As reported in the Danvers Herald, on July 5, 2007 the Danvers Board of Selectmen received letters from both Arnel Co., Inc. and CAI, Inc. in which the companies voluntarily gave up their chemical license to “store, manufacture and sell chemicals and combustibles” on the property where their warehouse once stood but was completely destroyed by an explosion on November 22, 2006. The Board of Selectmen had scheduled a public hearing for July 17, 2007 as a result of community protest in response to the May 1, 2007 re-registration of the companies’ chemical license. Since the companies have voluntarily surrendered their license, the question remains whether or not the Board of Selectmen can legally accept the letters. The law states that in order for a license to be revoked from the land to which it is attached “there must be an imminent public safety risk, it has to have been abandoned for three years, or there must be ‘cause.’” Since it is still not clear whether the letters will be accepted, Chairman of the Board Michael Powers has said that the Board will proceed with the hearing unless the town counsel finds that the letters are sufficient.

Even though Arnel and CAI have voluntarily surrendered their chemical license, representatives for the companies maintain that they are in no way “admitting any liability in the incident of Nov. 22, 2006.” Representatives explain that the companies’ actions are for the greater good of the community, and there is even talk of trying to develop the now empty land into something more suitable and beneficial for the neighborhood.

On July 24, 2007 the Danvers Planning Board will hold a meeting to discuss the industrial zone and how it can be developed so as to be more “user-friendly”. One member of SAFE expresses her concerns that more needs to be done to regulate industrial zones that abut residential properties.

The article also discussed the growing number of families that have returned to their homes since the Nov. 22, 2006 explosion. Initially, 70 families were displaced but, as of July 11, 37 families have moved back into their homes. That number is slowing increasing as there are crews continuing to repair and rebuild homes that were effected by—or even destroyed by—the explosion.

Click here to read the full Danvers Herald article.