Limerick issues 90-business-day temporary recycling license to CIA Salvage, requires site plan

The Limerick Select Board voted to issue a temporary 90-business-day recycling license to CIA Salvage on January 23 after a public hearing that focused on the company's site plan, screening and environmental safeguards.

Town staff told the board that state annual reporting and the town's conditional-use expectations require a current site plan so officials can determine whether the operation has changed since its last approval. "Without the site plan, we can't determine if there've been any changes," a town official said during the hearing. The board said it would accept a temporary license while the operator produces an updated plan and corrects any outstanding items.

Operator Sean Gerard, who identified himself as owner of CIA Salvage, told the board the physical screening (concrete block wall and plantings) and other work were complete and argued that closing off sightlines at the scale would create a traffic hazard for large commercial vehicles. "I've done all the fencing," Gerard said. "If more fencing was required, we would have put it in when we did the blocks." He also said hazardous liquids are stored in double-walled containers and labeled, and that the operation maintains monthly logs and chain-of-custody records for water sampling and hazardous disposals.

Several residents and a public commenter who presented photo evidence pressed the board on recurring concerns: the size and placement of a tire pile, possible storage close to a sand and gravel aquifer, visible construction-demolition debris (CDD), and whether vehicle disclosure forms were being kept for cars offered for sale. One commenter asked the board to set clearer local limits on tires and to require soil testing under the pads where vehicles are processed. "The scope of the operation has increased over time," the commenter said, urging specificity in any conditions the board sets.

Town staff said a sitewalk will be scheduled to verify whether the concrete blocking and screening meet the town's standards and whether the pad replacement promised in prior years has occurred. Staff also noted the town's copy of a stormwater plan in the file was dated 2022 while the operator said a 2024 revision exists and an updated version is pending state approval.

The motion approved by the board requires the operator to provide a site plan that lists operation and storage areas, identifies tire and fluid storage, and shows distances from waterways, residential properties, private wells and highways. Town staff (Stan and Diane) were assigned to assist the operator in getting an acceptable site plan filed within the 90-business-day period. The board used a voice vote; the transcript records the motion as approved, but no roll-call tally appears in the minutes.

The temporary license is intended to strike a balance between public-accountability concerns and continuity for a local employer: board members cited the business' role in local employment while stressing the town's liability if it issues a permit without adequate verification that conditions are met. The board said that if the site plan and conditions are not satisfied within the 90-business-day window, the temporary authorization would be revoked and formal enforcement steps could follow.

Next steps: staff will schedule a sitewalk to verify fencing, pad condition and storage locations and will work with CIA Salvage to finalize an updated site plan. The board recorded that the pad must be completed by the November date discussed in prior meetings and that missing documentation could trigger a notice of violation and further hearings.