Decision postponed

BOURNE – The Anderson family, owners of this community’s only auto salvage company, Knowlton’s Garage in Sagamore, has offered the town everything it asked for in upgrading the business, and more. But so far that hasn’t been enough. The selectmen heard the proposal Tuesday night, February 11^th, but postponed a vote on the new license requirement until March 4^th, the night after the Special Town Meeting opens, which means that the Anderson’s business will remain in limbo until then.

By March, it will be two months since Knowlton’s business was suspended, first because it was denied a license, and then through the review process after the selectmen granted a reconsideration motion, on a 3 to 2 vote.

If it was the intention of Bourne’s Board of Selectmen to bring Knowlton’s Garage up to the top standards of auto recycling companies, however, they have apparently been completely successful. A specific plan has been provided the board.

Atty. Jonathan Fitch, of Sandwich, made the bulk of the Knowlton’s presentation, providing the selectmen with a stack of sworn affidavits attesting to the presence of the business prior to 1959, when zoning changes affected some of the salvage yard property. Fitch also provided business receipts from the mid-1950’s, and several individuals also testified. Fitch offered the selectmen a site plan that included rows of trees to screen the operation, and he also indicated that vehicles would be stored in a manner that would make them less obvious, if not invisible, from the street.

But perhaps the most important part of the presentation was an intensive environmental review, proposed by Richard E. Lavengood of Relco Engineering, based in Longmeadow, Mass. Lavengood, a chemical engineer whose company was selected by the Mass. Association of Auto Recyclers to assure that its members meet or exceed state environmental standards, was hired by the Anderson family to develop a plan for their Sagamore location.

Lavengood told the selectmen that he drew up a plan that was "overkill" for the Sagamore site, but that he wanted to show the board how thorough the environmental review would be. "I have talked to the (Mass.) Dept. of Environmental Protection," he said, "and Knowlton’s is far down their priority list." He explained that Knowlton’s is classified by the state as a "very small quantity generator" of hazardous materials, disposing of less than 220 pounds per month of oil and other fluids.

"I have set up a plan that assumes the salvage yard is much bigger than it is," Lavengood said.

"It’s an overkill philosophy," he said, explaining that tests will be conducted on the site and quarterly reports issued, and once a year a full review will be conducted. "If the question is, can John Anderson run an environmentally sensitive salvage yard," Lavengood noted, "the answer is, yes."

"This is a confirmed hazardous waste site," Sel. James Grady interjected.

"I’ve looked at the data," Engineer Lavengood replied, "and I find it is confusing and inconclusive; the Benzene, for example, probably came from the old gas station across the street."

He also told the board that at this point no one, not the state DEP, or the town or the Andersons, know precisely what problems may or may not exist at the site. By using his plan, Lavengood stressed, actual hard facts would be made available, and they would of course be current.

Lavengood pointed out that some pollutants dissipate naturally through the actions of bacteria and other normal circumstances, but that some chemicals do not, and his plan would test for everything. If there are "heavy metals" in the soil, he said, that would be a more costly problem to address, but he noted that currently "there is no evidence yet" that such contaminants are present.

"I don’t think there has been so much activity there that there would be much heavy metal present," he told the board.

In all events, Lavengood said, the testing that would be part of the plan and would show what was and wasn’t a problem, and what might be needed to be done, whether it is removing soil or any other consideration.

The engineering plan would also stipulate how vehicles are handled from the time they are acquired through the point when they are "crushed" and sold as scrap, and it also provides details of how materials are handled and disposed of, as well as general work procedures.

Sel. Grady asked Lavengood how he could assure that John Anderson and his family would adhere to the engineering plan, and would correct procedures if they were inappropriate or problematical.

Engineer Lavengood said that he could not provide a guarantee, but "if Mr. Anderson can stay in business and pay me to help clean it up," the plan would work. Sel. Grady continued to press for a defined commitment, and Atty. Fitch provided one.

"Make no mistake," Atty. Fitch said. "This is a commitment." The point was underscored when John Anderson was asked if he would publicly commit to the plan, and he did so.