DALTON, Mass. — Residents impacted by Petricca Industries' unauthorized dig site say, "it's time to stop reacting and start acting."

 

For the last seven months, several dozen residents have been going to numerous meetings in town urging action to stop sand from leaving parcel No. 105-16, owned by Berkshire Concrete, a subsidiary of Petricca Industries.

 

The residents organized a Clean Air Coalition to provide updates on what they described as slow progress towards a resolution. 

 

Although coalition members thanked the town for the work it has done to aid them, they also expressed their frustration with the lack of action taken. 

 

On April 29, Berkshire Concrete's attorney Dennis Egan Jr., of Cohen Kinne Valicenti and Cook, informed the town that the company's mitigation plan is complete. The planned improvements include planting 20 white pine trees along a gravel berm, reclaiming unused areas, and backfilling those areas with clean soil. 

 

It also involves grading to create a gentle slope, followed by loaming and hydroseeding with a tackifier to encourage grass growth and prevent erosion. Additionally, a 20-foot-high earthen berm, approximately 250 feet long, will be constructed, and some sloped areas will be stabilized with stone.

 

"These measures are intended to reduce airborne dust and reclaim and restore unused or disturbed areas. We are confident that these steps will mitigate dust at the Dalton gravel pit and demonstrate BCC's ongoing commitment to working with the town of Dalton," Egan said in a correspondence to the town. 

 

Egan initially believed that all the mitigation work was done. However, on May, 20, he informed the town that the final task, of installing a fence, had yet to be complete because the recent rain prevented the contractor from accessing the berm and work on the muddy conditions would cause "significant damage to the recently tacked and grassed areas. 

 

Several members of the coalition, members of various town board, Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson, Town Planner Janko Tomasic, Berkshire Concrete CEO Peri Petricca and Chief Operating Officer Alan LeBihan, and Berkshire Concretes' attorney discussed the situation during a site visit at parcel No. 105-16. 

 

The media was not permitted to participate in the site visit. In an Open Meeting Law complaint, an Eagle reporter claimed when they were "denied access" to the meeting and quoted an email from Petricca saying "while we understand your interest in participating in the site visit we do not believe it is appropriate for The Eagle to be there." 

 

However, a newsletter from the coalition claimed that during the site visit, Petricca apologized for the company's mistakes and said he was not aware of the scope of the problem. 

 

"The company insisted that the sand was not a health problem — just a nuisance," the newsletter said.  

 

The coalition claimed that Petricca was "reluctant to have continuous dust pollution monitoring installed on the perimeter of Lot 105-16 and other key areas on the eastern edge of Berkshire Concrete's operation." 

 

"[Dave Pugh of the coalition] advocated for this multiple times so that the town and BC can take proactive steps and corrective measures to reduce dust from leaving the property," the newsletter said. 

 

The newsletter also stated that Petricca and Alan LeBihan plan to apply for a special permit in June or July to continue excavating on lot 105-16, located toward the backside of Raymond Drive, which is why a portion of the lot was not remediated.

 

"As some of you may have seen in pictures from Tom Powers, the full site has still not been abated. Their attorney tells us they are finished. He doesn't get to make that decision — we do as a town. They don't get to make that decision. The town does. They don't decide when they're finished. We tell them when they're finished and they're not finished," Clean Air Coalition member Lisa Pugh said. 

 

Her husband, David Pugh, added to that saying, "When you look from the base [and] the air it looks like more than half of the exposed area on 105-16 is still exposed."

 

On one half the grass is growing nicely but the other side has not been remediated. 

 

"The other half really needs to be taken care," he said. 

 

During the Select Board meeting on Tuesday night, the board approved several actions addressing residents' concerns, including writing a letter requiring Berkshire Concrete "immediately cover up" the unremediated area. 

 

Additionally, the board approving a special town meeting warrant that had an article requesting funds to obtain "professional and technical work — including the possibility of a lawyer and engineering company — to ensure," Berkshire Concrete Corp.'s compliance with their special permit and town orders. 

 

Also approved was the establishment of a Clean Air Ad Hoc Committee, which would be charged reviewing the special permit and ensure compliance. 

 

The committee would be made up of one Select Board member, Board of Health representative, Planning Board member, and concentration commissioner. Each of these bodies will also have one alternate. 

 

Additionally, the committee will include two citizen members: one representative from the Dalton Clean Air Coalition and and a citizen. 

 

In the future, the town plans to hold a meeting involving the residents of Berkshire Concrete and the Clean Air Ad Hoc Committee. During this meeting, Select Board member Marc Strout recommended that the town secure an attorney to represent both the town and its residents, as it is likely that Berkshire Concrete will bring its own legal counsel.

 

The board also approved, pending legal counsel review, a motion to order Berkshire Concrete to conduct air monitoring along their fence perimeter and report results to the town.

 

During the meeting on Tuesday, residents outlined the extensive process they have gone through, which began with testing the sand in February. 

 

During the last several months, a "clerical error" was discovered omitting parcel No. 105-16 from the permit application, which resulted in a cease and desist order to stop the dust from leaving the site. 

 

The coalition attended several town meetings to obtain clarification on how to gather evidence to hold Berkshire Concrete accountable and demand action to stop the sand, which the state Department of Environmental Protection had deemed a nuisance, rather than an air quality health concern. 

 

These results indicate that the town is the regulatory authority responsible for ensuring Berkshire Concrete mitigates the dust. 

 

Boards have sent letters to Berkshire Concretes' attorneys requiring that Berkshire Concrete develop a mitigation plan or face fines. These letters were characterized as performative and do not resolve the issue. 

 

"The Board of Health does have the power to assess fines. They even warned Berkshire Concrete that they would do that, and yet they still refused to issue a fine. Why are they using their authority that they've been given," Lisa Pugh said. 

 

"Back in February [Michael Gorski, director of the DEP's Western Regional office] told the [Board of Health] 'Town authorities can order Berkshire Concrete to implement an air monitoring program at their fence line perimeter and report results to the town on an established basis.' Why hasn't this been done, that was three months ago."