Boston Mayor Rips Plan for Scrap Yard at Harbor

The Massachusetts Port Authority pulled the plug on a proposed waterfront metal recycling facility after Boston Mayor Thomas Menino blasted the idea as an ''ill-conceived plan."

''I don't think a junkyard per se is what we want on Boston Harbor," Menino said.

''It's an ill-conceived plan," he added, saying that better use could be made of the space than building a recycling facility proposed by Metal Management Inc. of Chicago.

Informed of Menino's comments, Massport officials issued a statement that said, ''While we haven't reached a conclusion as to the final use of the land, we do know at this point that Metal Management will not be the steward of the property."

Metal Management had proposed putting a facility that would recycle scrap metal on a 26-acre site owned by the City of Boston but leased by Massport. Massport had been weighing several proposals for the site in Boston Marine Industrial Park in South Boston.

Massive development seems poised to reshape South Boston's Seaport District. Last year, the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center opened there, and many ambitious projects to build hotels, office space, and housing are either under construction or in the planning pipeline. In that context, a recycling facility didn't seem to be a good fit, even if one goal for the harbor is to promote a working port.

Many South Boston residents and officials had opposed the recycling facility, said Councilor James Kelly of South Boston.

''We want to do all we can do to make sure this is a working port," Kelly said before Massport issued its statement. ''But it's fair to say at this point that because it doesn't have political support, I don't think Metal Management's proposal is going to go forward."

''Financially, Massport would really love to have Metal Management because they were willing to come up with a sizable amount of up-front money," Kelly said, but their facility ''wouldn't be good for businesses nearby, and it could be hazardous to the health of local residents."

Any proposed recycling facility would have to navigate its way through an arduous review and permitting process with city and state agencies, said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association, a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting a ''clean, alive, and accessible Boston Harbor."

That review process would give powerful opponents plenty of opportunities to block the recycling facility.

Li said of the proposed recycling facility, ''If the mayor and some of the elected officials from South Boston are opposed to it, it's very much an uphill battle."

In a recent letter to The Boston Globe, Michael Leone, director of the Port of Boston, noted that Metal Management's proposal would ''provide for the import and export of cement, road salt, and various metal products."

He added, ''The economic benefits of a viable port right on our city's doorstep are enormous."

In its statement, Massport noted that Metal Management's proposal best met the requirements of its lease with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

''All along, we have acknowledged that [Metal Management's] proposal raised some significant complications -- specifically their requirement for scrap metal, which we were not prepared to accommodate," the Massport statement said. ''We have worked very closely with all of our elected officials as we've considered what's best for this property." Boston Globe