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GCC MEETING OVERVIEW
February 23, 2006
GENERAL BUSINESS
1 LULL STREET POND
Homeowner asked the Commission for information about conducting dredging work in a pond on his property. He started dredging but was told by the contractor that he needed Commission approval before the work was done. The Commission will conduct a site walk to gather more information.
PENTUCKET POND ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Pentucket Pond needs to be treated with an herbicide to combat an invasive species of pond weed, Fanwort, which is threatening to take over the pond. The Pentucket Pond Advisory Committee and Con Comm are discussing the treatment with the Mass Natural Heritage and Endangered Species program (NHESP) due to the possible presence of an endangered fish (Bridle Shiner). The NHESP is questioning the application of a full-pond treatment vs a partial pond treatment. The Commission and Advisory Committee will attend a meeting with the NHESP to encourage them to permit a full-pond treatment.
HEARINGS
66 THURLOW STREET (GCC-2006-04) ANRAD (New)
The owners of this property ran a “hobby” junkyard for many years providing for the disposal of cars, solvents, dead animals and assorted other debris. The lot has been purchased for development. The Commission is concerned about levels of soil contamination and the removal of contaminated material without permits. An Enforcement Order was issued to cease & desist all site work until the owner submits records of material removed. Abutters submitted evidence of materials dumped and activities on site. The site is the subject of a 21E Hazardous Waste Assessment by Cyprus Engineering.
GCC MEETING MINUTES
February 23, 2006
Attending: Carl Shreder, Paul Nelson, Mike Birmingham, Mark Gauthier, Steve Przyjemski, Laura Repplier
GENERAL BUSINESS
MINUTES
MOTION to approve the minutes of January 26, 2006 with amends – Mike / Paul / Unam
CAMP DENISON
MOTION to appoint Mike DeFeo as Camp Manager of Camp Denison with a salary of $20 per month, retroactively to July 1, 2005, until Dec 31, 2006 – Mark / Mike / Unam
MOTION to pay Mike DeFeo’s salary of $120 from July 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005 – Mark / Mike / Unam
WORKSHOP IN THE WOODS
MOTION to pay $150 scholarship to the Workshop in the Woods for July 2005 – Paul / Mark / Unam
BIO-DIVERSITY DAY
MOTION to allocate funds for purchase of educational materials for Bio-Diversity Day to the amount of $118 – Mike / Paul / Unam
OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION PLANNING MEETING
MOTION to allocate funds up to $150 for refreshments for the OSRP meeting on March 29, 2006 – Mark / Paul / Unam
BAILEY LANE STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE
MOTION to appoint Sally Sotnek until June 2006 – Paul / Mike / Unam
NORTH ST &WELLS AVE ORAD
Reps: Kurt Young, Wetlands Preservation Inc (WPI)
Steve P, GCC Agent – I have made an administrative change to this ORAD – the resources were not specifically defined in the original but have been defined in the attachment to the new version.
Kurt Young, WPI – We appealed the ORAD to get it changed. We’ll withdraw that appeal once the amended ORAD has been re-issued.
MOTION to accept the administrative changes to ORAD Attachment #1 dated 2/23/06 for GCC-2005-18. – Paul / Mike / Unam
1 LULL ST POND
Rep: Earl Martyn, Owner
Earl Martyn, Owner – I have a pond that needs dredging as it is slowly filling in, there is grass growing up through it now. It would have to be pumped before dredging and then excavated. I can’t get a contractor to do it without getting permission from the GCC. It will become a swamp if it isn’t dredged out.
Carl S, GCC – That’s a natural process that all ponds go through.
Mike B, GCC – Have you done this before?
Earl Martyn, Owner – No. I want to achieve some flow so it will drain. This is the drainage for the whole area out there – North Street drains out through here & from here it goes to Wheeler Brook.
Paul N, GCC – Will you have to dredge the outlet as well?
Earl Martyn, GCC – Yes or it will fill up. This pond drains in the spring & then it stops and becomes a full pond. But now it’s filling with grass.
Carl S, GCC – It’s eutrophying. There could also be purple loosestrife out there.
Earl Martyn, Owner – There is some, and will probably be more. There aren’t any other ponds around that way.
Carl S, GCC – We will have to find out what’s out there this spring. There may be protected plants / animals etc there. We have these same issues with the other ponds in town. We must determine what habitat value you have out there and put together a management plan. We will look at it as the weather gets warmer.
Mike B, GCC – Dredging it may change the area characteristics of depth and flow. It may retain water longer which could affect the areas downstream.
Paul N, GCC – Why are you doing it?
Earl Martyn, Owner – It will be a mud flat sooner or later – it’s filling up. I’m concerned about mosquitoes.
Carl S, GCC – Fertilizers, phosphates etc help eutrophication, surrounding homeowners using ChemLawn etc will contribute to that problem.
Mike B, GCC- If you have good habitat & wipe it out you may get more mosquitoes. A healthy, well functioning wetland system will provide enough predators to keep the mosquitoes under control. We have to look at it carefully.
Carl S, GCC – You will need to file an NOI to start the process so we can determine how best to deal with it. Filing the NOI does not imply approval.
Paul N, GCC – Dredging is a no-go according to our regulations. This is very serious.
Carl S, GCC – We need to look in the spring to see if there are any species of concern. April 15 is the start of our site walks. Have a look at the town bylaws regarding wetland protection.
PENTUCKET POND ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Reps: Bill Dudley, Elizabeth Rose – Pentucket Pond Advisory Committee (PPAC)
Steve P, GCC Agent – The original OoC filed for the fanwort treatment was for a partial treatment. We probably can’t hold that over the NHESP for a full pond treatment.
Carl S, GCC – Dan Nein appears to be saying to forget the partial, start over & pay the new MESA fee.
Bill Dudley, PPAC – Nein says there is no small bur-reed so they won’t hold us to that. But they want a guarantee that other small lacey plants wouldn’t be affected as they are the bridle shiner’s habitat. But fanwort is a lacey plant and Gerry Smith says that’s exactly what the Sonar goes for.
Carl S, GCC – Before we submit anything I want a response to my email about the existing OoC. In the time that was issued he was an advisory to it – the NHESP had no regulatory weight under their old regulations. They are trying to use the new regulations but he can’t impose new regulations retroactively.
Paul N, GCC – Does the OoC give permission to continue performing ‘partials’ for 3 years if the initial partial is not effective?
Carl S, GCC – The plan was developed with a management and treatment plan. From a legal standpoint we need to clarify their jurisdiction and ours.
Steve P, GCC Agent – A full pond treatment isn’t as expensive as a partial because the partial needed barriers etc.
Bill Dudley, PPAC – We have gone to other companies for quotes for the herbicide job & got better prices all round. One solution is to use the shock boat to find the bridle shiner.
Steve P, GCC Agent – I saw them, I know they are there, it’s just a question of how many. However, even if we find zero shiners Nein will stand firm. Other people behind him are pushing him.
Paul N, GCC – We’ve been through this all & our conclusion is that we need a full pond treatment. The MESA thing is his argument. Can we get a guarantee that if we go through with it we can do it? Shall we get him in here for a meeting?
Bill Dudley, PPAC – We need the Shock boat to get new data & establish that there are none.
Carl S, GCC – We can get some prices pinned down & wait for Nein’s response re. the current OoC. If we can get a MESA filing in early then maybe we can get there for this year.
Paul N, GCC – We should go to their office for a face to face meeting. We’re not getting anywhere by sticking to the old OoC – we need to go for a full treatment.
Carl S, GCC – That will place us completely at their mercy. Let’s ask them to come here and meet with us.
Paul N, GCC – We should set up a meeting w/ Dan and his manager, Tom French. The goal of the meeting would be to 1) have NHESP acknowledge where we currently stand after last summer’s partial treatment and 2) get agreement from them that if we agree to file under MESA, that they (NHESP) will look favorably on our request to now move to a full pond treatment.
Bill Dudley, PPAC – Will GCC sponsor the funding with the town?
GCC – Put together a PowerPoint presentation with photographs, etc when you ask for CPA money at town meeting. (Mark and Paul (and others) volunteered to help put the PP presentation together.)
HEARINGS
66 THURLOW STREET (GCC-2006-04) ANRAD (New)
Reps: Jennifer Smith, Cyprus Eng, Cyprus Engineering
Jennifer Smith, Cyprus Eng – We request that the delineated resource boundaries be accepted. The delineation was done by Wetlands & Land Management in December 2004. In April 2005 we delineated the other wetland area near 80 Thurlow (Hardings). This property is 15 acres, 3 segments abut Thurlow. There is a perennial stream tributary to the Parker River.
Steve P, GCC Agent – Why didn’t you use more borings for the delineation?
Jennifer Smith, Cyprus Eng – I don’t know. I will clarify that & the property line.
Carl S, GCC – We will need to do a 3rd party review & hold a site walk after Apr 15th.
MOTION to engage a 3rd party reviewer with contractor chosen by the agent – Paul / Mike / Unam
Mark G – On the plan it says you will re-survey the area because there was snow cover & you couldn’t do the elevations.
Steve P, GCC Agent – We have a lot of concerns with this site. On a site walk with Sarah Buck (Town Planner) we saw a lot of trash. There was bulldozer disturbance close to the resource. We need to ask them to cease all work until we get the delineation confirmed. There is lots of trash, many tires very close to the resource. We don’t know what’s going on out there.
Carl S, GCC – Has there been a 21E? Do we have a copy of that report?
Jennifer Smith, Cyprus Eng – Yes we have done the first stage. I will get you a copy. He is only removing solid waste – no batteries, etc. The majority of what is being removed is on the cartpath outside the buffer zone. I did the site assessment –
Steve P, GCC Agent – Even with your delineated buffer zone work is being done in our jurisdiction.
Paul N, GCC – You shouldn’t be moving anything that might leach into the wetland.
Steve P, GCC Agent – The first 40-50’ of the cartpath reeked of gasoline when Sarah and I were there.
MOTION to issue an EO against Mr Murray to cease & desist all work behind 66 Thurlow at $300 / day fine – Paul / Mike / Unam
Scott Jackson, Abutter, 70 Thurlow – There have been more than eight 40-yard dumpsters taken out of the site – cars, truck parts, engines, 25or 30 75-gallon drums with unknown materials.
Mike B, GCC – This is a Zone II water resource area.
Jennifer Smith, Cyprus Eng – Steven Fleming is the LSP. We have completed the ASTM Phase I. No soil samples are done in Phase I.
Carl S, GCC – Normally you don’t remove anything in between Phase I and II assessments when you are trying to categorize the hazards.
Jennifer Smith, Cyprus Eng - We are working for the developer who wants to purchase the land – the homeowner is doing this removal.
Scott Jackson, Abutter, 70 Thurlow – Mr. Murray is getting $6000 / month from the developer as future payment for the land. He rented trucks & a bulldozer to fill the containers. That implies he has been employed by the developer to do the removal.
Richard Harding, Abutter, 80 Thurlow – Our kids told us Murray was crushing cars & burying them in the ground 30 yrs ago. When our kids came home from playing over there they looked liked they’d been playing in an oil field. It was a junk yard for 40 years. He had it all cleaned up 7-8 years ago but now it’s back to where it was before.
Paul N, GCC – So he didn’t clean up underground?
Richard Harding, Abutter, 80 Thurlow – I don’t think so. They may be doing it now though.
Mark G – Have they bulldozed beyond the lot line?
Steve P, GCC Agent – Yes, this “path” is now a road you could drive down. Trees have been knocked over and stumps dug up. There has been major bulldozing work.
Carl S, GCC – Issue the EO ASAP.
Steve P, GCC Agent – I will go out on another site walk next week.
David Bodrum, Abutter, 62 Thurlow – When this came to the Planning Board last spring they said GCC would address the junk issue this year. Since last Sept or so he started cleaning it up – I don’t know whether he did it legally or not. Prior to last year’s meetings I assumed it was going to be watched but it happened anyway.
Mark G, GCC – If he took out hazardous waste he should have certificates as to where they took it.
Jennifer Smith, Cyprus Eng – It went to Rowley & the scrap metal to somewhere in NH.
Steve P, GCC Agent – No one knows what was in the drums.
David Bodrum, Abutter, 62 Thurlow – Some of it was hauled out on Sundays and at other odd times.
Jay Hart, Abutter, 55 Thurlow – I was also at the Planning Board meeting. We brought up our concerns about what material might be in there. Our fears were put to rest then as a walkthrough was going to occur but it’s only happening now. I have digital photos of gallon drums sitting by the front on a flat bed. And then suddenly they were gone. In a rainstorm in the dark of night big stuff was being taken out all night – followed by the crushing of the mobile home on the front lawn. I didn’t imagine this wasn’t happening without knowledge.
Steve P, GCC Agent – We should get some silt fences around that area asap.
Carl S, GCC – Please call the GCC office if you see anything happening out there. There are multiple issues here so it should be both the GCC and DEP overseeing the problem.
Steve P, GCC Agent – We need a record of what was removed.
Paul N, GCC – We should also collect an anecdotal record from abutters of everything that was done out there.
Richard Harding, Abutter, 80 Thurlow – There were dead horses out there too, our dog came back with the bones.
Carl S, GCC – Submit photos, letters, any information you have for the record.
Scott Jackson, Abutter, 70 Thurlow - 85 – 90% of the original stuff is now gone.
Jay Hart, Abutter, 55 Thurlow – This house has a private well.
Jennifer Smith, Cyprus Eng – The ASTM Phase I of the environmental site assessment has been done to ask questions so we can reasonably know whether hazardous materials were there. Phase II, the actual sampling, hasn’t begun.
Carl S, GCC – The LSP is legally obliged to report violations.
Scott Jackson, Abutter, 70 Thurlow – There is lots of debris accumulating at the property adjacent to the back border. Camper, cars, etc. Have a look while you’re there.
Steve P, GCC Agent – There is also a depression out there with vernal pool characteristics.
Richard Harding, Abutter, 80 Thurlow – GCC came out many years ago when Murray cut a road through my property to get access for a sub-division on this land.
MOTION to conduct a site walk on April 29, 9:30 am – Mike / Paul / Unam
Jennifer Smith, Cyprus Eng – I will ask Mr. Murray whether abutters can come.
MOTION to continue to May 18, 9:00 pm – Mike / Mark / Unam
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