How loud will a solid-waste facility in New Bedford Business Park be? State is checking.
NEW BEDFORD — A state decision on a solid waste processing facility's suitability in the New Bedford Business Park has been postponed six times and there's currently no decision deadline.
A negative ruling will end the process.
But if it's approved, the site assignment process would move to the New Bedford Board of Health, which would conduct its own review and hold public hearings before voting on the proposal, according to the city Health Dept.
A spokersperson for the state Dept. of Environmental Protection, which has been reviewing the proposal since February 2023, said it's still under review and there was no new decision date set.
Would process up to 1,500 tons of solid waste per day
Formerly known as Parallel Products of New England, the South Coast Renewables' facility would be processing up to 1,500 tons of municipal solid waste per day, including construction and demolition waste, from its 100 Duchaine Blvd. location.
Municipal solid waste from communities within the state would be sorted to remove recyclables before the remaining waste is transported out of state by rail and/or truck to be landfilled or incinerated, according to the proposal.
It has drawn opposition from neighboring North End residents who are concerned with the truck traffic, noise and potential pollution from the facility.
DEP reviewing 129-page sound assessment
MassDEP is currently reviewing an addendum to a 129-page sound assessment report that was provided by South Coast Renewables.
That's "to evaluate whether the proposed facility will result in nuisance conditions and if it is designed to mitigate sound impacts to the maximum extent practical."
In response to it, non-profit environmental advocate Conservation Law Foundation provided a peer-review from non-profit Quiet Communities Inc. in late March.
It recommended "a comprehensive acoustic evalution," including a look at the potential impact to the health of area residents.
Potential loss of property values not considered
It states, "Noise from the proposed project would come first from construction of the facility and then, from its operations. This would include noise from continuous and incidental (intermittent) sources, ranging from loud, penetrating noises of large equipment banging, tipping, and unloading, to intermittent beeping of backup alarms, to the rumbling of large municipal waste trucks, to chronic noise of ventilation fans to the on and off of idling and moving locomotives."
Residents may be unable to escape the noise's impact once it's up and running, according to the report.
It adds that the potential loss of property value to neighboring residents wasn't considered in the sound assessment provided in behalf of South Coast Renewables.
Careful review is warranted, according to the report: "Once built there is no going back – the noise will be generated day in and day out."
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: How loud will a solid-waste facility in New Bedford Business Park be?
