WESTFIELD – The Board of Health received a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permit to make repairs to the cap at the former Twiss Street landfill.
Project Manager Jaclyn Caceci of Tighe & Bond reported that the DEP issued a permit, with several conditions, early yesterday, to repair erosion damage to the cap installed more than a decade ago.
Caceci said that the 40-milimeter liner under the soil was not damaged, but that vegetation and soil has been washed off the cap making the liner vulnerable to damage.
Tighe & Bond will assist the board in selecting a contractor to make repairs to the cap because of the potential for further damage if the wrong equipment and procedures are used.
“You have to be careful as the contractor to make sure there is cover over the liner where ever they’re going,” Caceci said. “The DEP asked for a repair plan and protocols that were added to the application for a permit.”
“Today they sent the permit with a few conditions which we expected,” Caceci said. Those condition require the consulting engineer to report back to the DEP during and after the project is completed.
Caceci said that erosion damage was identified in three areas, one major area where there is a washout and two minor areas “to deal with before they get worse. You were proactive when you put in erosion controls, to prevent further damage to those areas.”
Tighe & Bond Vice President Dana Huff said the Health Department’s contract with the firm includes providing assistance to the board in hiring a contractor with the experience and equipment to do the repairs without creating further damage.
In other business, the Health Board presented retiring board member John Lehman with mementos of his 17-year tenure on the board. Lehman attended his last meeting last night after submitting a letter of resignation effective at the end of this month. Lehman said that he and his family are relocating to Florida.
“It has been an honor and privilege to have spent this time with you,” Lehman said to his fellow board members and Health Department staff. “You leave a part of your life when you move out of a community that has been your home for 22 years, where you’ve raised your kids, so it is difficult, although I did giggle when I sold my snow blower.”
