NEWBURYPORT — In a sign of long-awaited progress, the state and New Ventures have had several "positive meetings" as they work toward the goal of getting the landfill on Crow Lane capped this year, the owner of New Ventures said yesterday.
In June, a Superior Court judge urged the two parties to participate in a voluntary mediation session as "one final opportunity" to resolve the issues surrounding the berm design and closure plan, as well as to iron out questions surrounding post-closure cost estimates.
This week, the attorney general's office and William Thibeault, owner of New Ventures, which is charged with the capping and post-closure maintenance of the site, said they haven't yet met with a mediator and are instead meeting on their own in hopes of reaching a resolution.
If that doesn't work, they are going to comply with the judge's order and enter into mediation.
However, both city officials and Thibeault, who have been at odds for years, say they are now working together to get the capping completed. Thibeault said yesterday that everyone involved is working toward the same end.
"Everyone's working toward trying to find a resolution and to get it capped this year," he said.
Mayor Donna Holaday said this week that she believes progress is being made.
"It seems they are making some headway," she said.
A new engineer has been hired for the berm design, and New Ventures is bringing in sand and preparing for the next stage of closure, Holaday said.
Thibeault said the state's Department of Environmental Protection appeared "pleased" with the new engineer.
"I think they feel a lot more comfortable," he said.
The landfill has been a source of controversy in Newburyport for a decade.
New Ventures purchased it in 2000 to cap it, but for years, neighbors surrounding the landfill have dealt with the smells of rotten eggs and burnt matches produced from the decomposing gypsum at the site as it sits uncapped. The city, state and New Ventures have engaged in ongoing legal battles relating to the closing — a fight that has included many fines and shutdowns of the site.
"The commonwealth and New Ventures have been meeting in an effort to resolve the various landfill disputes without mediation in an effort to reach agreement on the berm design and closure work in time for the landfill to be completely closed and covered with loam and grass seed before winter," Jill Butterworth, deputy press secretary for the attorney general's office, wrote in an e-mail. "At the same time, the commonwealth is complying with Judge Cratsley's order and schedule so that mediation may start as soon as possible should the parties fail to reach agreement without mediation."
Thibeault said his desire is to resolve the situation without using a mediator, as that would push their time frame back and they would miss construction season.
"I don't want to do that," he said. "We're trying to get it all resolved."
In June, Superior Court Justice John Cratsley issued rulings on the three motions heard earlier that month.
He denied a motion by the state's attorney general that argued that New Ventures, the owner and operator of the Crow Lane landfill, was in contempt for failing to submit adequate cost estimates to finish capping the landfill. The filing of the cost estimates was required by a March court order.
Cratsley also rejected a motion by New Ventures to compel closure of the landfill using its berm design and to release funds from the Financial Assurance Mechanism to New Ventures, according to their cost schedule.
The judge continued a final motion by the state to declare that New Ventures was in default of its closure obligations for failing to correct deficiencies in the modified berm design that were highlighted by the state and for its failure to meet the closure deadlines.
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