MassDEP Extends Review Period for South Coast Renewables Application to Nov. 1

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has extended the review period to Nov. 1 for the site suitability application for South Coast Renewables, LLC (formerly known as Parallel Products of New England), which seeks to expand its operations at 100 Duchaine Boulevard in New Bedford.

MassDEP accepted public comment until Aug. 24 on South Coast Renewables’ proposed solid waste management facility at its site in the New Bedford Business Park, in New Bedford’s far North End.

In a Sept. 5 letter, MassDEP granted South Coast Renewables a 15-day extension for its formal response to those public comments. The extension enables South Coast Renewables to submit its response to MassDEP by Sept. 27.

In the same letter, MassDEP announced a corresponding 15-day extension for completion of its own technical review of the site suitability application. MassDEP’s decision on the application now is slated to occur by Nov. 1.

View the letter here: SCR Timeline Extension Request Approval.090523

The letter extends the timeline by about a month for a potential ruling on the proposed facility.

The MassDEP ruling could lead to two outcomes:

• If MassDEP determines that South Coast Renewables’ site suitability application does not meet all relevant criteria, it will issue a negative determination to the New Bedford Board of Health, which then would not proceed with the site assignment process.
• If Mass DEP determines that the application does meet all relevant criteria, MassDEP will issue a positive determination to the New Bedford Board of Health. The Board of Health would then issue a public notice, conduct its own review, and hold a public hearing before voting on whether or not to allow the proposal to move forward.

View multilingual fact sheets on the proposed facility and the site application process here.