Salem Transfer Station Expansion a No-Go

The plan to clean up the transfer station on Swampscott Road was stopped yesterday.

According to the Salem News, Superior Court Judge Howard Whitehead threw out a 2009 ruling by the Salem Board of Health, which approved an agreement between the city and its trash hauler, Northside Carting, that would have allowed for a significant expansion of the transfer station.

The Board of Health approved a request for a “minor modification” of a permit for the transfer station. Whitehead ruled that the city and trash company should have applied for a “major modification,” which would have triggered a lengthier review, because this was a significant expansion requiring a new building, the article said.

After the health board’s decision, neighbors raised concerns about the increased truck traffic and the expansion of the waste transfer business.

The transfer station currently handles construction and demolition debris. Under the new agreement, it would have been able to bring in municipal waste from area communities, the article noted.