Harvey Appeals to Board for Approval

E.L. Harvey made its final pitch to the Hopkinton, Mass. Board of Appeals about its recycling center last night, arguing the project would actually improve environmental conditions on the property.

"This is going to be a state-of-the-art recycling facility, and we are convinced the town will be proud of this facility," Harvey attorney Stephen Richmond told a packed meeting room at Town Hall.

The Board of Appeals, which is weighing seven special permits for the controversial project, is getting closer to closing the public hearing on the matter, which began in October. Selectmen have blasted the board for taking so long to decide.

Once the board does that, it will no longer accept public comments and will begin hashing out its decision on the proposed facility, which would be built in Hopkinton down the street from Harvey's Westborough headquarters.

The town's attorney has written a lengthy draft decision that includes a host of conditions, though Board of Appeals Chairman Wayne Davies has cautioned it has not been approved by the board and will likely include significant changes.

Richmond has written that Harvey has "significant concerns" about the proposed conditions, though he declined to elaborate yesterday.

The conditions Harvey opposes include one that would prevent the company from selling the facility to someone else without first getting approval from the Board of Appeals. Harvey owner Jim Harvey said yesterday that provision is "a little un-American."

If the recycling center is built, the company will pay the town a fee based on the amount of waste processed there. If Harvey does not "make timely payments," according to the draft decision, its permits can be revoked. Harvey wants that condition removed as well.

Last night, Harvey's environmental consultants made their case to board members that neither the landfill on the property nor the proposed recycling center will threaten public drinking water supplies.

The company, they said, is proposing several ways to protect the environment, including building a cap on the Hopkinton landfill to keep rainwater from flowing through it, processing waste inside buildings instead of outside and putting up litter fences.

"We've proposed a project that is going to enhance this site," said Harvey engineer Gerry Cushing. Framingham West (Massachusetts) Daily News