Politics & Government

DEM Cautions Town of Development on Former Dump Property

Town officials say not to worry — no plans have been submitted yet.

The state Department of Environmental Management has raised concerns about development of land near and on portions of the former Portsmouth Town Dump — also known as the Kidd Landfill — on Park East Drive.

But according to Town Planner Gary Crosby, there are no plans on file for any development on any property in question and nobody has filed development plans or applied for a building permit.

In an April 4 letter to Town Manager John C. Kilimm, the DEM's Mark Dennen of the Office of Waste Management said investigations at the landfill site as part of an ongoing closure operation shows evidence of industrial waste, metals and volatile organic compounds has been detected in the landfill site. Those materials are at "exceedances" of both residential and commercial standards, Dennen wrote.

The issue is that encroachments and subdivisions of the site has resulted in small portions of the landfill being located on neighboring properties including one that is for sale, the Levesque property, and other properties that Dennen's letter stated "are in development."

Those properties, located on the corner of Highland, Pine and Russell Avenues have not undergone investigation and as a result, the DEM isn't sure of what degree of contamination exists but it's likely that it does.

"We do not have any reason to believe landfill material on these properties is significantly different from landfill material on the [former dump] property," Dennen wrote.

Crosby said he doesn't disagree that there is an issue with the landfill encroaching into those properties, but he said someone might read the DEM letter and think there is actual construction or development activity at the site because it refers to those sites as "in development."

"The concern is that somehow or another the town would allow construction of buildings and roads on these pieces of property that contain pieces of landfill without going through the proper permitting process," Crosby said. "And that doesn't make a lot of sense."

Crosby said if someone applied to develop the sites, and nobody has, all the issues raised by the DEM would be addressed through the normal site review and permitting process. 

"It hasn't happened, it's not happening yet, and I have faith that if or when it does, our permitting procedures will make sure all the concerns are addressed."

The DEM raised several concerns about the exact extent of all landfill areas, potential landfill gas mitigation, potential settlement and erosion issues and problems that might arise from odors and dust.

The DEM also said there should be health and safety plan requirements to protect workers and residents during construction.

In a December 23 letter from DiPrete Engineering to the DEM, engineers said test pit investigations showed the landfill "is larger than was originally thought" and outlined the need for an expanded capping program. That report includes a map of the former dump site. Click here to review it.



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here