A Feb. 28, 2024 North Haven Inland Wetlands Commission meeting.
NORTH HAVEN — A former state representative trying to build a waste and recycling facility by Universal Drive stormed out of an Inland Wetlands Commission meeting Wednesday, concerned with attacks on his credibility and the transparency of his application.
Bill Gambardella left the community center's gym during an Inland Wetlands Commission meeting to consider a permit application for the AB Eco Park project after an exchange with the crowd. It came as Nancy Alderman, an advisor of the Quinnipiac River Fund and an intervenor on the application, shared multiple objections. As Gambardella left, many in the audience — comprised primarily of AB Eco Park project opponents — applauded.
Opponents have argued the project could harm the environment, while Gambardella has said the facility is needed to handle the state's waste as it ships it to facilities in other states.
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Alderman claimed there are "untruths, falsehoods and innuendos" on a website representing the application and made several charges that the true nature of the application had been misrepresented, such as filing for a beneficial use determination indicating an intention to use fill that has a certain level of contaminants.
However, it was Alderman's contention about the Connecticut Fund for the Environment's role in the $1.2 million settlement with The Upjohn Company that brought Gambardella to his feet, disputing the fund was involved..
Before the end of the three-hour meeting, a calm Gambardella had returned to his seat in the front row.
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"There's only so many times I can take being called a liar," he said, apologizing to the commission.
Amid the strong emotions at Wednesday's meeting, with numerous residents displaying signs reading "Stop the North Haven incinerator," commission chairman Frank Bumsted announced that the application is not a "one-shot deal" and the process would require several further approvals from both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Inland Wetlands Commission.
The issue considered by the commission Wednesday was first introduced two meetings prior, in December, to discuss filling what Gambardella described as one-twentieth of an acre of wetland. The purpose of the permit, according to representatives for the application, would be to demonstrate to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection that the municipality has indicated a commitment to the project before developing a remediation plan.
That claim was challenged by several members of the public, including Chase Lindemann on behalf of local nonprofit Save the Sound. Lindemann said DEEP's own statement of position indicates that the applicant should first submit a remediation action plan.
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"To me it seems out of sequence for the applicant to be seeking this local wetland permit when DEEP has not yet categorized the site,” said state Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, testifying as executive director of River Advocates of South Central Connecticut.
Some members of the public indicated that they felt Gambardella had correctly identified an issue — that the state is facing a costly waste disposal crisis — but that too many open questions about the potential deleterious impacts to the environment and Quinnipiac River remain.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Bumsted said the commission would not deliberate on the permit until its next meeting, pushing the vote off to a fourth meeting.
“Everybody’s got a lot to think about. I want to be as fair as possible,” he said. “Billy’s application, as he mentioned, was to fill one wetland to work in a buffer zone and to bring in fill, and that’s going to be our decision.”
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North Haven Land Use Administrator Alan Fredricksen said that, because the public hearing was closed Wednesday, the commission is legally not allowed to accept any more public testimony and commissioners may not discuss their thinking until the commission reconvenes.
This story has been updated to reflect that Mary Mushinsky testified on behalf of River Advocates of South Central Connecticut.
Brian Zahn is a reporter with the New Haven Register. Brian covers all things West Haven. Since September 2015, he has worked for the Register, where he has spent most of his time writing about schools and education.
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