Maciel and Sons remove buried septic trucks

Two tank trucks buried in the countryside off High Point Lane in Tisbury were dug up by the owners – Maciel and Sons – Monday morning according to the Tisbury Health Authority issued a 30-day removal order At the end of last month.

The 8,000 and 9,000 gallon tank trucks are filled with partitions and buried in the ground on the property Goodale family, where several island companies store their large vehicles and equipment under lease agreements with the Goodales.

Tisbury health officer Maura Valley initially ordered that the trucks should be removed as Title 5 requires that any container used to transport partitions must be on wheels and not be a permanent structure.

The land where the trucks are buried is a pit behind the old Coca-Cola bottling plant.

Peter Goodale previously told the Times he was unaware that the two trucks were buried on his property.

When asked what his initial reaction was to finding out that the trucks were being buried on his land by one of his tenants, Goodale said he was “disappointed”.

He added that with so little commercial storage space on the island, he has rented space on the High Point property to people who cannot find other space for their vehicles and equipment.

“I’ve rented all of the companies that don’t have space on the island to them,” said Goodale.

Valley was on site at the excavation to oversee the process and make sure the tankers weren’t leaking in the ground.

“I’m here so the health department and property owner can take a look and make sure the trucks are intact,” she said.

If the integrity of the tanks is compromised, Valley said the health department will work to determine what remedial measures are needed.

“From everything we’ve been told, they were buried last November. We don’t think there will be any leaks because of the time they were buried, but we need to go and see, ”said Valley.

Mike Whiteside, environmental engineer and operations manager for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, was also there to watch the process and record the condition of the tankers.

“If they were installed in November and they were in decent shape, I wouldn’t believe they are leaking now as long as you place them correctly. We’re not even sure what type of truck it is – we’ll find out, ”Whiteside said.

Goodale said Whiteside has proposed closer surveillance of the property to prevent this type of activity.

“But what should I do? Scan every square meter of the property? He buried the damn things, ”said Goodale.

He added that his commercial property was home to a number of businesses that cannot find space elsewhere and stressed the need for more commercial space dedicated to storage on Martha’s Vineyard.

“Other cities don’t have enough commercial space to locate such businesses. Everyone complains that there is a company working next to me. Well, he’s operating next to you because he has nowhere else to operate, ”Goodale said. “You have all the landscapers out there, do you want them on Main Street in Vineyard Haven or Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs? No, but these are the only places that are commercially zoned. “

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