PEABODY — The city can begin cleaning up Spring Pond, after receiving a waiver from the Board of Health to dump materials dredged from the pond at the landfill on Farm Avenue.
The landfill is typically limited to accepting municipal waste. But the board last week unanimously approved a one-time exception to allow for the disposal of dredged materials, including particles of dirt, iron and aluminum, from Spring Pond.
The board was satisfied that the materials do not pose a health risk, said Public Health Director Sharon Cameron.
The approval permits the dumping of up to 10,000 tons of the sludge at the landfill. Cameron, however, said that engineers from Weston & Sampson and Public Services Director Dick Carnevale told the board that the material removed from the pond would likely add up to one-third or one-half of the allowed amount.
The materials accumulated in a 5,000-square-foot section of the pond and to a depth of 25 feet in some places.
The state leveled a $28,000 fine against the city in July 2006 for letting sludge from the Coolidge Avenue Water Treatment Plant leak into Spring Pond.
The fine was reduced to $6,000 in October 2006, when the city signed a consent order and promised to clean it up.
The problem for the pond originated between 1997 and 2006, when litigation involving the South Essex Sewerage District, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency prevented the city from discharging sludge through the sewer system.
Without sewer access, the city chose to continually overload two lagoons at the plant, which led to leakage into the pond.
Carnevale told the council in March that the sludge does not pose a public health risk and that allowing it to accumulate was the least expensive way Peabody had to solve the problem.
The city has until Oct. 1 to finish the job, or it faces a $1,000-a-day fine. The city is expected to spend $960,000 to remove the sludge and install a pump to prevent future discharges.
Engineers brought a sample of the material to the board meeting.
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