I miss Al Decie. And weirdly, or maybe not weirdly, there are a lot of people who would go “Al Decie, who?”

Al Decie, who left Newburyport not long ago, with very little fanfare, was in my opinion, one of the people who helped make Newburyport the desirable place that it is today.

Al Decie founded Citizens for Environmental Balance (CEB), way before it was fashionable (in fact one could possibly say that it was downright unfashionable) to be “green.” And one of Mr. Decie’s passions was the Newburyport Landfill. God Bless him.

I found an old post on Al Decie and CEB, on the Newburyport Blog, written by a CEB member here.

CEB and Mr. Decie had a wonderful website chock full of unbelievable information, including original documents, including the original “Host Agreement” for the Newburyport Landfill, that’s gotten us, as some believe, in so much trouble. And when Mr. Decie left, the site went down, and alas, all that great information went with it.

But, “A Ha.” Low and behold, I’ve come across a site that has the same (as well as updated documents) on the “Landfill Capping,” “The Common Pasture,” and the “Vernal Pools.” To see the site Little River Basin.org, press here. In fact it has a very detailed chronology of the whole mess (with a disclaimer) dated 5/1/08 here (PDF Version).

I don’t know who has resurrected the site (I have my suspicions). And if you really want to get the history of “Newburyport Green,” visit, LittleRiverBasin.org.