TOWN OF RUTLAND
CONSERVATION COMMISSION
MINUTES: MARCH 3, 2015
MEETING OPENED: 7:02 PM
Attendance
Board Members Present: Joe Dell’Aquila, Chairman; Willard Cannon; Scott Landgren; Shawn Moore; Eric Bigelow; Peter Craine
Board Members Absent: Nancy Nichols
Guests
Jennifer Howald, DCR; Norman Hill; Anthony Cleaves; Paul Swan; Mark Elbag; John Gwyther; Ann Gwyther; Allan Klamp
Application Submissions
Notice of Intent, Golden Hill Solar Project, Swartz Avenue
Votes
Minutes from February 17, 2015 – Motion to approve minutes made by Shawn, seconded by Scott; vote unanimous at 7:03 PM.
Order of Conditions, Bear Hill, 26 Grizzly Drive – Motion to sign made by Scott, seconded by Peter; vote unanimous at 7:07 PM.
Order of Conditions, J. M. Soucy Contracting, Lot 1, Main Street – Motion to sign made by Shawn, seconded by Willard; vote unanimous at 7:08 PM.
Order of Conditions, J. M. Soucy Contracting, Lot 2, Main Street – Motion to sign made by Willard, seconded by Peter; vote unanimous at 7:10 PM.
Motion to sign Negative Determination of Applicability – Motion made by Shawn, seconded by Scott; vote unanimous at 7:45 PM.
Motion to close meeting – Motion made by Shawn, seconded by Peter; vote unanimous at 8:22 PM.
Hearings
Notice of Intent, Demond Pond Association, DEP #277-0450
Hearing opened at 7:13 PM. Green cards received. Norman Hill spoke to Jeff Lacy, DCR and said that he needs a variance; because of this they would like to continue until May. Joe let him know that we can still issue an Order of Conditions and we don’t have to wait until the variance is taken care of. Our Order states that all permits necessary must be completed and received prior to work. Norman said in that case he would like to move forward and not continue until May.
Milfoil comes to the surface and that is how the seeds spread. They are going to train how to harvest the weeds and they will be watched by Board Members of the Association to make sure they do it properly. For disposal they will be asked to dispose them at least 100 feet or more away from the lake and into the woods. This weed could kill all the fish. The boat ramp is a major area of growth for the milfoil and that is helping the milfoil to multiply.
They will be putting a chemical in the lake in June of every year to knock it back and then harvest and get rid of it for good. If they draw down the lake it would be done in November and it wouldn’t be more than 3 feet draw down total, and they would stop drawing it down in January. They are asking for a 5 year permit. Joe explained that we can only do 3 year permits, but they can ask for extensions. The chemical will dissipate after a couple of days.
Shawn asked if the seeds would float to other areas and Norman said they do float for a time and then drop. Willard asked when they seed and Norman said around August. Shawn asked about smell, and Norman said there should not be a smell. If they draw down the lake it would clear a few acres which would save them on cost. Norman would like to hire Lycott in June. Lycott would put up signs for no swimming, no boating, etc. State of Massachusetts owns the dam (which is what the boat ramp really is). Motion to close hearing made by Willard, seconded by Scott; vote unanimous at 7:33 PM.
Discussions
Determination of Applicability, Kenwood Court
Anthony Cleaves from Whitman & Bingham came in to present. Most of the solar panels will be in the hayfield, over 350’ away from the wetlands and over 400’ away from the brooks. It will take approximately 8 acres, and no grades will be changing. Proposing low growth under the panels. Access drive will be off of Kenwood Court. Hay bales will be placed around the property as a precaution. There are electrical poles on Kenwood Court, but they have not decided on how they will get the power out yet. The entire system is just under 1 megawatt. The array itself may be closer to 6 acres. There is a perennial stream way out and is not anywhere near the project. They are meeting with Planning Board at their next meeting. They are completely out of the watershed. They are
going to try to plant trees to give it less visibility. There are no plans to change the actual topography. They haven’t decided who will do the work, but want to start as soon as they can.
Notice of Intent, Golden Hill Solar, Swartz Avenue
DEP File #277-0449. Allan Klamp, from Nexamp came to present. There are 114 acres off Pleasantdale Road on Swartz Avenue. There is a bordering vegetated wetland on the site. It will be a 6 megawatt solar array with 18,500 panels. Access road will be off Swartz Avenue and existing fields so there will be minimal clearing. They are not touching within 25’. No poles are there currently. There will be a small infiltration and basin to mitigate any grading.
They are meeting with Planning Board at the next meeting. Joe said that we would like to site walk the property and we would have a hard time with all the snow right now and wants to know when they are planning to start. They are looking to start in the summer. Joe asked if we could continue the Hearing to a further time so that we can do a site walk. Allan asked if pictures would be okay. Scott said that pictures are good but we would really need to physically see the property. Joe asked who needs our approval in order for them to continue with the permitting process. Allan suggested that if we could agree with the plans and give all our comments so that other groups would know where we stand on the project.
Scott said we can even condition the Order that we need to do the site walk. Joe said technically we can’t do that because we can’t close the hearing and then do the site walk. The property has already been flagged. There is an existing cart path, but they removed it from the plans because it was way too close to the wetlands. The property is in 61A but they are taking it out to do the solar panels. Hearing will be March 17, 2015 at 7:15 PM.
Reviewed Mail.
Respectfully Submitted,
Karen Wamback
Secretary
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