Claremont debris proposal up for hearing

By PATRICK O’GRADY

Valley News Correspondent

Published: 02-04-2025 4:00 PM

CLAREMONT — A large turnout is expected Thursday evening at the Claremont Opera House for a public hearing on an application from a business that wants state approval to process construction and demolition material at its Industrial Boulevard facility.

Recycling Services, owned by Acuity Management of Massachusetts, applied for the permit modification with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services in August 2023.

Acuity has argued the operation with construction and demolition material would fit the definition of recycling, as the company intends to sort the debris for recyclables and ship the rest out of state by rail.

Opponents, however, contend the company’s plan would tear up city streets and cause pollution.

Before the state issues a ruling on the application, it is required to hold a public hearing in the host community.

Thursday’s hearing begins at 6 p.m.

“I’m hoping we fill the (800-seat) Opera House,” said resident Rebecca MacKenzie, a member of the grassroots group A Better Claremont, which has opposed Acuity’s plans since they were first proposed in 2019. “There is a lot at stake here, so I’m hoping to see residents, property owners, people with kids, the elderly.”

Acuity proposes to have as many as 70 trucks a day bring 500 tons of construction and demolition material to its facility, or 130,000 tons annually, according to the application on file with the state. The material would be dumped on a concrete “tipping floor” and sorted for recyclables on a 1-acre parcel next to the railroad tracks that sits across the road from the company’s operation.

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Acuity asserts that the sorting process means the debris could be defined as recyclable, but the application also states there is a solid waste component to the material.

The Claremont Zoning Board of Adjustment has twice upheld a decision by the city’s former zoning administrator to deny Acuity’s zoning permit for construction and demolition.

The then-zoning administrator, deForest Bearse, wrote in her November 2021 rejection that Acuity’s request to truck in 500 tons a day of construction and demolition materials would change the facility to a transfer station, which is not allowed in the Industrial District.

The city’s zoning board instructed Acuity to obtain a state permit modification that would define construction and demolition material as recyclable. If state approves the modification, Acuity will still need to obtain approval from the zoning board as well as a site plan approval from the Planning Board.

In a September letter to Department of Environmental Services, A Better Claremont demanded that state deny the permit modification.

“Claremont citizens stand firm in their objections to a corporate scheme that would turn a small-scale recycling facility into a massive solid waste transfer station,” the letter said. “We urge you to uphold our local ordinances and control and deny Acuity’s permit to operate a C&D dump and transfer station in Claremont.”

Opponents have argued that trucks with that much tonnage on a daily basis would tax the city’s infrastructure, especially Maple Avenue; introduce toxic air and groundwater pollution; and increase noise pollution to the surrounding neighborhoods along Maple Avenue, where there is also an elementary school.

The combination of effects would hurt property values and the city’s economy, the citizens group said.

“We know that the C&D could contain lead, mercury, heavy metals, and asbestos. These debris are challenging to regulate, and it’s likely that pollutants will escape,” A Better Claremont said in a statement last week.

Dave Schiebel, on-site supervisor for Recycling Services, did not respond to a message left for him.

But Acuity refutes its critics’ statements in its filings.

“The proposed modification will not negatively affect the environment, public health, or safety,” company stated in the application. “While the materials received at the Facility are not a likely source of contamination to surface and groundwater, storage and handling will be inside the enclosed building to provide an additional layer of protection of the environment.”

Acuity said it would accept materials including “bricks, concrete and other masonry materials, wood, wall coverings, plaster, dry wall, plumbing fixtures and non-asbestos insulation” but not “asbestos waste, garbage, corrugated container board, electrical fixtures containing hazardous liquids such as fluorescent light ballasts or transformers, furniture, appliances, tires, drums and containers, and fuel tanks.”

The company also stated that the proposed operation would keep more material out of landfills and incinerators, thus advancing “the State’s disposal reduction target set forth” in state law.

Claremont Mayor Dale Girard said city officials cannot take a public stance on Acuity’s application because at some point in the process, the council may have to make a decision on the issue, and if any councilor has expressed an opinion, he or she would have to recuse themselves from the debate.

“We have to be careful not to have a biased opinion beforehand,” Girard said.

After Thursday’s hearing, the public comment period will continue for two more weeks, until Feb. 20. After that, DES will have 30 days to issue a ruling.

Written testimony can be submitted one of three ways: By email to swpublic.comment@des.nh.gov; by regular mail to NHDES-SWMB Attn: Jason Evancic, PO Box 95, Concord, NH 03302; or by hand delivery to NHDES’ office at 29 Hazen Drive, Concord.

The complete application from Acuity can be viewed online at: https://www4.des.state.nh.us//DocViewer/?ContentId=5109350.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.