Mayor, the people have spoken. The Greenfield City Council passed a resolution expressing a lack of confidence in the Licensed Site Professional (LSP), O’Reilly, Talbut, and Okun (OTO). OTO is currently in charge of the cleanup of the city owned property at 298 Federal St. This property is located in a heavily populated residential neighborhood and is connected to much used baseball fields.
OTO has had 10 years to get it right and failed. They did not do their job. They were supposed to clean-up the site. That is what the public and city leaders were promised. In all that time, the pollution was not contained or remediated. In fact, the contamination continued to migrate into the neighborhood. Multiple violations were identified in the DEP audit. OTO was cited for not even establishing the extent of the contamination, a basic first step. Shockingly, the 64 bed detox center was filled to capacity and became fully operational without testing indoor air quality, even though they knew a dangerous cancer causing chemical was present prior to reconstruction.
What level of incompetence or negligence is acceptable? Keep in mind that environmental cleanup in Massachusetts is now privatized. The LSP oversees the assessment and cleanup of the site. The city deferred to the developer, who is paying the bills for the LSP. It’s obvious that revenue from operations was a primary concern.
What happened here was not normal. The vast majority of sites pass DEP screening without the need of a comprehensive audit. Of those audited, most do not require further clean-up efforts. The city of Greenfield was issued an order of non-compliance from DEP on May 27, 2022. This is serious. It orders the city to respond to this ongoing public health threat.
We expect ethical conduct and professional accountability. Who is supposed to protect the staff and patients of the Franklin Recovery Center, the neighbors near the property, and utility workers who work on or near the site? Mayor, how many people must speak before you will listen? There is no debate to be had here. Money making endeavors should not be prioritized over public health.
Precinct 3 City Councilor Virginia Desorgher and Precinct 4 City Councilor John Bottomley of Greenfield.