Rehoboth Sludge Will Be Removed

The sludge which was dumped on Almeida Road will be removed by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) within the next couple of weeks. Approximately 300 truckloads of sewage sludge were dumped by a company called EarthSource last March.

Robert Materne, chairman of the Rehoboth Conservation Commission, said the process will start 10 to 14 days after signing an administrative consent order for EarthSource. “It should take 3 to 5 weeks to remove,” Materne told the Reporter on November 2. “DEP scientists and Con Com will be on site to monitor removal.”  

The DEP later tested 18 town wells. Materne said the Conservation Commission would be sent the test results as soon as possible. The DEP had tested the sludge because of the huge size of the alteration of wetlands, which ended up being seven acres. Two samples were taken. “There are other chemicals outside of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in that sludge and in that area,” Water Commissioner Joseph Nunes said last August.

The Water Commission, along with the Planning Board and the Board of Health, attended a special meeting on August 9 with the Board of Selectmen to discuss the dumping of the sludge and the potential impact on groundwater.

Materne told the other boards that the sludge, which had been stored at the Raynham dog track, is “the largest violation in our history.”

“It’s going to be very costly,” Materne noted. “I know it’s going to cost a huge amount of money to remove it. We don’t have the resources to go after people that DEP has.”

“Wetland restoration will start in the spring,” Materne added. “It is past the fall planting season. Only erosion control will be addressed now.  The Conservation Commission will be in charge of restoration.”