NOTTINGHAM PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MAY 25, 2005
PUBLIC SESSION
APPROVED BY THE BOARD JULY 20, 2005
PRESENT: ABSENT:
Mr. Dave Smith, Chair Ms. Sandra Jones
Ms. Mary Bonser, Selectmen Representative
Mr. Peter Gylfphe
Mr. Jon Caron
Mr. Scott Curry
Mr. Bill Booth
OTHERS PRESENT:
Ms. Kelly Tivnan, Planning Board Secretary
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:06pm.
PUBLIC HEARING- FRANZ-WILBER SUBDIVISION/LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT:
OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Roscoe Blaisdell
Mr. Smith read a letter from the Fire Department. It stated that the property was within 2000 feet of an existing fire pond. He read the waiver request. The applicant requested a waiver from surveying the adjacent lot involved in the lot line adjustment. Mr. Booth went over the list of questions that the Board had from the previous meeting. He stated that it looked like the applicant had fulfilled all the outstanding issues. Mr. Curry asked what the Board had decided about recording the lot line adjustment and the subdivision together. The Board discussed this briefly. Mr. Blaisdell said that the applicant had brought the deed with them.
Mr. Curry made a motion to accept and approve the Franz-Wilber subdivision/lot line adjustment application. Mr. Caron seconded the motion. The present members of the Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
PUBLIC HEARING- USA SPRINGS:
The Chair called the USA Springs public hearing to order at 7:35pm.
Mr. Smith asked Mr. Bock to sit for Ms. Bonser.
Mr. Curry introduced an agenda he wanted to propose for the evening. Mr. Gilbert discussed the workshop meeting where the Board had talked about USA Springs with their experts. He said that the Planning Board had specific questions. He said that the study had assumed trucks would be single trailers. He said that there had also been a question about whether the hydrologic information had been initiated. He said that he was not sure where that currently stood. He said that 85% of the residents who were asked about water monitoring agreed. He said that there was unlikely to be spillage. He said that the line would shut down if there was a malfunction. He said that the maximum bottling rate was 600 bottles per minute, per line. He said that the faster line was less reliable. He
said that the information was based on 1/2 liter bottles. He said that they had also explored the PET emissions and the levels were negligable so the PET was not a hazard. Mr. Smith asked if they needed extra fire protection around the storage of the PET. Mr. Gilbert said that they should not. Mr. Curry noted that their Fire Chief had recommended extra protection. The representative from Reuter Associates gave a brief overview of the impact of noise on the community. He said that the movement of the building had taken care of most of his concerns. He said that the applicant had satisfied the noise concerns. He said that trucking would be limited from 11:00pm to 7:00am. He said that he needed to know if that applied to Sunday as well. He said that he needed to discuss braking with the Department of Transportation but he said that did not involve the applicant. The representative from Gove Environmental Services said
that the issues had been resolved and the Dredge and Fill permit had been issued. Ms. Copeland said that she had been working on a form which would be a complete record. Ms. Amanda Barker from New Hampshire Soil Consultants said that the applicant had received a wetlands permit. She said that there were 29,587 square feet of forested wetlands. She said that included findings and conditions. Mr. Soltani said that the applicant had moved the proposed building closer to Route 4. He said that the Department of Environmental Services had agreed to the move with conditions. Mr. Teague asked the applicant to summarize those conditions. Ms. Barker said that most of them had to do with mitigation, construction, and preservation of wetlands. Mr. Soltani said that the applicant was amenable to the conditions. Mr. Smith asked what other permits still needed to be issued by the state for this project. Mr. Soltani said that the
state needed to issue the source bottling permit. He said that permit had been applied for but it would not be approved until construction began. He said that 15 residential sites had given permission for testing to occur. He said that those locations had been approved. He said that they could not monitor the results until they started the groundwater withdrawal. Mr. Teague asked how the applicant would resolve the quality and quantity questions raised by GeoInsight if they waited to start pumping. Mr. Soltani said that the applicant was going by what they had been told by the Department of Environmental Services. Mr. Curry asked if 1 week of monitoring would be enough. Mr. Gilbert said that they needed to monitor for 3 months before they withdrew water commercially. Mr. Soltani said that they planned to do that during construction. Ms. Barker said that they were doing wetland monitoring for 1 year. She said that the
first report had been given in January. Mr. Teague said that they wanted to determine what was real from what was fiction. He said that they needed to know whether residential water would be affected as some had predicted. Mr. Soltani said that the data would be stale if they did the testing now. He said that they could consider testing longer but they did not have a target construction date. Mr. Teague said that he thought the longer they did the testing, the better. Mr. Soltani said that he would ask the Department of Environmental Services but he said that the parties would need to agree on a longer time frame for testing. Mr. Gylfphe suggested that the applicant could take readings every month or so. Mr. Soltani said that the requirements for the testing were very specific and they needed to be checked many times daily. Mr. Gylfphe said that the applicant needed to monitor the seasonal norms. A representative from USA
Springs stated that no monitoring devices had been put into private wells yet. He said that monitoring was being done weekly by hand. He said that they were following the permit and its established parameters exactly. Mr. Caron asked about how long the construction time would be. The representative from USA Springs said that they were estimating it would last slightly over 1 year. Mr. Gilbert said that they suggested 12 months of monitoring including abiding by the rigorous standards given to them by the Department of Environmental Services. Mr. Smith asked whether the Planning Board could request that the monitoring start as soon as possible. Mr. Teague said that the Planning Board had an obligation to consider the impact of this project on the ground water. He said that they were looking for an early warning system so the residents knew what to look for. He said that would protect the interests of the town and of the
applicant. Mr. Soltani said that the Board could suggest testing as a condition. Mr. Gylfphe said that the Planning Board was asking for testing. The representative from USA Springs said that they had been testing their own wells for a 24 hour period. Mr. Gylfphe asked if it would help if the Planning Board wrote a letter stating they were in favor of more testing. Mr. Curry said that the Planning Board needed to identify things they needed to deal with. Mr. Soltani said that the Planning Board should have a list they could give to the applicant. He said that the site was clean. Mr. Curry said that water quality monitoring was among the outstanding issues that needed to be conditions of approval. Mr. Caron talked about restricting the hours of trucking on and off the site. He said that they needed to clarify the movements of the trucks. Mr. Curry said that it was unclear whether there would be an impact on traffic
during rush hour from the employees of the facility. He said that maybe there should be a police officer there during those times.Mr. Gylfphe asked if there would be an accelleration lane on Route 4. The representative from USA Springs said yes. He said that appeared on the plan. Mr. Curry said that all trucks going in and out of the facility should use Route 4. The representative from USA Springs said that was already taken care of and all trucks would be restricted to Route 4. Mr. Hamill explained accelleration and decelleration lanes. He said that there would be a painted island and an area in the road shoulder for emergencies. He said that truck arrivals and departures would be staggered because the applicant would not have the manpower or the space to deal with all the trucks at once. Mr. Curry wanted to know if the Planning Board could be informed of major changes in the future of the facility. Mr. Hamill said that
the plant needed to be able to keep up with the market. He said that there would be flexibility required to do that. Mr. Caron said that the Planning Board needed an as built plan provided to them for emergency response. The representative from USA Springs said that would not be a problem. Mr. Caron said that he did not want discharge from the facility creating problems. The representative from USA Springs said that the applicant agreed. Mr. Bock said that he wanted the town to be kept appraised of operations at the facility. The representative from USA Springs said that was only right and fair. Mr. Smith asked what procedure the residents would follow if there was a problem with their well. He said that they needed to know how they would be provided with help or water. The representative of USA Springs said that information was in the permit. He said that the parameters of each case would be different. Mr.
Gilbert said that there were fairly specific deadlines in the permit. He said that the applicant was required to provide homeowners with contact information. Ms. Copeland said that the issues could be used to augment the permit conditions. She said that the protocols would put it all together. Mr. Curry said that the noise would be restricted to certain hours. The representative from Reuter Associates said that outside noise would be restricted to the hours of 7:00am to 10:00pm. He said that there would not be anything which posed a potential nuisance. He said that if something happened it would be up to the Police Department and the Board of Selectmen to enforce the bylaws. Mr. Caron said that there needed to be construction parameters. Mr. Soltani said that the construction would take place during normal hours based on the industry standard. He suggested 7:00am-3:30pm or 9:00am-5:00pm. Mr. Booth asked if sleeper
style trucks would be used. The representative from USA Springs said that would be the responsibility of the leasing company. Mr. Booth said that it was possible trucks would show up at odd hours. He asked where they would park. The representative from USA Springs said that the plant would be in a fenced in area and it would be a clean facility. He said that they would be limited to 60 trucks per day. Mr. Soltani said that the applicant would not risk their permit.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mr. Hadley spoke about the Department of Environmental Services Guide to Groundwater Protection. He talked about TCE and MTBE and said that a well in Northwood had to be shut down because of MTBE contamination. He asked whether other towns could be notified of Planning Board work sessions. He said that the National Park Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers were looking at the cumulative impacts of this. He said that he thought the information should be sent to the enforcers of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization for their opinion. He cited RSA 236:13 and said that the Planning Board had kick out rights the same as the Department of Transportation. He said that a traffic study could be done to look at the impact. He said
that he would also ask the Board to bond this project.
Mr. Ken Grant from Barrington asked what would happen to people's heating systems in the winter. He talked about hydronic systems and how they worked when the water pressure went down. He said that if the pump ran dry the system would burn up. He said that there needed to be a solution and there needed to be public awareness of that problem.
Mr. Peter Thompson from Barrington said that he had questions about wetland permits. The representative from USA Springs said that the Barrington 2 foot permit was being typed and it had already been issued. Mr. Thompson asked how the company would store uranium. The representative from USA Springs said that any result of a 24 hour purge would give them data to address. He said that there would be a containment and removal system for uranium. Mr. Gilbert said that radon was present at the site and had been discussed. He said that the emissions were at safe levels.
Mr. Keith Gilmead said that in a steam heat system people needed to add water themselves. He said that with an automatic feed a homeowner would know that their well failed before they did not have heat. He said that the system for heat needed 15 pounds of water and the homeowner could pump it in themselves in case of failure.
Ms. Mary Bonser said that they wanted to keep doing testing because they should have the information. She said that she wanted to commend the Planning Board on wanting to continue the monitoring. She said that there should be "No Parking" signs outside the facility and she said that she was confused as to whether they were talking about 60 trucks per day or 120 trucks per day.
Mr. John Terninko said that they were looking at doing at least 3 months of testing. He said that it could be done as long as necessary. He said that this project needed to be bonded to protect the community. He wanted to know what the Department of Environmental Services meant by a clean site.
Mr. Steve Conklin from Barrington asked about the baseline of the water content. He said that uranium had been found on the site. He said that there was no support from the academic community about the groundwater removal. He said that the plant had not changed in size. He wondered if a potential loophole existed for the USA Springs business to expand into the Harmon/Just Cause site. He said that all of this was based on a computer model. Mr. Caron said that the status of the Just Cause site was that the new owner needed to get a new site plan. Mr. Curry said that the site had a history that needed to be taken into consideration. A member of the public wondered if USA Springs could possibly buy another site for a well and truck water into the plant.
Mr. Tom Chase from Barrington said that he lived 7000 feet from the USA Springs site and his tax bill had tripled. He said that he had been told that it would be 3 years before his well went dry and he wondered if the value of his property would go down.
Mr. Mike Maruki said that over 100 new homes had been built since the pump test. He asked about the impact of that and whether it had been considered by the Planning Board. Mr. Smith said that the Planning Board had been charged to protect the town and they would do the best they could. Mr. Gylfphe said that the Department of Environmental Services had removed the Planning Board from the process of how much water was withdrawn. Mr. Gilmead noted that they paid experts so they should listen to them.
Ms. Denise Hart from Barrington asked whether other beverage companies could use the equipment. She said that she would ask the Planning Board to consider a bond. She said that there had been a local case in Wells, Maine where there had been a problem and the people had to prove that the water bottling plant was responsible.
The town attorney for Barrington asked for an explanation as to whether the shape of the building could be changed. He said that he was looking for a statement from someone who was experienced in the design of water bottling plants. He asked about the 60 truck limitation and noted that there was 1 sentence in a letter from GeoInsight looking for a statement from an engineer. He said that 99,000 pounds was the largest vehicle allowed on New Hampshire roads. He read statements from Mr. Deluca and Mr. Duval and compared them. Mr. Jeff Delucia said that trucks would have 6 total axles and 5 drive axles. The Barrington town attorney said that all trucks that large needed overweight certification. He said that the applicant should get a statement from their leasing company. The representative from
USA Springs said that they had done a power point presentation on March 2nd which had described this and made it clear.
MORE PLANNING BOARD DISCUSSION:
Ms. Copeland asked if approval for bottle source (new source approval for ground water) was the same thing as Ch HEP 2100, Beverages and Bottled Water. Mr. Caron said that the Beverages and Bottled Water approval would be done after the plant was built. He said that the WS389 should be done before that. Ms. Copeland asked if the applicant would be a member of the International Water Bottling Association. She said that organization did inspections. The representative from USA Springs said that they would give it some thought. He said that the plant and the process would meet minimum standards. Ms. Copeland asked how the water would be labeled. She said that some types of bottled water with certain labels were regulated and some were not. The representative from USA Springs said that they
did not know yet. Mr. Smith asked what needed to come next on this application. Mr. Soltani said that the Planning Board should give the applicant a punch list. He said that the applicant would like to get this to finality. Mr. Smith said that the Planning Board should get together with the Conservation Commission.
Mr. Curry made a motion that the Planning Board do a site walk of the USA Springs property.
Mr. Soltani said that the applicant was concerned about having the public on a site walk. He said that they had security concerns. Mr. Teague said that the Planning Board could have a police officer at the site walk. He said that they would not allow disorderly conduct or trespass. Mr. Curry asked if the applicant would be willing to allow people if there was a police officer there. Mr. Soltani said yes.
Mr. Gerald Lalonde said that there was an editorial on Page 3B of the newspaper that everyone should read.
Mr. Curry made a motion that the Planning Board conduct a site walk of the USA Springs property on June 11, 2005 at 2:00pm. Mr. Caron seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Seaverns noted that the site walk should include the wetlands and anything else of interest on the plan. Mr. Soltani said that the applicant understood that and it was not necessary to amend the motion to reflect it. The representative from USA Springs said that the applicant would like to get all the issues to a level of finality so they could be addressed.
Mr. Smith said that the next USA Springs public hearing would be July 13, 2005 at 7:15pm and there would be a workshop for the Planning Board to talk to their experts on June 16, 2005 at 7:00pm.
Mr. Caron made a motion that the Planning Board have a workshop on June 16, 2005 at 7:00pm to discuss USA Springs with their experts. Mr. Curry seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Curry said that earlier it had been agreed that there was going to be a trilateral agreement for payments. He said that some payments were delinquent. Mr. Soltani said that the applicant had paid over $30,000 to Planning Board experts. Mr. Smith said that there would be a condition if this was approved regarding water quality monitoring.
Mr. Caron made a motion that the Planning Board ask the applicant to prepare a preliminary water quality monitoring program. Mr. Curry seconded the motion.
Ms. Bonser asked what would happen if something happened. Mr. Smith said that was part of the reason for the testing. Ms. Copeland said that she had done conditions like these before. She said that she was willing to come up with a structure. The Planning Board agreed.
The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Curry made a motion to recess the USA Springs public hearing until July 13, 2005 at 7:15pm. Mr. Caron seconded the motion. All present members of the Planning Board voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
OTHER BUSINESS:
At 11:00pm the Planning Board discussed a letter from Mr. Joe Falzone regarding a bridge in one of his subdivisions. Mr Caron explained the history of this case to the other Board members.
MINUTES:
Mr. Curry made a motion to approve the minutes from the Planning Board meeting on May 2, 2005 as written. Mr. Gylfphe seconded that motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Gylfphe made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 11:10pm. Mr. Caron seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Tivnan
Planning Board Secretary
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