PUBLIC HEARING TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2011 AT 6:30 PM AT CLARK GOVERNMENT CENTER
MAIN AUDITORIUM
119 SCHOOL STREET
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS
FOR THE PROPOSED
NON­RADIOACTIVE HAZARDOUS
MATERIAL ROUTE
IN THE CITY OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
HIGHWAY DIVISION
FRANCIS A. DEPAOLA, P.E.
HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATOR
THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E.
ACTING CHIEF ENGINEER
PRESENTERS & OFFICIALS
Thomas Broderick, Acting Chief Engineer Arthur Greenberg, Battellele Memorial Institute Neil Boudreau, State Traffic Engineer Charles D. Rennick, Esq., Legal Counsel Thomas Tinlin, Commissioner, Boston Transportation Department Donnie Daly, Moderator Joe Sakelos, Arlington Typing & Mailing SPEAKER INDEX Name Page Thomas Broderick 4,22,26,30, 50,57,59,65, 68­70 Commissioner Thomas Tinlin 8,51 Donnie Daly 24,27,30­32,
34,39,42,45, 49,57,60,65, 66,68,69 Mayor Jeannette McCarthy 24,26,27 State Representative Thomas M. Stanley 27 State Representative Jay Kaufman 30 City Councillor Tom Curtin 31 City Councillor Robert Waddick 33 City Councillor Ed Tarallo 34 Robert Rooney 39 Selectman Ralph Patuto 42 City Councillor Robert G. Logan 45 Selectman Dan DiTucci 49 Paul Roth 49 Art Greenberg 50,51 City Councillor George Darcy 57 SPEAKER INDEX (Continued)
Name Page Ann Lynch 60 Monica Tibbits 65 David Arnold 66
Paul Buckley 67
Andrew Mullen 68
Exhibits Description Page Sign­In Sheet 72­77 ATM, Inc
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P R O C E E D I N G S 1 2 ENGINEER: Good evening. My name is Tom Broderick, 3 and I am the Acting Chief Engineer for MassDOT. I am 4 joined tonight by Neil Boudreau, our State Traffic 5 Engineer to my right, and by Charles Rennick from our 6 Legal Department on my left. The Consultant from 7 Arthur Greenberg from Battellele Memorial Institute 8 is running a little late. He will be here when we 9 get to that portion. If we start taking testimony 10 before then, we will allow him to give his 11 presentation. 12 13 following a 2009 decision by the Federal Motor 14 Carriers Safety Administration, the City of Boston 15 was required to conduct a risk analysis subject to 16 Federal Routing Criteria, evaluating the alternative 17 Hazmat routes. The City of Boston engaged the 18 services of Battellele Memorial Institute to perform 19 that risk analysis, which examined a number of routes 20 in consultation with MassDOT, which ultimately 21 concluded that the existing routes from the Downtown 22 area of Boston was significantly higher in risk than 23 to travel on the beltway of Route 128. 24 THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF Some background on why we are here today, MassDOE has conducted technical reviews on ATM, Inc
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5 1 the report's risk assessments, and we requested 2 additional 3 procedures and consistent methodologies were employed 4 to assess these risks, and those comments and 5 responses are located on our web site. 6 7 process, we are here today to provide the public and 8 interested parties with the opportunity to provide 9 their comments and testimony on the proposed 10 hazardous material route and destination that came 11 about as a result of the risk analysis performed by 12 the Battellele Institute. 13 14 Under the proposed route, Hazmat vehicles will be 15 prohibited from using the Downtown area of the City 16 of Boston for through transportation of hazardous 17 material. Hazmat deliveries with a point of origin 18 and destination within the Downtown area would still 19 be permitted to provide the motor carrier, provided 20 that they receive the required permits. Route 128 21 will be designated as the preferred through route 22 over which the Hazmat approaching the city would be 23 transported. 24 information to ensure proper In accordance with the Federal Regulatory What is the proposed routing designation? Under Federal Law, MassDOT is the state that ATM, Inc
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6 1 agency with responsibility for ensuring that all 2 Hazmat routing designations comply with the Federal 3 Routing Standards. MassDOT must resolve all 4 conflicts among the hazardous material groups, and 5 approve all hazardous material routing designations 6 under the federal regulations. 7 8 among others, population, density, type of highway, 9 type of hazardous material, emergency response 10 capabilities, consultation with affected persons, 11 proximities to schools, hospitals and playgrounds and 12 other 13 continuity of routes, alternative routes, effect on 14 commerce, 15 considerations, and congestion and accident history. 16 17 18 would like to remind everyone to try and keep their 19 comments brief so that everyone who wishes to 20 participate has the opportunity to speak. Copies of 21 the report, the Federal Routing Standards, Frequently 22 Answered Questions, and other relevant information is 23 available through the MassDOT web site. If you have 24 any questions, please submit them to us through the The Federal Routing Standards include, sensitive delays areas, in terrain transportation, climatic There is a pretty good showing today, so we considerations, ATM, Inc
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7 1 comment sheets available at the sign­in desk, and we 2 will respond accordingly. 3 4 on up, these is a comment of the comment sheets on 5 the table outside, as well as the public notice and 6 tonight is the third of four public hearings we are 7 holding on this issue. 8 9 MassDOT to solicit testimony. Responses to comments 10 will be grouped by topic and responded on through our 11 web site. There are a number of Frequently Asked 12 Questions already located on the web site, and we 13 will be adding to that list as the hearings progress. 14 15 of any new information presented for review relative 16 to the assessments that may alter the initial 17 determination, MassDOT will inform the Federal Motor 18 Carriers of the final preferred routing. 19 20 for providing this facility this evening, and I would 21 like to also remind everybody that the ­­ there this 22 event is being taped tonight by Matt Conti of the 23 North End Waterfront.com, and also by the City of 24 Waltham Cable Access Channel. If you didn't receive ­­ if you didn't pick The format of tonight's hearing will be for After receipt of all comments and analysis I would to thank Mayor Jeannette McCarthy ATM, Inc
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8 1 2 generally what we do is provide two presentations to 3 bring us up to speed on where we are and what got us 4 here tonight. The first presentation is customarily 5 by the consultant who performed the risk assessment, 6 Battellele, and we will have that presentation when 7 that consultant arrives, and we also have a 8 presentation by the City of Boston as the entity that 9 commissioned the report and the study, and they will 10 provide the background and the history of what got us 11 to where we are, so that we will have a full 12 understanding of the history of what brought us to 13 this public hearing this evening. 14 15 here, I ask Commissioner Tinlin to come up and give 16 his presentation on the history of what gets us to 17 the point that we are at right now. 18 19 Tom. Good evening. 20 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It should be on. 21 COMMISSIONER THOMAS TINLIN: I didn't touch 22 anything. Thank you, Tom. Thank you, everyone. We 23 ­­ on behalf of Mayor Tom Menino, it's a pleasure to 24 be here. We also want to thank Mayor McCarthy and As far as format for tonight goes, So, with that, since Battellele is not COMMISSIONER THOMAS TINLIN: Thank you, ATM, Inc
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9 1 the other elected officials for hosting us in the 2 beautiful venue, as well as taking out of their busy 3 schedules and continuing to pay attention to such an 4 important topic. 5 6 on behalf of the Mayor is the same two pieces of 7 testimony that this panel has already heard, some 8 people in the audience have already heard, but the 9 Mayor feels it is important to share with folks how The testimony which I am about to deliver 10 it is we got to where we are. 11 12 working on this issue now for some six years. This 13 was not a process of our choosing. It was one that 14 was requested by the trucking industry and done 15 through the federal mandate. So, that is just in 16 terms of a little bit of background. 17 18 Superintendent, Bill Evans; Boston Fire Marshall, 19 Chief Codzis; District Fire Chief, Bart Shea; and 20 outside Counsel, Charles Rennick; and, as you said, 21 Art Greenberg, our outside Consultant, will be here 22 shortly, from Battellele. 23 24 Boston's Public Safety decision to seek and propose We, in the City of Boston, have been I am joined tonight by Boston Police This testimony will lay out the City of ATM, Inc
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10 1 an alternative highway route for the transportation 2 of hazardous materials, and to bypass the downtown 3 portion of the City of Boston, where neither picking 4 ­­ where neither pick up nor drop off locations for 5 the cargo is located in the City. 6 7 horrified and shocked the world. At that time, 8 governments around the world began a determine effort 9 to ensure the safest environment possible for all who 10 live, work and visit their cities. As a massive 11 undertaking 12 opportunities 13 simultaneously an equally important effort was 14 underway to identify and mitigate everyday hazards in 15 our cities that also posed a very real risk to life, 16 property and economic vitality. 17 18 self­review, along with almost every major city in 19 the country. One issue that stood out immediately 20 was the transport of hazardous materials through the 21 City of Boston, the Hazmat cargo trucks using 22 Downtown streets as a shortcut for the sake of profit 23 and convenience to the trucking industry. The 24 completion of the Central Artery Tunnel project, and We all remember how the events of 9/11 began to against heighten terrorism of attacks, The City of Boston participated in the targets ATM, Inc
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11 1 the depression of the elevated John F. Fitzgerald 2 Expressway and I­93 corridor in Downtown Boston, 3 which previously served as the designated hazardous 4 materials route transformed this roadway into a 5 tunnel from which hazardous material was excluded. 6 As a result, those hazardous material trucks that 7 were once confined to the interstate highway system, 8 were now rerouted to surface streets in Downtown 9 Boston neighborhoods, bringing these hazmat cargos 10 into much closer proximity to the general population 11 on and adjacent to these public ways. 12 13 and the City Regulations established in 1980 had 14 regulated the transportation of certain quantities of 15 hazardous materials on our roads, and had issued what 16 were known as Coupling Permits to the trucking 17 industry, allowing them through access on city 18 streets, where there was neither a point of origin or 19 destination. 20 21 permits were granted by the City purely as a 22 convenience measure for the trucking industry, not a 23 right. In point of fact, the permits were granted by 24 the Fire Commissioner for the specific purpose of For many years, the Boston Fire Department It is important to remember that these ATM, Inc
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12 1 authorizing these motor carriers to operate on city 2 streets, an exception to the otherwise applicable 3 restrictions contained in the City Regulations, but 4 only where compelling need was shown by a company and 5 where transporting hazardous material was found to be 6 of public interest. When it became clear that these 7 carriers were not dropping off or picking up cargo in 8 Boston, the risk of having them on our streets in the 9 densely populated Downtown area was too great. 10 We welcome, and continue to welcome, local 11 deliveries by trucks carrying hazardous materials 12 necessary for the daily operation of the multitude of 13 public and private buildings located in Boston. 14 However, continuing to accept the extra burden from 15 cut through vehicles with no business purpose of 16 being in the city, other than operating convenience, 17 presented an unreasonable risk to the general public 18 when 19 available. 20 21 to present its case on this issue in 2006, we held 22 individual hearings with all hazardous material 23 carriers who had previously been issued Coupling 24 Permits for the Downtown area. It should be noted safer routing alternatives readily To provide the industry with an opportunity are ATM, Inc
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13 1 that the City Ordinance authorizing the regulations 2 that allowed this permits to be issued for the motor 3 carriers to operate their vehicles in a manner 4 inconsistent 5 restrictions contained in the regulations clearly 6 states that economic criteria shall not, not should 7 not, but shall not be determinative of whether not 8 alternative routes outside of the city are practical. 9 with the otherwise applicable Similar federal regulations state that 10 operating convenience of the motor carrier is not a 11 basis for determining whether such an alternative 12 route is practical. 13 14 before a committee made up of representatives from 15 Boston's Transportation, Police and Fire Departments 16 that, if they were prohibited from cutting through 17 the city, their trips would be longer and more 18 expensive. 19 convenience and economic factors, the very two 20 criteria that the City's permitting process clearly 21 states the Fire Commissioner shall not consider when 22 deciding whether or not to issue a permit. 23 24 At the hearings, the companies testified This translates into operating While still focused on enhancing public safety, the City of Boston wanted to be as helpful to ATM, Inc
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14 1 this important industry as possible. Therefore, 2 rather than applying the City's 1980 regulations 3 strictly to impose an all­out 24 hour, 7 day a week 4 ban on the use of city streets, we offered, in 2006, 5 to implement a daytime ban. 6 7 hazardous materials through the city during the 8 period when our population almost doubles due to 9 commuters, tourist groups and others. At the same 10 time, it allowed the through movement of hazardous 11 material between the hours of 8 pm to 6 am to 12 continue. Although this provided the industry with 13 ten hours a day to cut through Downtown Boston, the 14 decision did not sit well with some folks who are in 15 the room tonight. Nevertheless, it was a good faith 16 attempt to balance the public safety needs of the 17 City with the demands of the industry. 18 19 2006 and lasted for about four years with no 20 complaints 21 Government, Elected Officials of the surrounding 22 communities. At the same, it increased public safety 23 in connection with the transportation of hazardous 24 materials within the City. This would prohibit the transport of This change went into effect on July 3rd, from the Commonwealth, ATM, Inc
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the Federal 15 1 2 public interest and prudence to adjust the local 3 hazmat route, shifting hazmat traffic from the 4 temporary route during central artery construction 5 along Commercial Street to the nearly improved 6 service roadway in the Cross Street corridor which, 7 as a result of the Central Artery Project, now 8 encompassed 9 signalization and light, and which was a shorter, 10 more direct route than the Commercial Street segment 11 it replaced. 12 13 American Trucking Association and then ­­ the then 14 Massachusetts Highway Department requested and was 15 granted a preemption determination from the Federal 16 Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The preemption 17 decision was issued on November 16th of 2009, and the 18 following request for an extension became effective 19 on July 1st of 2010. 20 21 indicated that it did not necessarily disagree with 22 the routing decision that had been made, but 23 determined the City of Boston did not follow the 24 proper process under federal regulations before The City determined that it was in the better sight distance, In disagreement with these two changes, the In the decision, the Federal Government geometry, ATM, Inc
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16 1 implementing this program. Their rationale was that 2 the City's actions, modifying the past permitting 3 practice and Downtown route, were taken without the 4 required study and consultative process, and had 5 created a de facto new route designation. 6 7 not intend to designate an entirely new route, but to 8 simply enforce a longstanding local regulation, which 9 allowed us to control the hours that these vehicles 10 were allowed to travel on the route, which now had 11 been realigned to take advantaged of improved surface 12 roadways within the same central transportation 13 corridor. In any event, the Federal Government had 14 made its ruling and the City was left with only two 15 options. 16 17 hazardous material to cut through the city every day 18 of the week, both day and night or, two, go through 19 this process as laid out by the Federal Motor Carrier 20 Safety Administration. The City chose the latter 21 course of action. 22 23 engaged the Battellele Memorial Institute, 501C­3 24 Charitable Trust, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, We were surprised by this, as the City did The first, allowing carrying To comply with this request, the City trucks ATM, Inc
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17 1 that you will hear from tonight. Battellele is an 2 international 3 specializes in hazardous material transportation 4 analysis, risk assessment, and policy support. 5 6 study were eye opening. As I stated earlier, our 7 plan was simply to prohibit the hazardous materials 8 from cutting through the city during the day. 9 respected consulting firm, that The findings of this federally mandated This study, however, demanded by the 10 industry, concluded that the movement of hazardous 11 material trucks through the City of Boston, using the 12 current downtown routing, presents significantly more 13 risk to the general public, during both the daytime 14 and the nighttime than available alternative routes 15 that bypass the densely populated Downtown area of 16 Boston. In fact, the relative difference in risk to 17 the public between the routes was so compelling, both 18 day and night that, under the established federally 19 approved criteria, the length of the deviation on the 20 proposed alternative route did not have to be taken 21 into account. The proposed bypass route is that much 22 safer. 23 unacceptable risk, the City now had no choice but to 24 pursue a Faced with nighttime conclusive restriction ATM, Inc
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evidence on of hazmat 18 1 transportation, as well. 2 3 meticulously completed what the Federal and State 4 Government, as well as the industry demanded of us. 5 It was a long and arduous process, but the City of 6 Boston got the job done. As the agency responsible 7 for designating hazardous driving routes, it is now 8 time 9 Transportation to complete its job. The City of Boston has carefully and for Massachusetts Department of 10 11 millions upon billions of dollars on our interstate 12 roadway system, including ongoing widening of Route 13 128, which is designed to promote and enhance 14 interstate and intrastate commerce, and enhance 15 highway transportation safety. The regional through 16 transportation of hazardous materials falls into this 17 category. 18 19 roadway, pure and simple, and not on routes that go 20 through or near heavily populated areas, places where 21 crowds are assembled on crowded urban streets, 22 especially where alternative highway routes are 23 demonstrated to be safer and present significantly 24 the The Commonwealth has invested literally This industry should be on that interstate lower risk to the general public. To allow this ATM, Inc
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19 1 practice to continue with this overwhelming evidence 2 would be reckless and ill advised. 3 4 that they don't like the results, they want a do­
5 over. The industry will tell you that it will cost 6 them too much time and money when, in fact, we are 7 talking about an estimated twenty­two minutes of 8 increased travel time in each direction. Imagine 9 twenty­two minutes of travel as opposed to thousands The industry demanded this process, but now 10 of lives unnecessarily put at increased risk. 11 12 expensive, yet Battellele's report estimates that the 13 cost will be less than one cent per gallon of 14 product, less than a penny, as opposed to putting 15 thousands of lives at risk on a daily basis. 16 17 better equipped in the event of a disaster. This is 18 probably the most insulting argument today. When you 19 cannot make your case based on fact, make it through 20 fear. Industry figures show that an incident 21 involving Hazmat transportation occurs on average 22 once in every one million vehicle miles of travel. 23 Despite this data, a single crash of a truck 24 transporting hazmat in a crowded area has the They will tell you that it is too The industry will tell you that Boston is ATM, Inc
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20 1 potential for deaths and injuries far beyond that of 2 a truck carrying non­hazmat cargo, which is why we 3 are here. 4 5 hazardous material incidents underscores the need for 6 designating appropriate routes for the transportation 7 of hazardous materials, which is a key strategy for 8 increasing and ensuring public safety. 9 Recognizing the potential for severe An incident on Route 128 is no doubt a 10 disaster, but the same incident in the heart of 11 Downtown Boston is nothing short of a catastrophe 12 that will exacerbate exposure and have far reaching 13 effect on life, property and the very economic 14 vitality of our region. 15 16 emergency response local aid than any other city or 17 town in the Commonwealth, and that will not change. 18 In 2009, we were on the scene at the tanker accident 19 at Brown Circle in Revere and in Saugus last month. 20 So, the idea that Boston is better equipped to handle 21 this in an event is insulting on too many levels to 22 get into here. 23 24 attempt to make this an issue of Boston versus its Also, as you all know, Boston provides more It is unfortunate that someone would ATM, Inc
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21 1 outlying communities and our suburban neighbors. 2 Nothing could be further from the truth. The primary 3 criteria for routing designation is that the 4 designated route significantly reduces other risk. 5 6 routing 7 importance upon enhancing public safety. The federal 8 routing designation process we engaged in is 9 expressively designed to identify and evaluate 10 roadway and community characteristics that make on 11 route preferable to another from the perspective of 12 improving the overall public safety associated with 13 the transportation of hazardous materials. 14 15 areas minimize these risks because of their better 16 safety records. It is really a matter of minimizing 17 unnecessary 18 potentially exposed people in the areas most likely 19 to 20 material vehicles. 21 22 thank MassDOT for holding these public hearings and 23 for working so closely with us on this issue. The 24 Mayor would also like to thank our elected leaders, The federal standards for the highway of hazardous risks an to the accident greatest central number involving of hazardous In closing, Mayor Menino would like to placed Interstate routes that avoid populated experience materials ATM, Inc
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22 1 Senator Kerry, Brown, Congressmen Capuano and Lynch, 2 the entire Boston delegation at the State House led 3 by Representative Aaron Michlewitz for their support 4 in seeing this process through, as well as our local 5 government, City Councillor Sal LaMattina, and all 6 the concerned residents and business, people of our 7 City and beyond, who have tirelessly focused on this 8 danger. 9 The City of Boston Public Safety team has 10 been fully engaged on this issue for many years, as 11 they try to keep Boston and our region safe every 12 day. If their subject matter expertise is needed, 13 representatives 14 Departments, who are in attendance tonight, will 15 respond to any and all questions after the hearing 16 process is concluded on Thursday night. Again, thank 17 you, and I look forward to hearing the testimony 18 provided by others. Thank you. 19 20 ENGINEER: Thank you, Commissioner Tinlin. Now, I 21 would like to lay out the ground rules for tonight's 22 hearing. All speakers must sign in on the speakers 23 list in order to provide testimony. The speakers 24 must speak into the microphone and provide their from Boston's and Fire THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF Police ATM, Inc
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23 1 name, home address and affiliated organization if 2 applicable. Comments should be directed to the 3 hearing bar, should be relevant to the topic, and 4 should not be personal in nature. Testimony should 5 be kept to three minutes or less to provide everyone 6 with an opportunity to speak. Please avoid 7 repetitive comments. If your comment was answered 8 during the introductory remarks, we ask that you 9 defer in the interest of time and, as a MassDOT 10 hearing procedure, we will open with any comments by 11 a federal elected legislative officials, followed by 12 state elected officials, and then open it up to the 13 comments of the people as they signed in on the sign 14 in sheets. 15 16 here yet, so why don't we start with the elected 17 officials, and I will turn it over to Donnie Daly, 18 who will be our MC for calling people up to speak, 19 and then, when ­­ after the elected officials, if the 20 Battellele Memorial Institute is here, we will ask 21 them to provide the ­­ a little bit of the detail as 22 to what the analysis was that they understood to 23 develop that risk assessment, that generated the 24 routing study and the hazardous route that we are The representative from Battellele is not ATM, Inc
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24 1 here to discuss tonight. Don. 2 3 speaker will be Mayor Jeannette McCarthy of Waltham. 4 5 My name is Jeannette McCarthy. I live at 91 Hamilton 6 Road, Waltham, and I am the Mayor of Waltham. I 7 would like to thank you for coming out. 8 9 Highway Officials to exclude anything from 128, 10 whether it be hazardous materials or anything that I 11 didn't like, I don't think the answer would be yes 12 because that federal highway was created for personal 13 as well as commercial travel. So, I do have a 14 statement that I would like to read if I could. It's 15 not too long. 16 17 our citizens, whether it be in the City of Boston or 18 the City of Waltham. In the City of Waltham, for 19 example, we have sixty plus residents, and that 20 population doubles during the day due to commuting 21 and work traffic. 22 23 supply that goes by the three traffic interchanges 24 and 128 exits. We also have major gridlock during DONNIE DALY: Good evening. The first MAYOR JEANNETTE MCCARTHY: Good evening. If I were to ask the Federal and State We all have the same safety concerns for Waltham also has a major public water ATM, Inc
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25 1 extended travel hours. In the case of inclement 2 weather or motor vehicle accidents, 128 is at a 3 standstill for hours. Contrary to the previous 4 testimony, there has been no widening of 128 in 5 Waltham. 6 7 which has an airport, a seaport and commercial rail 8 lines, the City of Waltham only has a highway and 9 neighborhood roads to conduct travel and business. 10 So, we are going to get some hazardous material 11 transport on the highway, including gasoline trucks, 12 but should any community be completely excluded, 13 which I believe is the request here? It is 14 understandable politically to have that position, but 15 I don't believe it is reasonable. 16 17 issue for me is the enforcement of the existing 18 safety laws. If hazardous vehicles are going to 19 travel through the City of Boston or the City of 20 Waltham, 21 devastating fiery crashes, pollution, destruction of 22 public water supplies, then the safety issue needs to 23 be addressed not only for Boston, but also for 24 Waltham, Newton, Lexington, Weston and Burlington. Unlike the capitol city of Massachusetts, Aside from the safety concerns, another key and have the potential ATM, Inc
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for causing 26 1 2 speed on 128 because it is a highway and, as we all 3 know, people go in and out, and accidents. So, if 4 you take the high rates of speed and the probability 5 of accidents on Route 128, those two combinations add 6 fuel to the fire when you mix hazardous cargo; and, 7 to me, it all comes back to strict enforcement of the 8 existing safety regulations in Boston or in the City 9 of Waltham. A key issue for me is the high rates of 10 11 updated or reinforced or change to ensure public 12 safety, I would be in favor of that. I am opposed to 13 granting 14 materials based up a study conducted by them for 15 them. Therefore, I respectfully request that the 16 City of Boston's request to divert all hazardous 17 materials to 128, to the exclusive detriment of the 18 other communities be denied. I would like to enter 19 into the record a letter from Chief Cardillo, as 20 well, if I could. 21 22 ENGINEER: I'll take it. 23 24 much and, basically, I have several people here, If those current regulations need to be Boston's request to hazardous THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF MAYOR JEANNETTE MCCARTHY: Thank you very divert ATM, Inc
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27 1 elected officials from Waltham, as well as my 2 Emergency Management Director and the Lieutenant of 3 the Fire Department, who handles the Emergency 4 Management. 5 6 think is right is to say, you take it because, in 7 fairness, if they have been on 128 lately, they will 8 realize that 128 is not as safe for anyone. So, I 9 know that we are going to take some hazardous 10 materials because that is in our modern society. I 11 just don't feel that it should be pushed out to the 12 suburbs, and I also signed a letter with the Towns of 13 Weston, Burlington, Lincoln, and ­­ 14 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Newton. 15 MAYOR JEANNETTE MCCARTHY: Newton. Yes, 16 no, I'm sorry, yes, as well. I apologize, the 128 17 corridor. So, thank you very much, and I appreciate 18 you coming. 19 20 State Representative, Thomas M. Stanley of Waltham. 21 22 Thank you very much. Thank you again for coming out 23 to Waltham. A couple of quick points in regards to 24 the We will take our fair share. What we don't DONNIE DALY: The next speaker, who is a STATE REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS M. STANLEY: comments from the Commissioner, ATM, Inc
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the 28 1 representative for Mayor Menino. Boston receives 2 more aid from neighboring communities than any other 3 city of town in Massachusetts, and we are here 4 because Boston wants to ban these trucks from their 5 streets, and the State is demanding that they go 6 through the proper process, and I think it is 7 actually ridiculous, or ludicrous, for the City to 8 attempt to ban these trucks only through their city, 9 and what would happen, if this is approved, is every 10 other city and town in Eastern Massachusetts will ask 11 to do the same thing, and will have to be treated 12 fairly. 13 14 Legislative colleagues, Jay Kaufman from Lexington, 15 Majority Leader Charles Murphy, Burlington, Chairman 16 Kay Khan from Newton, and Representative John Lawn, 17 who could not be here tonight. 18 19 lives of hundreds of thousands at risk, put the 20 drinking water supply of the City of Cambridge at 21 risk, and negatively impact suburban consumers when 22 they can least afford it. With regards to public 23 safety, the environment and consumer impact, already 24 two hundred thousand vehicles, or fifty thousand more I am here to speak on behalf of my The proposed truck route would put the ATM, Inc
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29 1 than capacity, drive through the stretch of 128 from 2 Burlington to Waltham. Adding dozens more, hundreds 3 of trucks containing hazardous material is not going 4 to increase the safety of the people traveling that 5 street or the neighboring communities. 6 7 McCarthy mentioned that. The average vehicle speed 8 on I­93 during rush hour, as I understand it, is 9 eight miles per hour. As the Mayor mentioned, it is 10 much faster along 128, and much more dangerous and, 11 therefore, much more likely for an accident to occur 12 with one of these vehicles. 13 14 route only have volunteer fire fighters. The only 15 place with the proper foam equipment to deal with a 16 fire caused by a non­radioactive hazardous material 17 truck MassPort in East Boston. Should an accident 18 occur along 128, these communities would not have the 19 public safety resources to deal with it, and would 20 have to wait for help all the way from Boston during 21 rush hour traffic. By then, the Cambridge Reservoir 22 or 23 communities along the 128, the tributaries running 24 through When traffic ­­ I am not going to ­­ Mayor Many of the communities along the proposed Waltham tributaries or any of the other residential neighborhoods ATM, Inc
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could be 30 1 contaminated from an accident along 128. 2 3 own gas in Mass in Massachusetts. They contract it 4 out to small delivery companies, which have a very 5 small margin of profit. The proposed truck route 6 will add fifty­seven miles for trucks to get to some 7 locations on the South Shore from the other few 8 stations. This will add significant time and reduce 9 the number of daily trips capable by truckers who 10 already have their daily driving hours reduced by an 11 hour a day. As a result, consumers will be forced to 12 pay higher prices for the fuel that they are already 13 ­­ the trucks are carrying. 14 15 protecting 16 neighborhoods, we don't feel that we rerouting the 17 traffic and the problem onto suburban communities is 18 the answer. Thank you. 19 20 ENGINEER: Finish the elected officials first, and 21 then we will move on to ­­ 22 23 Kaufman of Lexington. 24 No major oil company still delivers their While we Boston understand the residents and or neighbors, THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF DONNIE DALY: State Representative Jay STATE REPRESENTATIVE JAY KAUFMAN: I had issues ATM, Inc
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31 1 requested to speak, but Representative Stanley spoke 2 for all of us. 3 4 No? Representative Khan? Okay, thanks. City 5 Councillor Tom Curtin of Waltham. 6 7 My name is Tom Curtin, City Councillor of Waltham. 8 My address is 30 Mayall Road here in Waltham, and 9 welcome to all, and thank you for coming out. DONNIE DALY: Okay. Representative Murphy? CITY COUNCILLOR TOM CURTIN: Good evening. 10 11 impression that this is the case of the neighbor who 12 lives near the farm and now is suddenly complaining 13 about the smell of manure. That is not what Waltham 14 is here about. Waltham is the neighbor that the farm 15 has decided to become a nuclear waste site, and we 16 are a little concerned about that, and that is the 17 reason why we are here this evening. 18 19 128, perhaps too much of a good neighbor to our 20 detriment. Our experience has shown that, human 21 nature being what it is, that when there is heavy 22 traffic on 128, trucks will come down Route 20, which 23 is Main Street in Waltham, and go through the 24 neighborhoods. We certainly think that this will be We certainly don't want you to have the Waltham has always been a good neighbor to ATM, Inc
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32 1 a problem that continues whether it be right or 2 wrong. 3 4 Mayor and the State Representative made to you about 5 the City of Cambridge water supply, and our neighbors 6 here in the City that would be placed at risk, but 7 any time there is a risky behavior, the longer period 8 of time you do it, the greater chance of something 9 bad happening. Well, by extending the period of time 10 that these materials are on the roadways, we 11 certainly have increased the chance of something 12 happening. What we don't want to have happen is to 13 have it here, happen in Waltham. 14 15 distinction between a disaster and a catastrophe. A 16 disaster is when your neighbor's house burns down. A 17 catastrophe is when it is your house that burns down, 18 and that is what Boston's proposal here is. Well, if 19 it goes out to Waltham, it's a disaster, but if it is 20 Boston, it's a catastrophe. No, no. No matter where 21 it happens, it's a catastrophe. We don't want it to 22 happen here. I thank you very kindly. 23 24 Waddick of Waltham. I don't want to belabor the points that the In Boston's proposal, make the DONNIE DALY: City Councillor Robert they ATM, Inc
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33 1 2 evening, Mr. Broderick, Gentlemen. My name is Robert 3 Waddick. I live at 129 Church Street in Waltham. I 4 am the City Councillor representing Ward 6 in 5 Waltham. Thank you for coming out this evening and 6 hearing our concerns. 7 8 streets of Boston is great for the City of Boston, 9 but not a complete solution to the problem. It is a 10 shifting of the problem to the suburban communities, 11 including Waltham. Route 128 is inadequate for the 12 heavy daily traffic volume as it is. Adding 13 hazardous material traffic to Route 128, to the mix, 14 to the congestion, is going to put many other people 15 at risk, motorists on the highway, residents of the 16 cities and towns through which 128 passes, including 17 the City of Waltham, and first responders, fire 18 fighters, police, EMT's, other emergency responders 19 from Waltham and other communities because they will 20 be the first people on the scene if there is a 21 disaster, and those people will be putting their 22 lives at risk. 23 24 hazardous material traffic possibly moving through CITY COUNCILLOR ROBERT WADDICK: Good Getting hazards material trucks off the I have a particular concern about the ATM, Inc
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34 1 the streets of the City of Waltham. I represent 2 neighborhoods that border many of the major arterial 3 roads in the City of Waltham; Main Street, which is 4 Route 20, Lexington Street, Bacon Street, Beaver 5 Street, Linden Street and Waverly Oaks Road, which 6 are part of Route 60. What assurances can we be 7 given that hazardous material trucks won't deviate 8 from Route 128 from time to time and use Waltham 9 streets? How is this traffic going to be policed? 10 11 with Hazmat trucks using the streets of the City of 12 Boston, as Mayor Menino has stated, then we certainly 13 don't want them using the streets of the City of 14 Waltham. That is unacceptable to me, and I believe 15 it is unacceptable to the people of the City of 16 Waltham. Thank you. 17 18 Waltham. 19 20 Broderick, for being here this evening with your 21 colleagues. We welcome you to Waltham. I represent 22 the area in Waltham between the Winter Street and the 23 Trapelo Road exits. I live at 52 Montview Avenue in 24 Waltham and, in that area, we are concerned about If there is an unacceptable risk associated DONNIE DALY: City Councillor Ed Tarallo of CITY COUNCILLOR ED TARALLO: Thank you, Mr. ATM, Inc
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35 1 this particular change in the Hazmat route, but I 2 think what I want to talk is some facts that underlie 3 the report, that we question as to what your decision 4 has to be as a State. 5 6 highway routing designation enhances public safety in 7 the areas subject to this jurisdiction, and in other 8 areas which are directly affected by such highway 9 routing designation, and we don't believe that this 10 report adequately does that, at least I don't, and 11 that is why I am speaking tonight, and when I say 12 that, I want to cite some statistics that I think are 13 right from the report, that add to that point. 14 15 colleagues, the route has changed in certainly its 16 amount of miles that it has to go. It goes from 10.7 17 miles to an alternative of 47 miles, four times as 18 long, four times as much time for an accident to 19 occur in terms of the miles that are travelled. 20 21 these reports, one of the things that strikes out to 22 me is particularly the nighttime population. When 23 you look at the nighttime population of the existing 24 groups, it is a hundred and seventy­three, or a Your finding has to be to state that the First of all, as was mentioned by my The other thing is that, when you look at ATM, Inc
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36 1 hundred and sixty­nine thousand people, compared to 2 your hundred and seventy­three or a hundred and 3 seventy­one in this area. So, our nighttime 4 population is actually equal or greater than that of 5 the City of Boston. 6 7 the City of Boston say they didn't mind having it go 8 through at night, but why isn't that part of the 9 consideration that you are making? And I think that 10 that needs to be further explored and certainly 11 reviewed in the material that has been presented. 12 13 the things that concern me, I am still not convinced 14 that your ability to determine the risk is based on 15 solid information because a number of items seem to 16 be omitted from any analysis that I think would be 17 important for you to make that determination of what 18 risk really is and what public safety danger there 19 may be; and, in doing that, I would cite to you, when 20 you look at this report, that the accident rate, they 21 say in the report, there are factors that could 22 change the sensitivity analysis, that were not 23 formally evaluated and quantified. 24 When you think about that, I listened to When you go to your risk factors, some of One was the accident rate. Well, if they ATM, Inc
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37 1 haven't evaluated the accident rate, then how do we 2 know? And when you look at accident rates, should we 3 be just looking at Hazmat vehicles or all vehicles 4 because a chain reaction can happen to the best of 5 drivers, whether it be with a Hazmat truck or some 6 other vehicle. So, I think that, when you look at 7 that, you have to consider whether or not that is a 8 problem and whether that is something that should be 9 taken into consideration as you make the decision. 10 11 wanted to make a particular point of this, but I will 12 make a point for the opposite direction. I respect 13 the Boston Fire Department, and our First Responders. 14 They do a great job, but Boston and Cambridge are 15 the only two communities that have a full time ­­ and 16 Boston has a full time Hazmat fire catching 17 companies. They actually have, I believe five, if I 18 remember right, and when you look at that, we are 19 part of a larger statewide regional system that is on 20 call. They are not available instantaneously. 21 22 thirty minutes to sixty minutes to have a reaction 23 from that team. That is unacceptable to us, as 24 resident of the area, who would now be affected by The next item is, and it seemed that Boston The report cites, it will take between ATM, Inc
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38 1 this change, and we believe that that is a public 2 safety risk that is taken. 3 4 and the dangers that are along 128, particularly in 5 Waltham, 6 overlooked. I feel for the people of Cambridge. I 7 don't drink their water but, if I did, I would 8 certainly be worried if they were going to have an 9 accident and a spill along the Cambridge Reservoir 10 and 128, that basically was uncorrectable and 11 unpreventable once the accident occurred, and that is 12 cited in the report as one of the most important 13 things 14 environmental point of view. So, it is not always 15 about traffic and it is not always about numbers, but 16 it is about people, as well, and what they actually 17 are going to have as a route now. 18 19 you take a look at this, you can't shut off a spill 20 that occurs, and you can't stop it instantaneously, 21 and the harm that it can do, and the further damage 22 that it can cause the people is a major concern. 23 24 my response to what we have this evening, and I To go further, when you look at the issue the that Cambridge should be Reservoir considered from be an So, the thing that comes to mind is, when So, I highlight those few issues as part of cannot ATM, Inc
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39 1 object to the conclusion of the report, that 2 Alternative 3 is the best alternative. I think we 3 need to look deeper and we have to be more 4 responsible about what it is for the entire area, and 5 particularly the area affected in Alternative 3. 6 7 we are going to ban traffic of hazardous material in 8 the City of Boston then, in the same decision, if you 9 make that decision, you should be banning that 10 traffic on the streets of Waltham. You can certainly 11 decide to put it on the Interstate, but don't put it 12 through another community for another problem and 13 another day, and another report, and another hearing. 14 Just do it right from the beginning. Do it right. 15 Thank you. 16 17 representing Mayor Setti Warren of Newton, is Bob 18 Rooney. 19 20 Commissioner Tinlin. On behalf of the City of 21 Newton, I would like to make some comments about the 22 proposal discussed here tonight. This proposal to 23 reroute 24 materials around the City of Boston and through the And lastly, let me add one final point, if DONNIE DALY: The speaker, ROBERT ROONEY: Good evening, Chief and oversized vehicles carrying next ATM, Inc
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hazardous 40 1 City of Newton raises grave concerns by those 2 entrusted to protect the citizens and natural 3 resources of the City. Specifically, this proposal, 4 if enacted, directly impacts our exposure to 5 extremely unsafe situations, operational protocols 6 and training, and on hand equipment needs in the 7 following ways. 8 9 oversized trucks carrying hazardous material in the 10 probability of high speed accidents involving toxic 11 materials, which increases the likelihood of a 12 release 13 neighborhoods directly adjacent to the Interstate. 14 15 respond to emergencies involving these hazardous 16 materials, our Police and Fire Departments must rely 17 on a regional response to these emergencies, thereby 18 increasing the response time and exposure to people 19 near any accident site within the city limits. To be 20 properly prepared for this elevated potential of 21 incidents, 22 environment training, personal protection gear and 23 foam retardant equipment to properly safeguard our 24 first responders and the citizens in or near any First, there is a significant increase of of those materials residential Second, without the equipment to properly it will require in ATM, Inc
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additional toxic 41 1 future. This will come at a significantly higher 2 cost than we are currently resourced for. 3 4 close proximity to our natural resource, particularly 5 the Charles River, that would be highly susceptible 6 to any spill or accident in the vicinity of the river 7 banks, where it is extensive wetlands. An accident 8 directly 9 difficult to contain, adversely impacting a cherished 10 resource, which is shared by several communities well 11 beyond Newton. 12 13 limited personnel resources, trained in Homeland 14 Security, our need for which is greatly increased by 15 the potential threat this change of policy infers. 16 While our public safety forces for sufficient for the 17 current operations, they would need far greater 18 resources than currently exist. This requirement 19 would additionally put an additional strain on 20 already scarce resources. 21 22 this plan to reroute hazardous material trucks 23 through the jurisdiction of Newton poses unresolved 24 concerns that should preclude this plan from being Third, an additional area of concern is the impacting this resource extremely And lastly, a concern pertaining to our It is Newton's deeply felt opinion that is ATM, Inc
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42 1 moved forward. Newton officials would be happy to 2 discuss these details further with MassDOT or/and the 3 City of Boston should there be an interest to do so. 4 I will be submitting a letter on behalf of the 5 Mayor, the Fire Chief and the Police Chief, that 6 highlights these facts. Thank you. 7 8 Ralph Patuto from Burlington. 9 DONNIE DALY: The next speaker is Selectman SELECTMAN RALPH PATUTO: Thank you, and 10 good evening to everybody in attendance tonight. 11 Just briefly, sir, I don't want to repeat all the 12 good and compelling arguments that have been brought 13 forward by elected officials here this evening. I 14 just want to give everybody in this room, and you and 15 your panel, sir, some facts of Burlington, if I may. 16 17 schools within one quarter of a mile of Route I­95, 18 or 128 as we call it. Several Burlingtons ­­ several 19 buildings in Burlington on 128, north or south bound, 20 employ thousands of people daily. The Lahey Clinic, 21 which is less than one eighth of a mile off Route 22 128, I­95, has over twenty thousand people on site 23 there. The Burlington Mall, which is also less than 24 one eighth of a mile off the highway, has several First of all, Burlington has two elementary ATM, Inc
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43 1 thousand people on site there. 2 3 people, swells to over one hundred daily and beyond 4 during the holiday seasons, Christmas and Valentine's 5 Day, and Easter shopping time. Our main and only 6 water supply is directly under Route I­95, right 7 underneath. That is where the Vine Brook begins and 8 flows into our well. That is our main water supply, 9 backed up by a very sparse reservoir system, for Burlington population, twenty­five thousand 10 summertime use only. 11 12 Selectmen, we urge you to oppose the City of Boston's 13 proposed 14 materials around the City and onto the I­93/I­95 15 corridor. As a border community along a highly 16 travelled and dangerous roadway around the City of 17 Boston, the Board strongly objects to the additional 18 transport of vehicles carrying additional hazardous 19 materials on the I­95 highway to get to the original 20 points of origin, either designations south or to the 21 North Shore. 22 23 communities already experience extensive use of this 24 roadway for the transportation of hazardous materials On behalf of the Burlington Board of rerouting of non­radioactive hazardous Obviously, Burlington and many other border ATM, Inc
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44 1 outside of the City, and this proposal by the City 2 would only serve exacerbate an already tenuous 3 situation. This particularly true of a community 4 like Burlington, that has its main groundwater 5 drinking supply, as I said earlier, in close 6 proximity. It is right underneath the highway, by 7 the Burlington Mall. 8 9 vehicles by way of the new routing, around the City 10 of Boston, only increases the likelihood of a 11 dangerous 12 environmental catastrophe. The recent incident along 13 Route 1 in Saugus is a classic example, that could 14 easily happen to one of our border communities. 15 16 concerns regarding this issue, we all share the same 17 concerns 18 Furthermore, 19 established when public funds have been spent on our 20 interstate system for the use of all public 21 transportation needs, now, as a matter of MassDOT 22 policy, we seek through this initiative to exclude 23 certain uses and carriers from these roadways. 24 The introduction of many more delivery accident with the for Although, the Board understands the City's in the a communities dangerous we precedent represent. would be The Burlington Board of Selectmen urges potential ATM, Inc
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45 1 MassDOT to reject the City of Boston's decision and 2 continue to allow the free and unobstructed use of 3 all the Commonwealth's major interstate systems. 4 Thank you, and I would ask that you put this letter 5 into the record. Thank you very much. 6 7 Logan of Waltham. 8 9 you. I would like to thank you for coming here 10 tonight, and allowing us this opportunity to address 11 this issue. My name is Robert Logan. I am a City 12 Councillor for Waltham. I live at 109 Taylor Street 13 here in Waltham. 14 15 little bit at a disadvantage because, as you point 16 out, normally the proponents speak first, and then 17 everyone else gets to address that, but the 18 representatives from the Battellele Institute, I 19 don't know if they are not here yet, or they haven't 20 spoken. So, basically, they will get ­­ they already 21 had the opening statement and they will get the 22 closing statement, which puts us at a little bit of a 23 disadvantage because we don't have the opportunity to 24 address what it is they are going to say, but I can DONNIE DALY: City Councillor Robert G. CITY COUNCILLOR ROBERT G. LOGAN: Thank And, as you pointed out, I think we are a ATM, Inc
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46 1 only assume that they must have gotten up in the 2 gridlock on Route 128 or our city streets, that they 3 want to add to. 4 5 a sponsor of a resolution that was passed unanimously 6 by all fifteen members of the Waltham City Council 7 opposing this. So, we are unanimous in our 8 opposition to this proposal. 9 Now, first, I would like to note that I was At its very basis, when you say this 10 argument to begin with, you say, well, if a truck 11 isn't coming from our city and it is not going to our 12 city, why should it go through our city? That first 13 question, it sounds like a very reasonable argument 14 until you realize that, if you apply that to every 15 city and town, a truck would not be able to get 16 anywhere, except for to go from one town to the 17 other, if they were contiguous towns. So, it is a 18 situation where trucks have to go through cities that 19 they are not going to in order to get to where they 20 are going to. So, where should they go? What route 21 should they take? The most logical thing is for them 22 to take the most direct route. 23 24 Boston mentioned that operating convenience should Now, the original speaker from the City of ATM, Inc
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47 1 not be a consideration but, to me, convenience is 2 when ­­ inconvenience is when you are sent ten blocks 3 out of your way. When you are talking about a forty 4 mile trip versus a ten mile trip, that's way beyond 5 an issue of convenience. 6 7 to be ­­ a couple of things that really need to be 8 stressed again is that, as you well know, and again 9 the original speaker stated that Route 128 was 10 designed to handle unsafe traffic but, as you are 11 well aware, Route 128, even with some of the most 12 recent improvements, is ­­ I forget what the number 13 is, fifty percent or something, far beyond its design 14 capacity. It is already handling far more traffic 15 than it is designed to handle. 16 17 here. Right now, you have trucks carrying hazardous 18 materials going down Route 128. You have them going 19 through Boston. They are taking those routes 20 because, in any individual circumstance, those are 21 the shortest routes for where those trucks are going. 22 What is being proposed is to say, we are going to 23 have no trucks carrying hazardous waste going down 24 through 128 ­­ through Boston. Instead, we are going I think one of the things that really needs There should be an element of shared risk ATM, Inc
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48 1 to put everything onto Route 128, whether that is the 2 shortest route or not. Again, it doesn't make any 3 sense. 4 5 want to use one of those ­­ if you want to have like 6 a little backyard fire, you know, those little ­­ 7 what are they called, chimineas or something, that 8 are popular now? They are illegal. We can't use 9 them. If you go beyond 128, you can use them. In 10 Waltham, we can't use them because the EPA has 11 imposed a no­burn restriction on outside fires. So, 12 you can't even have like a little campfire in your 13 backyard, or a little fire like that. Yet, here we 14 are proposing to take hundreds of trucks and to 15 quadruple the distance that they are going to have to 16 travel, spewing diesel fumes all over the Greater 17 Boston area. It is just totally inconsistent with 18 what EPA is trying to achieve. 19 20 trucks detouring through the City of Waltham proper. 21 It already happens. Truckers have CV's. They have 22 cell phones. They talk to each other. They know ­­ 23 plus, you can dial 511. They know when Route 128 is 24 gridlocked, and they know what the alternate routes Air pollution. Within the 128 belt, if you And finally, Councillor Waddick mentioned ATM, Inc
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49 1 are, and you can stand right outside this building, 2 right here on Lexington Street, and you can see the 3 trucks that have gotten off of Route 128, and Route 4 20, come down Weston Street, Route 20, to Lexington 5 Street, and go all the way up through Waltham on 6 Lexington Street, through Lexington until they get to 7 4 and 225, and cut back out if it is free there. If 8 not, they continue on. 9 So, Waltham is already, when there is a 10 backup on 128, an alternate truck traffic route. So, 11 I urge you not to add to that problem and to not 12 approve this, what I think is really an unfair and 13 almost ridiculous proposal. Thank you very much. 14 15 Diane LeBlanc of Waltham. Selectman Dan DiTucci of 16 Burlington. 17 SELECTMAN DAN DITUCCI: All set. 18 DONNIE DALY: You're all set? Representing 19 the Town of Burlington Planning Board, Chairman Paul 20 Roth. 21 22 ROTH: For the sake of time, I will defer to 23 Selectman Patuto's comments, as well. 24 DONNIE DALY: City Councillor At Large BURLINGTON PLANNING BOARD CHAIRMAN PAUL DONNIE DALY: That concludes this portion, ATM, Inc
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50 1 Mr. Broderick, of elected officials. 2 3 ENGINEER: Okay. Thank you to all the elected 4 officials who provided testimony. I know would ask 5 Art Greenberg from Battellele Memorial Institute to 6 come forward and provide a brief analysis on what was 7 undertaken as their risk assessment for this 8 hazardous traffic route. 9 THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF ART GREENBERG: Thanks, Tom. As I think 10 was mentioned already, Battellele was hired by the 11 City to conduct a ­­ 12 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We can't hear you. 13 ART GREENBERG: You can't hear me? Sorry. 14 Okay. How's this? As I was saying, Battellele was 15 hired to conduct a comparative risk study of 16 alternative routes in Boston and the surrounding 17 area, and the way we did it is that we actually 18 followed federal regulations and, in particular, 19 federal guidelines which provided the methodology for 20 conducting this risk assessment. So, we didn't make 21 something up and we didn't use our own sense of how 22 the risk assessment should be done. We followed 23 these ­­ there is actually a document which is called 24 Guidelines for Applying Criteria to Designate Routes ATM, Inc
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51 1 to Transport Hazardous Materials, the Non­Radioactive 2 Hazardous Materials; and so, we followed these 3 guidelines and I think you mentioned the fact that we 4 investigated thirteen factors. 5 COMMISSIONER THOMAS TINLIN: Correct. 6 ART GREENBERG: Yes. So, we looked at 7 these thirteen factors, which includes such elements 8 are population density and highway type, emergency 9 response and so forth, and what we did was, we sought 10 to actually collect the best possible quantities of 11 data available. So, we considered each of those 12 thirteen factors. We were fortunate in that we had a 13 lot of cooperation from a number of Massachusetts 14 agencies and this included the Mass ­­ Massachusetts 15 DOT, State Police, and the MassGIS, the CTPS, which 16 is the Central Transportation Planning Staff, and 17 especially a number of agencies within the City of 18 Boston, including the Fire Department, the Police 19 Department, Transportation, and we also ­­ we also 20 had a lot of assistance from the University of 21 Massachusetts and, in particular, UMass Safe Program, 22 which is an interdisciplinary program that looks at 23 transportation safety, and we worked with them to 24 identify accident rates, which they did for us. ATM, Inc
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52 1 2 assistance from a number of the ­­ what you might 3 call the affected persons, including a group in the 4 North End called the North End Waterfront Hazmat Task 5 Force, 6 Association, 7 organizations, 8 identifying the alternative routes that we evaluated. 9 10 11 routes and the key data that we needed to conduct the 12 risk assessment included ­­ and this was kind of 13 mentioned earlier, truck accident rates, which was a 14 very important piece of data, population within a 15 half mile of the route on either side of a route, the 16 types of hazardous cargo to be moved in an area. As 17 indicated, UMass, the UMass Save Program from UMass 18 Amherst, they developed the accidents rates. We 19 helped supply the truck ­­ we had the truck load 20 data, and they actually ­­ they provided the accident 21 rates by road functional classifications for the 22 areas, which is what we were looking at, so 23 functional classifications for various major types of 24 roadways, such as interstate. To select the the routes, Massachusetts many and Motor government they also had Transportation agencies assisted in and actually We actually evaluated a total of eighteen we ATM, Inc
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53 1 2 roads, which was a key part, we looked a census data 3 to get the residential and employment population. 4 So, we had that data for ­­ and we were looking a 5 population within a half mile of either side. We 6 also had the estimated population for such facilities 7 as hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, schools. We 8 collected visitor information from the National Park 9 Service. In order to get the population along the 10 11 ­­ I'm sorry, at the request of DOT, we actually also 12 looked at shopping mall visitors. So, we looked at 13 the number of ­­ we identified the number of visitors 14 that could actually visit the shopping malls. 15 16 materials, we used a number of different types of 17 data. We looked at hazardous material spills, and 18 there was a ­­ you see what has been spilled and you 19 make a guess, or you should know what kind of 20 materials have been travelling on the road. We had 21 permanent data from the Boston Fire Department. We 22 sent out twelve hundred questionnaires to, primarily 23 carriers in Boston and around the region. 24 We even, at the request of the ­­ of UMass To estimate the type hazardous We had the U.S. Census Hazmat come out and of ATM, Inc
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54 1 they do special studies of hazardous material, how it 2 is moving from place to place, and they did a run for 3 us, for the Boston region, and what we concluded was, 4 as many of you probably know, overwhelming, flammable 5 liquids make up more than ­­ make up the shipments 6 going through the region and it constituted more than 7 ninety percent of the shipments. 8 9 relative risk to the public safety of transporting 10 hazardous materials on the various alternative 11 routes, and so, the formula that we use, which comes 12 from 13 probability that there will be a crash and the 14 possible 15 probability ­­ consequence, what would be the 16 consequence, and the formula we actually used was 17 risk equals the accident rate times the number of 18 people adjacent to the route and that is the formula 19 we used. 20 21 the Through Routing Risk Criteria stated that, when 22 the existing route that you are looking at presents 23 fifty percent more risk to the public than the 24 deviation or the other route that you are looking at, The ­­ so, the analysis looked at the the guidelines release of itself, hazardous risk equals material, the And the actual ­­ in the recommendations, is ATM, Inc
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55 1 then you can actually ­­ you can actually use the 2 alternative route or the ­­ you don't ­­ you are 3 really not ­­ you really supposed to use the route 4 with the lowest risk; and so, when you look at the 5 comparison of the routes on the map, and you look at, 6 say, you look at, you compare basically Everett going 7 down to Quincy as one, as sort of the through route 8 with the route going around that we have been talking 9 about, on 128, you find out that, during the day, 10 that going through Boston, and doing this risk 11 analysis, there is something like four times the risk 12 of going around on 128 and, at night, it is just ­­ 13 it's less. There is much less of a difference, but 14 it is about two times the risk of going ­­ so, in 15 other words, going through Boston as opposed to going 16 on 128. 17 18 tonight, we did also, we looked at emergency response 19 capabilities, we looked at the environment. We 20 looked at the burden on commerce, and these are all 21 things that you have to do in the guidelines. We, in 22 our analysis, we judged the emergency response to be 23 adequate to handle a Hazmat incident, and it is true, 24 there is some potential environmental risk, but we We did also, and that issue has come up ATM, Inc
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56 1 took that to be secondary to the risk of the 2 population, and we also concluded in the analysis 3 that the burden on commerce would be reasonable if 4 the alternative, the route circling, going around on 5 128 was used instead of the route through Boston and 6 from Everett to Quincy. 7 8 such as emergency response, the location of sensors, 9 environmental features, even climate, burden to 10 commerce, these are all important factors, but risk 11 really is more so and that's what we went by. So 12 that we, in the analysis then, we concluded that 13 there really is ample justification for the strict 14 daytime through Hazmat shipments in Downtown Boston 15 because, as we indicated, there is a four to one 16 ratio of risk when we compared through Boston and 17 coming around, and similarly, even though there is 18 less of difference at night, there is also, because 19 there is a more than a fifty percent risk by going 20 through Boston as opposed to going around, it is also 21 feasible to restrict the nighttime flow of through 22 hazardous material shipments. 23 about that, this analysis was looking, and I think I 24 So, to sort of sum that part up, factors Now, one thing really should emphasize that, looking at through ATM, Inc
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57 1 hazardous material shipments and was not looking at 2 the reality of deliveries and pickups of hazardous 3 materials within Boston. So, there is nothing in our 4 analysis to say that that should be restricted within 5 the City of Boston, other than the kind of 6 restrictions that are currently in place with the 7 city permits, run by the Fire Department. Okay. 8 Thank you. 9 THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF 10 ENGINEER: Thank you, Art. I would like to open it 11 up to the public testimony. 12 13 have one elected official sign in, in the interim. 14 So, I would like to call City Councillor George Darcy 15 from Waltham. 16 17 evening. My name is George Darcy. My address is 93 18 Hobbs Road in Waltham, Massachusetts. I am currently 19 on the City Council, representing Ward 3 in North 20 Waltham, a large part of which includes Route 95, 21 Route 128, from Totten Pond Road to the Lexington 22 border. 23 24 combined population of the cities and towns on the DONNIE DALY: Actually, Mr. Broderick, we CITY COUNCILLOR GEORGE Good My concerns are as follows. What is the DARCY: ATM, Inc
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58 1 new proposed route? Is it more or less than the City 2 of Boston? If density were a primary concern, why 3 were other highways not considered, other than simply 4 Route 95? 5 6 one hundred ninety­nine people per square mile. Do 7 these proposed changes include getting Hazmat trucks 8 into towns and cities of Somerville, Cambridge and 9 Chelsea, whose density is higher than Boston. The 10 Somerville density is eighteen thousand one hundred 11 and fifty­six, fifty percent more. 12 13 thousand, six hundred and thirty­two thousand for the 14 year 2010; but, during the day, there are tens of 15 thousands of workers along Totten Pond Road, Winter, 16 Wyman, Second Ave., Fourth Ave., Bear Hill Road and 17 Trapelo Road, and it was mentioned before, for that 18 matter, how many people are in the Burlington Mall at 19 any one given day. 20 21 increasing volumes of potentially hazardous materials 22 traveling along I­95 in Waltham. The Cambridge Hobbs 23 Brook, Stony Brook reservoirs line in a twenty­five 24 The density of Boston is twelve thousand The population of Waltham is sixty A large concern is for the safety of the square mile watershed and exist in the cities of ATM, Inc
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59 1 Waltham, Lexington, Lincoln and Weston. This public 2 supply of water services over one hundred thousand 3 residents of the City of Cambridge. Currently 4 stormwater on Route 95 in Waltham is point source 5 runoff. What that means is that the runoff from the 6 storm drains goes directly into the water supply. 7 8 currently being constructed on Route 128 but, even 9 then, I am not sure that each of these forebays and 10 containment areas will be able to contain the 11 potential release of a Hazmat truck, due to the 12 limited size of lands available between the highway 13 and the Cambridge water supply. 14 15 of you witness the traffic congestion on I­95 in 16 Waltham during rush hour, from 7:00 to 9:30 a.m. and 17 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., and I would like to ask 18 specifically, does the Battellele risk assessment 19 include added time in bumper to bumper traffic? If 20 not, then it needs to. 21 22 Hazmat trucks to Waltham. Thank you. 23 24 ENGINEER: Thank you, Councillor. Seventy forebays and containment areas are I sincerely suggest that each and every one I urge you to oppose this rerouting of THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF ATM, Inc
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60 1 DONNIE DALY: The next speaker is Ann Lynch 2 of 3 Association. 4 5 much for the opportunity to speak. I am Ann Lynch, 6 Executive Director of Mass Motor Transportation 7 Association and reside at 10 Liberty Square in 8 Boston. To all MassDOT people, thank you very much. 9 the Massachusetts Motor Transportation ANN LYNCH: Good evening. Thank you so I agree with Commissioner Tinlin. We 10 should look at facts. Fact, time on Boston roads, 11 1.5 miles. The time on 128, fifty­three. These 12 facts were taken from the reporting boxes on trucks 13 that can't be tampered with by the driver. They are 14 factual information taken from people utilizing those 15 routes. 16 17 Boston route is eight to fifteen miles per hour. 18 Fifteen when there is no traffic, eight when there is 19 traffic. You have a traffic signal along the 20 Greenway about every block. I drive it daily. So, 21 these trucks are going at a very low rate of speed 22 with a frequent requirement to stop. It is virtually 23 impossible to roll a truck over at those low speeds, 24 scientifically impossible to do that. Fact, the average speed in the City of ATM, Inc
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61 1 2 talk about in terms of the public safety. We agree, 3 public safety is a very pivotal part of our decision 4 regarding routing because people who die in those 5 accidents are the truckers. 6 7 accidents. Eighty percent of them are caused by high 8 speed passenger vehicles. They cut the truck off. 9 We have a long program about what trucks need for 10 stopping distance to the public, but they cut the 11 truck off. The truck cannot stop in the time that 12 the car has cut it off, and the only option for the 13 trucker is, for accident avoidance, which can roll 14 the truck over at a high rate of speed. We don't 15 want to be on high speed roads. They are far more 16 dangerous. 17 18 the Saugus accident invited us to use that 19 information at these public hearings. The truck was 20 on a high speed highway at a time of night when there 21 are a lot of impaired drivers getting out of the bars 22 in that section. The truckers call that the worst 23 place to be between midnight and 3:00 a.m. in the 24 State of Mass. We know why. So, I think that that is something that we Fact, AAA put together a study on truck One of our members who suffered the loss in ATM, Inc
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62 1 2 high speed highways, and we agree that, from a public 3 safety point of view, we want to be on shorter 4 distances at lower speeds, much safer for the 5 trucker, much safer for those around us. 6 7 safety agency in place. Another thing that Boston 8 provides is the only access to foam. Foam is the 9 only thing that puts out fires like this, and the 10 primary source of that foam in large quantities is 11 MassPort, where their vehicles, foam vehicles, used 12 to put out airplane fires can be utilized to assist 13 should a tragedy occur along a truck route. 14 15 percent of its capacity. That is based on a study of 16 central corridor communities that Mayor ­­ the Mayor 17 of Waltham referred to, put out recently. So, we are 18 looking at a hundred and thirty percent capacity. 19 That doesn't take into account the fact that the 20 breakdown lanes are fully utilized during rush hour 21 time. So, the opportunity for public safety 22 departments to get to an accident, to remediate that 23 loss, really drops significantly when all lanes are 24 filled with traffic, including the breakdown, and So, we see that these accidents do occur on The City of Boston has a stellar public Route 128 is at a hundred and thirty ATM, Inc
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63 1 that is something that causes us great concern, as 2 well. 3 4 that have been talked about so I don't take more of 5 your time. 6 7 were to take that route, it would drop the 8 productivity 9 gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel, and it would 10 require us to double the size of the fleet in order 11 to meet the same delivery requirements. So, during a 12 cold snap in the winter, which we saw last winter for 13 example, instead of one day to get heating oil, it 14 would be three to five days, or we could double the 15 size of the fleet and we could put twice as many 16 trucks on that road as currently exist. Certainly, 17 that is not something that is financially feasible 18 for the trucking industry, nor would it be feasible 19 to put drivers in those seats because it is an FBI 90 20 day background check. It's a very rigorous process 21 of training that Hazmat drivers go through. 22 23 in truck bans, as the previous speaker said, it has 24 been in the media since these hearings have started. I am trying to skip over all the things Productivity is a significant issue. If we for delivery of goods, Other cities have expressed interest. Now, essential ATM, Inc
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64 1 Well, Cambridge is like, maybe we will get a truck 2 ban? Somerville, well, if you are getting one, I 3 want one and, in the end, as stated, how are we going 4 to transport essential goods for people to heat their 5 homes and drive their cars? 6 7 renowned 8 Battellele's study. We have concerns about some of 9 the information contained in that, or lack thereof. 10 The idea of a nighttime route does seem something 11 they would be interested in. Commissioner Tinlin 12 spoke to that, as well. 13 14 is no end at the receiving end to receive the 15 product, so it is very difficult for us to do 16 overnight deliveries. A similar situation was 17 considered when the Newbury Street route was being 18 considered but the Restaurant Association went insane 19 because they said, no one is going into a restaurant 20 at 3:00 a.m. to get lettuce. Not happening. 21 22 route is more who is there to receive that delivery? 23 Are 24 deliveries? And the answer in most cases is no. So, Mass Motor has commissioned a nationally transportation consultant review Unfortunately, during the overnight, there So, the delivery point of the overnight those facilities open to ATM, Inc
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to receive those 65 1 that is also something that we are very concerned 2 about. 3 4 the deadline for public comment. We plan to meet with 5 officials at MassDOT to present the findings of our 6 report and we look forward to working with you as 7 this continues. Thank you so much. 8 9 ENGINEER: Thank you. Our report will be prepared in advance of THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF 10 11 Business Council. 12 13 Tibbits. I am the Executive Director of the 128 14 Business Council. Our operations are based in 15 Waltham, Massachusetts, and I reside in Arlington, 16 Massachusetts. 17 18 public transit provider within the 128 corridor. We 19 have been providing shuttle connections to MBTA hubs 20 for employees of the 128 corridor for over twenty­
21 seven years. We were responsible for over five 22 hundred thousand trips on 128 last year alone. Every 23 day, we use the route that the City of Boston is 24 proposing. DONNIE DALY: Monica Tibbits of the 128 MONICA TIBBITS: Good evening. I a Monica The 128 Business Council is a non­profit, ATM, Inc
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66 1 2 pointed out, is already at a hundred and thirty 3 percent, greatly impacting the flow of traffic. We 4 are already dealing with congestion that brings daily 5 commutes to a standstill. We cannot handle any more 6 traffic on our already over­taxed roadway. 7 8 new route designation as it will continue to disable 9 a roadway that is already failing. Thank you. The capacity on this roadway, as Ann We are asking that MassDOT not pursue this 10 11 ENGINEER: Thank you. 12 13 Avenue in Boston. 14 15 you missed the meeting in Boston. I dare say, I am 16 the only one in this room who lives behind a front 17 door that is five paces away from one of these 18 hazardous cargo routes, with hundreds of other people 19 in my building. Had Saugus happened outside my front 20 door, I wouldn't care about how long response time 21 is, whether we get foam, whether I am going to have 22 to drink bottled water. I will be dead. 23 24 Buckley. THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF DONNIE DALY: David Arnold from 63 Atlantic DAVID ARNOLD: Good evening, and I am sorry DONNIE DALY: Needham Fire Chief Paul ATM, Inc
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67 1 2 you, gentlemen. I will be brief. My name is Paul 3 Buckley. I am the Fire Chief for the Town of 4 Needham. I also reside in Needham at 176 Marked Tree 5 Road. 6 7 about the risk assessment with population density. I 8 know Needham, Newton, Waltham, Burlington, many of 9 the communities, cities and towns that border the 10 proposed route dramatically increase their population 11 density during the working hours due to the business 12 facilities, 13 hospitals and so forth, and schools, as well, along 14 the route, and I am not sure if that was under 15 consideration, but hopefully those numbers are 16 accurate. 17 18 touched upon, but the fact that we are going through 19 a multi­year project. We will be increasing the 20 width of Route 128, which long overdue. I would 21 propose, and like to see it considered, that they put 22 off this proposal until that project is complete, 23 reevaluate the size of the road, the capacity of the 24 road, the needs of the roads, the speeds of the road, NEEDHAM FIRE CHIEF PAUL BUCKLEY: Thank Just two brief concerns. They did talk shopping malls, buildings, My second point is, it was only briefly office ATM, Inc
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68 1 contours, grades and so forth, eliminate the use of 2 the breakdown lane. Those are discretionary concerns 3 I am sure are shared by other people in the room, and 4 I won't repeat the things that have been said. I 5 appreciate your time. Thank you for being here. 6 7 ENGINEER: Thank you, Chief Buckley. 8 9 Waltham Fire Department. THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF DONNIE DALY: Captain Andrew Mullen of the 10 CAPTAIN ANDREW MULLEN: Good afternoon ­­ 11 evening. I am Andy Mullen. I am the Captain of the 12 Waltham Fire Department. I also live in the City of 13 Waltham, 62 Cedar Wood Ave. A couple of concerns 14 that I just wanted to ­­ I would like to see 15 addressed. 16 17 1 is four times higher risk than Alternative 3 going 18 through our city. It also says, further in the 19 study, that Hazmat traffic is already diverted onto 20 128 in some areas, but nowhere in the study does it 21 address how much it is and what kind it is. Hazmat 22 incidents, there are many variables that go into it, 23 type 24 conditions. They based the study on gasoline Battellele's study states that Alternative of chemical, time of ATM, Inc
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day, atmospheric 69 1 tankers, which is ninety percent, according to the 2 study, of what is being transported. I would tend to 3 agree with that. 4 5 through our city. Nowhere in the study does it say 6 what our increased risk is. It says the risk is 7 limited to Boston, but it does not ­­ it does not 8 show what our increased risk is, nor does it identify 9 what our risk is. There is no study out there, that 10 I know of, or that we are aware of, that says what 11 kind of tankers are going up and down 128. I think 12 that needs to be considered. I think it should be 13 conducted. Unfortunately, the size and the scope of 14 that study is more than a local level. That needs to 15 be done, I think, on a state level, all up and down 16 the 128 corridor so that we can properly plan for any 17 increase on Hazmat. 18 19 an increased risk. Is our increased risk one more 20 tanker or is it a thousand more tankers? We need to 21 know that so that we can properly plan. 22 23 ENGINEER: Thank you, Captain Mullen. 24 It also says, we should know what is going One more tanker coming through our city is THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF DONNIE DALY: Mr. Broderick, that concludes ATM, Inc
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70 1 the testimony. 2 3 ENGINEER: Thank you, everybody, for coming out and, 4 again, I would like to thank the Mayor for the use of 5 this facility this evening. As I say, we do have one 6 more hearing in Stoneham on Thursday night, and then, 7 we 8 addressing all the comments that we have received, 9 all the testimony that has been received, and start 10 working toward getting a decision and we start having 11 further discussions with Federal Motor Carriers. 12 Thank you for all ­­ thank you all for coming out. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 will THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E., ACTING CHIEF go about addressing, End of Public Hearing +++ evaluating ATM, Inc
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and 71 1 C E R T I F I C A T E 2 3 4 5 I, Janice L. Tirone, do hereby certify that the 6 foregoing record is a true and accurate transcription 7 of the proceedings in the above­captioned matter to 8 the best of skill and ability. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Janice L. Tirone 20 21 22 **ALL NAMES NOT PROVIDED WERE SPELLED PHONETICALLY TO 23 THE BEST OF MY ABILITY ATM, Inc
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