ADAMS, Mass. — The Board of Health Wednesday heard a presentation from representatives of Specialty Minerals about why the facility needs to modify the plans for a previously permitted landfill.

 

Ziad Kary of Quincy engineering firm Environmental Partners explained to the board how the new plans for the landfill will dispose of and contain waste from the limestone mill and processing operation, which has operated in the town in one form or another since 1848.

 

"We do have the permit today and could start filling the quarry based on the number of 135 tons per year," Kary told the board. "We're looking to modify that number.

 

"In terms of changing the tonnage and sequencing, this is not going to change, in any way, the landfill that will be built. The geography remains the same size. The elements of design will never change."

 

What has changed, according to the presentation on Wednesday at Town Hall is the daily rate of mill waste production.

 

Due to the increased tonnage, SMI needs to accelerate the timeline for filling the cells that comprise the landfill, which is filling in an existing quarry.

 

"Existing mill waste on site is in the way of daily quarry operations," read a slide that was shown to the board on Wednesday. "[Modifying the permit] allows SMI to relocate the waste into the regulated area."