Salem Conservation Commission
Minutes of Meeting
Date and Time: Thursday, October 11, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: Third Floor Conference Room, City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street
Members Present: Chairperson Kevin Cornacchio, Michael Blier, Keith Glidden, Amy Hamilton
Members Absent: Joseph Furnari, David Pabich, David Summer
Others Present: Carey Duques, Conservation Agent
Recorder: Andrea Bray
Chairperson Cornacchio calls the meeting to order.
1. Approval of Minutes – September 13 and 27 Meetings
Glidden: Motion to table the approval of the minutes until the October 25 meeting, seconded by Hamilton. (Passes 4-0)
2. Continuation of a Public Hearing – Notice of Intent – DEP #64-461 – 485 Lafayette Street, Salem, Former Chadwick Lead Mills Site
Cornacchio reads the legal public hearing notice which states that the purpose of this hearing is to discuss remediation of site including marsh, coastal beach, land under the ocean, coastal bank, and land subject to flooding.
The members read the letter dated October 9, 2007 from Woodard & Curran.
Cornacchio states that Hamilton missed the previous hearing but she listened to the tape of the hearing and signed an affidavit, which qualifies her to vote on this issue per the Mullin Rule.
Daniel Garson of Woodard & Curran overviews the previous correspondences to the Commission. He thanks the Commission for its attention and diligence in this matter. He reviews all of the specific comments from the Epsilon letter and his responses.
Duques questions why a seed mix is proposed for the planting plan on the upland area as opposed to planting woody shrubs.
Garson states that the appropriate place for those shrubs would be the banks and they will not be working there now. He adds that the purpose of the plants is to stabilize the site and the soil and the seeds will grow up quickly and it is not necessary or appropriate to put in plants.
John Thompson, LSP for National Lead states that closure testing will be required and this will show if it is stabilized.
Duques asks for status of the Army Corp permit.
Garson states that the Army Corp permit is being reviewed, and the DEP permits have just gone in and Marblehead has just begun its hearing. He adds that he expects to have his permits completed and in place by the end of the year so they might begin the project in October of 2008.
Cornacchio states that Epsilon did a great job and Garson’s response was very thorough.
Attorney Heather Kennealy asks if a phase three permit has been submitted.
LSP John Thompson states that it will be several months before the submission.
Kennealy states that her firm has submitted written comments in the past and she stands behind that. She adds that she is happy with the review and the plan is now much better and stronger, and she looks forward to the Phase 3. She states that her boss Mike Roberts might wish to comment on this response from Woodard & Curran, which she has just received today.
Glidden: Motion to close the public hearing, seconded by Hamilton. (Passes 4-0)
Duques recommends that the Commission adopt the special conditions listed in the Epsilon review. She adds that there should be a pre-construction briefing.
Glidden recommends that they meet with Duques for a pre-construction review.
Duques says they should issue the Order of Conditions for a five-year period instead of a three-year period.
Glidden: Motion to issue an Order of Conditions with the above mentioned conditions, seconded by Hamilton. (Passes 4-0)
Garson thanks the Commission for its hard work.
Old/New Business
3. Discussion and Vote for Special Conditions for DEP #64-343 – Town and Country Homes, 532 Lowell Street, Peabody, MA 01960 – Relating to the Chapel Hill sub division
Attorney Kelty states that the Special Conditions document addresses all of the concerns that had been discussed. He suggests some amendments to the language and the Commission agrees to these.
Glidden: Motion to approve these Special Conditions, seconded by Hamilton. (Passes 4-0)
Cornacchio confirms that Hamilton was not present for the September 13 and 27 meetings but she listened to tapes of the hearings and signed an affidavit, which qualifies her to vote on this issue per the Mullin Rule.
4. Request for a Certificate of Compliance, DEP # 64-400 - City of Salem, Salem Ferry Pier – Installation of water line, electrical conduits, and fuel line and associated components
Cornacchio states that there was a fuel leak there.
Duques states that the leak was caused because they hadn’t installed the emergency valve but it has been taken care of. She recommends issuing the Certificate of Compliance.
Hamilton: Motion to issue a Certificate of Compliance, seconded by Glidden. (Passes 4-0)
5. Notice of Project Change, #64-442 – Uncle Bob’s Storage, 435 Highland Ave – Proposal to install sponge technologies in catch basins instead of oil and grease hoods
Cornacchio describes the oil and grease hood as lower than the water level allowing the good water to find its way while the oil and grease remain to top of the water level in the catch basin.
Duques states that she reviewed the advantages and disadvantages and found some ambiguity regarding the disposal of the sponge.
Cornacchio states that the sponge can be disposed in the regular trash if it doesn’t leak oil after one squeeze.
Glidden asks about maintenance of these catch basins and suggests implementing an inspection schedule for ongoing compliance.
Duques agrees to look into this.
Duques states that the applicant is requesting a Notice of Project Change.
Glidden suggests waiting for Pabich to look at this prior to approval.
Glidden: Motion to table this until the October 25 meeting, seconded by Blier. (Passes 4-0)
Duques says that Scott Patrowitz asked for a pre-filing of an NOI.
Glidden says that this would set a dangerous precedent and the members agree.
Glidden: Motion to adjourn, seconded by Hamilton. (Passes 4-0)
The meeting is adjourned at 8:00 PM.
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