toilets don’t flush and they aren’t telling anybody; or somebody who is sick and using a hospital toilet, and instead of putting it down the toilet, is putting it in the trash,” Massa said, adding that it could also possibly be a household with several large dogs whose owners bagging the animal waste.
She said the town was instructed by David Holland of the DEP in Boston to write a press release and notify residents of the problem in the newspaper, with a recommendation to close the dump for two weeks as of April 19.
Holland also recommended verifying Title 5 compliance with all of the permit holders by proving to her they can flush the toilet.
She was told that this is the second strike.
“The third strike, you’re shutting down the dump permanently. They will make us shut down the transfer station,” she said.
Massa said it may be hard to avoid that third strike. Once bags are dumped into the compactor, there is no way to check what has been dumped by whom, because they are smashed together.
“You’re asking us to do something that is pretty much impossible,” Massa said. “We know our Title 5 properties, we have a handle on that, 100%. We’re on top of it. It’s not like we have a bunch of houses with failed septics that we don’t know about. Every failed septic Title 5 report in a house in Chester, every single one of them has been repaired,” Massa said.
She said every permit holder is in a legitimate house.
“I feel bad — I don’t want everybody to be in the position where they can’t go to the dump. I feel like we’ve come so far in three years,” Massa said.
She said in the past three years, the current Board of Health turned around the transfer station. The board has been vigilant to make sure all users had a permit, and the number of permits has increased from about 70 to 250. After one year, the station started paying for itself, averaging $52,000 in revenue a year. The board just had the compactor serviced.
“We were able to put more in the compactor and save money on hauls. We’ve passed every inspection, including the surprise annual, unannounced walk-throughs and third-party inspections. We passed them all with flying colors,” Massa said.
The board also installed security cameras, and had just decided that it was going to use recycling revenue to build a swap shed for the town. Massa said she announced it on April 10, and the next day got the call from the DEP.
“For the past three years, the board has been handling the transfer station plus everything else the Board of Health covers for a $1,200-a-year stipend. It’s way more than a part-time job,” Massa said. “For all the work that we did and to get an operating permit for the transfer station, not costing the town money, not being in the red ... I would think the DEP, for being a small town with everyone on septic, we need some help.”
Along with the notice of the closure, the Board of Health has set up an anonymous tip line: “The transfer station is an integral part of our community; let’s all work together to keep it open. If anyone has any information, please call the Board of Health at 413-354-7781, text 413-519-3396 or email boardofhealth@townofchester.net in strict confidence.”
The next Board of Health meeting, which is open to the public, is on April 21 at 5 p.m. in the basement of Town Hall, 15 Middlefield Rd., Chester, and available on Zoom.