News Release
Northampton, Massachusetts – Four residents of Northampton who are abutters of the Northampton Regional Sanitary Landfill on Glendale road have today filed a complaint in Superior Court in Northampton seeking relief from the nuisance and damages caused by the landfill.
Mr. Fedora announced that he and other plaintiffs have today filed a civil action in Hampshire Superior Court which seeks damages and injunctive relief with regard to the continued contamination of wetlands, public drinking water resources, and private wells, which are important natural resources the City has failed to protect; and to abate nuisance conditions including offensive odors and excessive noise from landfill operations which have unreasonably interfered with the normal use and enjoyment of the plaintiffs’ properties.
Mr. Fedora stated, on behalf of all of the plaintiffs:
“The serious pollution caused by the landfill has being going on far too long, with far too little being done to protect our properties, the natural resources in our area, and the public health. Enough is enough. We can no longer afford to hope for something good to happen while the landfill continues to pollute us and our neighborhood. The City of Northampton, which clearly has not done enough to stop the problems it has known about for over twenty years, now deserves to be held accountable. We are asking that the Superior Court require the City not only compensate us for our property damages, but also to take the necessary corrective actions to prevent future contamination and pollution.
Unfortunately the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) has dropped the ball and is not enforcing its regulations, and so we have to ask the Superior Court to step in to do what DEP has failed to do.
“Until the present pollution has been abated, we believe it would be entirely inappropriate for the Department of Public Works (“DPW”) to make any further plans for the proposed expansion of the landfill, which needs a special permit from the City Council.”
This action follows up the suit filed last week in the Massachusetts Land Court regarding the refusal of the City’s Zoning Board of Appeals to take appropriate zoning enforcement actions against the DPW’s continued illegal uses of the landfill site on Glendale Road. Mr. Fedora recently said that “the city has been and continues to carry out environmental injustices and has created a sacrifice zone at our expense.”
The litigation is being brought on behalf of the residents by Boston Environmental Attorney Peter L. Koff.
