This letter was sent to the Fairhaven Selectboard and read by Ms. Vilandry at the 8/19/19 meeting.
We are writing you in response to the discovery of the latest plan of the MA DEP and New Bedford Port Authority to bury an additional 5,000 cubic yards of PCB sediments in another CAD cell, or unlined burial hole in the riverbed just 200 FEET away from the shoreline of a Fairhaven residential area and Oxford Village. This is proposed to be close to Fairhaven High School where rapidly developing students will be attending as well.
The risks to Fairhaven residents will be high due to the PCBs becoming airborne both while dredging the site to contain toxic PCB material and also dumping PCB material into that area when completed. Property owners in that area have already lost value in their homes and many have been unable to sell their homes being close to the only PCB dumpsite in a riverbed in New Bedford Harbor in all of the country!
We can thank Charles Murphy, BOS Chairman, who initially approved this PCB dump site back in 2010, who hastily signed a letter from the EPA without proper vetting or holding a public hearing. He spoke on behalf of the Town of Fairhaven and its residents without their knowledge.*
We are vehemently opposed to placing even more PCB sediments in an area close to residents in the riverbed on the north side of the Route 6 bridge. Why should Fairhaven residents be victims of New Bedford’s toxic waste?
Let them find another area away from Fairhaven residents for their Phase V PCB project. We are not opposed to dredging the harbor for the betterment of the community. We are very much opposed to where they chose to dump their toxic waste.
Respectfully,
Karen Vilandry, President, Hands Across the River Coalition, Inc.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: Mr. Murphy addressed the accusation at the 8/19/19 meeting and noted that he was one of three Selectboard members to vote to support the plan. As Chairperson, he was the one to sign. You can see his response on video at https://www.fairhaventv.com/boardofselectmen
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