STERLING — An earth removal operation presented a list of operational changes it is implementing to address complaints of dust and sand on local streets.
But, residents told the Select Board Oct. 26, the situation needs more monitoring since the complaints are not an isolated issue.
Select Board members said there had been complaints about Onyx on Chocksett Road. Mandy DeFreest, of Onyx, said the complaints focused on Oct. 6, because of high truck volume, rain and the sun quickly drying everything that day. She said they swept the road around the entrance to the facility that night and the next morning, as well as having a crew do the two nearby rotaries on Route 12 “more as an apology for the incident.”
The company will pave the entrance to the scale and reroute trucks to minimize dust on the road. It has also leased another truck with a sprayer and two new sweepers.
“We have someone out every hour to clean up what has happened since this happened,” DeFreest said. “It is good to see some things happening” in response to the problem, Town Administrator Bill Caldwell said.
But a resident of Patriots Way said he has been complaining to the Board of Health about the “constant problems” since June.
As a motorcyclist, Richard Defuria said, he has to deal with the dust and a “maze of stones around the rotaries. I don’t think (the issue) has been addressed properly, and I encourage you to take a better look. I encourage you to hold their feet to the fire to address this.”
Board of Health Chairman Alan Hoffman said his board has heard complaints “relatively recently,” and while they “do have some jurisdiction,” as far as dust in the air goes, it is “more properly referred to the Earth Removal Board and Select Board.”
Select Board Chair Maureen Cranson said she would like to see input from the Board of Health and neighbors about problems.
“If we need to issue sanctions” in the future, Cranson said, the board will, saying they would look at how things change in the coming month.
