TIVERTON -- Lepes Road residents are one step closer to having their properties freed from the town's moratorium on excavation in North Tiverton despite strong objections from the ENACT neighborhood group.
The Town Council voted last night to move the southern border of the area affected by the moratorium from Lepes Road to a stone wall on the large Simpson family property, which is between Judson and Lepes Roads. The council, however, must first have a public hearing on the issue before the change can occur.
"When the council first decided to use an extra measure of caution in establishing the moratorium area boundaries it included Lepes Road, although there was no anecdotal or factual data that pointed to actual [soil] contamination in that area," Councilman Tracy Connors said. "... Soil tests were taken from Lepes Road [late last year]. It is my understanding that no contamination was found."
He said there are no data to support including Lepes and there is evidence to the contrary, therefore the council would not be fulfilling its responsibilities if it decided not to change the boundary. He said the Town Council could face "costly legal action" without a change.
Councilman Donald Bollin also said he didn't want to see Lepes Road residents unnecessarily "held hostage."
Yet, ENACT president Gail Corvello said the testing below Lepes Road -- which was performed by EA Engineering, Science and Technology of Warwick -- was inadequate. The town hired EA Engineering to test its roads after contamination was found in the neighborhood in August 2002.
"The deepest [EA Engineering] went below the road's surface was 1.3 feet," Corvello said. To test properly, the company should have gone farther, she said. Other tests have gone beyond two feet.
She said EA Engineering also didn't test for cyanide and other soil contaminants commonly related to coal gasification waste. The state Department of Environmental Management has repeatedly said the contamination found throughout the neighborhood could be from the former Fall River Gas Co. coal gasification plant. The DEM issued a letter of responsibility last March to the gas company's current owners, Southern Union.
Corvello said she asked the DEM yesterday whether additional testing could be conducted on Lepes, such as on the private properties that abut the stone wall.
"The way you're talking, it's like you're an expert on everything," Lepes Road resident Joe Gaspar said. Gaspar's plans for interior home improvements have been delayed because of the moratorium. "I think you're way out of your boundary. ... We're only neighbors [to the contaminated neighborhood], nothing more. We don't want to get caught up in that."
Corvello said, "We're just trying to help. ..."
Gaspar answered, "You need the help, not me."
Council president Claudia Linhares expressed her concern about the town's liability if it moves the boundary to the stone wall and then contamination is found on a Lepes Road property.
The council approved the boundary change in a 4-to-2 vote. Linhares and Councilwoman Lori Doyle voted against the motion. Councilwoman Louise Durfee was absent.
"Our planet is polluted," resident Mark Bouchard said from the audience. "Our whole country is polluted. The air we breath is polluted. You're [some council members and ENACT] looking for a pristine property and that doesn't exist anymore."
Alisha A. Pina can be reached by phone at (401) 277-7465 or by e-mail at apinaATprojo.com.
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