The Northampton Board of Public Works is about to take an historic vote on whether or not to expand the Northampton Regional landfill in a Water Supply Protection District even though the citizens of Northampton voted overwhelmingly against landfill expansion in November. The following was sent to each member of the Northampton BPW and to all the Northampton City Councilors in response to the actions to be taken by the BPW at their next meeting on January 27th at 5:30pm.

The Northampton Board of Public Works will be voting on an application for the Northampton Regional Landfill to expand in a Water Supply Protection District. This will be an historic vote because all Water Supply Protection Districts in the state of Massachusetts ban landfills. It is a critical decision that will have significant impacts on residents of the City of Northampton for decades to come. It is even more important to understand the financial risks now that a private company, Volume Reduction Associates, is planning a state of the art transfer station in Northampton with the goal to greatly reduce the amount of trash that needs disposal.

In order to comply with best management practices to give Northampton citizens an open and transparent decision making process and to give Northampton citizens an opportunity to participate, it is requested that the Northampton Board of Public Works hold an open public meeting when this vote is taken and provide the following:

1. advance public notice that is widely circulated
2. a venue that can accommodate members of the public
3. adequate time for public comments
4. broadcast by NCTV

Thank you.