MINUTES
OLD LYME INLAND WETLANDS AND WATERCOURSES COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MARCH 22, 2016
PRESENT WERE: Skip DiCamillo, Dave McCulloch, Tom Machnik, Evan Griswold, Gary Gregory, and Victoria Fallon.
MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING DATED JANUARY 26, 2015
Dave McCulloch made a motion to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes dated January 26, 2015. Tom Machnik seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
15-17 PETER MACHNIK – 131 MILE CREEK ROAD – INSTALLATION OF A 400 FT. PROPOSED GRAVEL DRIVEWAY.
Peter Machnik stated he was currently in the process of building a home on Mile Creek Road. He stated the access to his parcel requires the crossing of an intermittent waterway with a gravel drive. The commission reviewed the plan submitted with the application as well of photographs of the area.
The commission agreed to set a site walk for Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.
15-18 KEVIN CANNING – 76 GRASSY HILL ROAD – PROPOSED ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE REGULATED AREA.
The builder reviewed the proposal with the commission. The commission also asked the applicant to stake the area to be improved.
The commission set a site walk for Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 6:00 p.m.
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15-19 JOHN MESSER – 12 SUNSET DRIVE – PROPOSED ADDITION WITHIN THE REGULATED AREA.
The commission reviewed the drawing submitted with the application. It was noted the improvement was not any closer to the upland review area than the existing home.
The commission agreed to set a site walk for Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.
REFERRAL – ROGERS LAKE PERMIT – AQUATIC HERBICIDE APPLICATION
Skip DiCamillo reported that he had spoke with Attorney Cassella and he feels that this application does fall under the jurisdiction of the Inland Wetlands Commission, however he would be doing some further investigation into this matter to be sure. DiCamillo stated if it is confirmed to be under this commission’s jurisdiction a permit application will be required.
Selectmen Reemsnyder stated she did not invite New England Environmental. She noted the commission has received a copy of the application that was submitted to the DEEP. She stated her understanding is that the DEEP reviews the application and they can either deny, approve or approve with conditions. She stated at this point it is difficult to know the details of what the permit will ultimately be until the DEEP’s review is complete.
Reemsnyder stated she had read the memo from Stanley Kolber indicating he had some concerns about downstream effects. She stated one of the conditions that has been discussed is that they may be require the water level be lowered and the gate closed preventing any water from traveling downstream. She further stated one of the reasons this herbicide was chosen is because it does have the shortest half life and is the least toxic of any of the herbicides. She stated the town is very concerned about the environment and the impact. She also noted that the DEEP may stipulate that this application can only be applied in certain areas.
DiCamillo stated he just wanted the commission to be aware of this permit. He asked if there were any timelines for the project. Reemsnyder stated the request was to do the application in June, but also noted they hoped to do it last summer and because of the response from the Natural Diversity
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Database the town had to submit information to that agency and wait for their response. She noted when they did respond they did come up with some special concerns such as the pond mussels so a survey was required which delayed the project.
Reemsnyder therefore stated until the parameters of the permit are known, it is difficult to have a timeline. She stated if this is delayed much past July the application may not even be done this year. DiCamillo asked who does the application. Reemsnyder stated it would go out to bid. DiCamillo asked if any flow studies of the lake had been done. Reemsnyders stated they had not because the dam can be closed off and the flow stopped. She also noted the fish ladder is closed off in the Spring.
Gary Gregory expressed concern that weather could impact the application. Reemsnyder noted this application would be done once per year. She said it will not continuously be applied. She stated they hoped it would take care of the weeds in targeted areas that are a concern for safety and recreational areas where people are in the water. She further stated she thought the DEEP would require notification. She stated because this application is the least toxic of any herbicide that can be used it is expected that it will have to be repeated each year. She noted this application is specifically targeting the invasive and noted they are not doing anything with pond lilies. She stated the plan is not to do hydro-raking for a couple of reasons because you have to have an area where you can put the spoils and have it
dry and then remove it. She noted the pond lilies are not an invasive species and are natural to the area.
McCulloch asked about the use of mats in the lake. Reemsnyder explained while they are effective it is a limited area and they are difficult to work with and a lot of labor for very small areas.
Reemsnyders stated the residents of the lake feel there values have been negatively impacted because of the weeds. She stated the town has tried the harvesting and suction harvesting which had a negative impact and it is believed to have spread the seeds around. Reemsnyder stated while no one is thrilled about the idea of herbicides it is a balance of careful planning and a concern for safety and economics.
Griswold asked if there has been any education done with the Rogers Lake area about how to keep nitrogen out of the lake. Evan Griswold stated it
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was mostly from substandard septic systems that allow nitrogen to flow into the lake.
Reemsnyder stated there has been education on that point but the water quality testing has shown that they are not finding a lot of septic systems that are flowing into the lake. They believe that a lot of the problem is surface water going in and bringing in the fertilizers from the lawn. She stated the water quality monitoring indicated that it is a very healthy lake that is why the weeds are surviving so well. She noted that there is a lot of silt at the bottom of the lake and it would be nice to dredge but the cost is prohibitive and would change the dynamic of the lake. She stated they are continuing to do water quality monitoring.
Griswold stated this commission requires vegetative buffers whenever there is a lakeside application which helps filter the runoff into the lake.
Reemsnyder stated they are also considering doing an EPA Nine Element Watershed Study which would really help understand where all the water is coming from that flows into the lake and how it impacts the downstream. She further noted it is an expensive process.
DiCamillo asked if this application had been used in other lakes in Connecticut. Reemsnyder indicated there are many lakes that have used this application and had success with addressing the issue of weeds without doing any harm.
DiCamillo noted for the record the commission received a Memorandum dated March 17, 2016 from Stanley M. Kolber regarding the Rogers Lake Proposed Pesticide Use. The memo will be attached to the minutes.
Respectfully submitted,
Kim Groves
NOTICE: Messages to or from the Town of Old Lyme domain are subject to the Freedom of Information statutes and regulations.
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