By James Lagomarsino The small town of Hardwick, tucked up along the east side of the Quabbin Reservoir, is facing a proposed regional landfill by Casella Waste Systems. In 2006, Hardwick defeated a proposal to rezone this area when Casella wanted a smaller expansion at the old landfill site. Now they want to use a much larger area located over a gravel pit and aquifer.
The aquifer drains into the close by Muddy Brook and on to Hardwick Pond. The water then moves south and becomes the town of Ware's drinking water supply. When one chooses a landfill site, it should be close to major road access, close to where the bulk of waste is generated, placed on clay and silt soils, not near a brook, pond, or water supply. Casella's choice for the Hardwick site choice is zero for six critical location factors when siting a landfill.
There will be a threat to health and safety with a hundred truck trips a day six days a week on many miles of small rural roads. So why did they choose Hardwick? They believe the $2.6 million a year will get the town to ignore why this is a terrible and dangerous location for a regional landfill. How much of that money will be left after our property values lower, our roads need repair from huge trash haulers (one million dollars a mile) many, many thousands gallons of leachate liquids, wearing out our new wastewater treatment facilities, plus potential lawsuits from a leaking landfill?
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