Salem Conservation Commission
Minutes of Meeting
Date and Time: Thursday, April 22, 2010, 6:00 pm
Meeting Location: Third Floor Conference Room, City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street, Salem, Massachusetts
Members Present: Amy Hamilton, Dan Ricciarelli, Chairman David Pabich, Michael Blier, Carole McCauley
Members Absent: Rebecca Christie, Julia Knisel
Others Present: Carey Duques, Conservation Agent
Recorder: Stacy Kilb
Chairman Pabich called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm
1. Approval of Meeting Minutes—April 8, 2010
Ricciarelli made a motion to approve the meeting minutes, seconded by Hamilton, approved unanimously.
- Public Hearing—Notice of Intent—Hess Gas Station—Amerada Hess Corporation, 1 Hess Plaza, Woodbridge, NJ 07095. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the construction of a ten foot wide concrete walkway along the South River seawall within a Riverfront Area and Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flowage behind the Hess Gas Station located at 295 Derby Street.
Lucien (Luke) DiStefano, P.E. from Bohler Engineering introduced himself and Andy Lautenbacher from Hess Corporation for the record. Prior to presenting the proposed project to the Commission, DiStefano gave the Commission a brief history of the site and the rational of why he is back before the Commission. All work from the Hess Express Building to Derby Street was completed, but the proposed Harborwalk behind the building to the South River was not done because at the time the City’s Harborwalk plans were in their infancy, and the City standard was not determined at that time, so Hess was told to wait until the City has finalized design of the Harborwalk so that they can mirror those specification, pursuant to their Chapter 91 License and the City of Salem’s Municipal Harbor Plan. DiStefano continued to explain that their original Order of Conditions #64-336, which included the construction of a Harborwalk, had expired. He stated that the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) sent Hess a Consent Order a couple months ago, which spelled out several violations of their Chapter 91 License, which they must come into compliance with or risk being levied fines. The construction of a public accessway pursuant to the City of Salem’s specifications was one of those items. Upon receipt of the DEP Consent Order, Hess contacted the City of Salem for the specifications. At that time, the City of Salem was currently constructing the South River Harborwalk on the southern and western banks of the river and all the construction details were forwarded to Hess.
DiStefano explained that the City’s specifications detailed that the Harborwalk must be at least 10 feet wide, concrete accessway, with a 10 feet wide landscaping buffer, include city standard lighting, city standard benches, city standard entrance sign, city standard railing, and city standard solar powered trash receptacles. Additionally, the City and required Hess to build the Harborwalk at a specified elevation in carry the existing Harborwalk behind Beverly Cooperative Bank along the northern side of the South River to their property and meet ADA Compliance.
DiStefano explained that Hess is filing a new Notice of Intent for this work because the old Order of Conditions expired on June 2005 and was never extended He stated that Hess will be asking for a Certificate of Compliance later tonight for the completion of all the site work under the old Order, except for the Harborwalk.
Blier asks about the location of the walkway, which will be flush with the wall on top of the existing bulkhead. Chairman Pabich asks about the top of wall being at elevation 6.3 NGVD datum but the proposal being for a height of 8.7 NGVD datum.
DiStefano explained that the City initially asked Hess to set the elevation at 10.4 NGVD, but there was resistance on the part of Hess because it was a cost they did not anticipate. Ultimately DEP Waterways stepped in and determined that at a minimum Hess must build the Harborwalk at elevation 8.7, or meet the elevation of the two abutting properties.
Chairman Pabich pointed out that Hess needs to raise the elevation also because the top of the seawall is underwater during most high tide cycles, and the Harborwalk must be build about the high tide line, let alone the flood elevation level.
Chairman Pabich wants an explanation of the exact work to be done. Mr. DiStefano says he doesn’t have all the details yet. Hess prefers to work with City to determine the best method of construction. Chairman Pabich stated that the Commission needs to review and approve the construction details before the Commission can issue an Order of Conditions.
DiStefano stated that Hess has limited time under the DEP Consent Order to complete the construction (by Sept. 24) so he would like to expedite the permitting process if possible, and working out the construction details after the fact, or contingent to approval.
Chairman Pabich says they can’t condition the project properly without the construction details along the seaward face of the seawall because the details are integral to the actual work that will be done and the Commission can’t determine how such activity will impact the resource. Blier points out that ongoing construction of similar details is happening on the other side by the City’s contractors. Chairman Pabich says if they plan to use the same techniques, unless something else is proposed, the Commission would be satisfied.
Chairman Pabich recognized Frank Taormina, Harbor Coordinator for the City of Salem, and asked him to explain how the construction of the City’s Harborwalk is being performed relative to the seaward face of the seawall. He explained the details to the Commission.
DiStefano says the original plan called for the Harborwalk to be built outside of the capstone, adjacent to the soil, but now the City has mandated a change of lifting the site up by 3’. This will involve more cost; he doesn’t think anyone knows the best way to do it right now.
Chairman Pabich stated that Hess has to come up with the solution and ensure that it will be structurally safe, as this will be a public accessway. He asked Hess to hire a structural engineer to look into the best way to address this issue and report back to the Committee at the next meeting, which isn’t for three more weeks.
DiStefano reiterated Hess’s time constraints, as well as his desire to work with Commission.
Taormina has similar concerns. For example, how will the raised fill be retained? Will it be retained by the raised concrete walkway or will the seawall be raised in order to retain the material? DiStefano says that they have not determined what the best option is yet.
Ricciarelli asks what changed between 2002 and now? Taormina stated that plans were basically the same; it just lacked the City standard design elements. He stated that Hess’s Chapter 91 License states that Hess must build the Harborwalk to the City’s specifications. The City’ Harborwalk is at a consistent elevation so that it is ADA compliant, and can be accessed and enjoyed by all people including people with disabilities. Hess’s property is significantly lower than all the surrounding properties. As part of the City’s specification, the City required Hess to raise their elevation so that the public accessway which they are required to build under their Chapter 91 License for building a non-water dependant use on Commonwealth filled tideland achieves a
less than 5% slope to meet ADA regulations.
Chairman Pabich asked about the interface of Hess’s Harborwalk with the east and west abutting lots?
DiStefano answers that the elevation on the eastern side does not have to be raised much, while the western side the property dips and Hess will have to raise their elevation 2 to 3 feet in order to make up the elevation difference. He stated that on the eastern side, Hess will install a 6-foot high black chain link fence, and on the western side the walkway will dead end at the existing chain link fence – it is a walkway to no where.
Blier asks Taormina about finished grade on either side; the latter reiterates that they must match the existing grades of abutting properties. He outlines the various heights of other properties abutting and how much they need to raise this property for ADA compliance. Taormina stated that the western and eastern abutting properties will have to both do some site grading, either filling slightly or removing some material.
Chairman Pabich asks if they plan to grub and fill. If you do will any materials will be taken offsite. Mr. DiStefano option is that there will probably not be a lot of material, as it was removed during original construction.
Chairman Pabich says that there are two parts, construction and grading, and thinks that both are lacking in detail. He recommends a site visit and wants Hess to come before the Commission again with more details. He reminds them that they can’t do the construction without details so why not put them together now and satisfy the Commission’s request?
DiStefano stated that Hess doesn’t agree with all of the City’s modifications because they result in major site work which equals more cost for his client. But they know that they have to get through the permitting process soon so that they allot themselves enough time to finish construction prior to the deadline, or they will be levied fines from the State DEP.
Chairman Pabich reiterated that Hess have to have this work done anyway and you are under a strict timeline, why don’t you do the construction details now, then we can help expedite the approve process. Mr. DiStefano says he will talk to his client to determine if they want to hire a structural engineer to look into this.
Blier says it seems like the right strategy, but it would behoove everyone on both sides to have details. They need a professional to look at it.
Ricciarelli points out that a profile sketch from a structural engineer would take a week at most to put together and they have three weeks before the next meeting. It seems very plausible that they can get the Commission what it needs to properly review and condition the approval of the project.
McCauley also approves of the overall project but agrees that more details are needed.
Chairman Pabich proposes to continue discussion to the next meeting (May 13th) and requests that Hess gets work on getting the additional info to the Commission prior to the next meeting.
Duques asks if they’ve contacted North Shore Marine, who are currently constructing the City’s Harborwalk? Mr. DiStefano says he will look into it. They may wind up requesting a modification to the design eventually anyway, but Chairman Pabich points out that there is currently no design.
Mr. DiStefano describes the processes of building up the wall vs. reinforcing it – they’d rather not as it create more cost; if it runs way over they may need to modify the plan. Blier says he would like to see a cross-section from a structural engineer. Chairman Pabich agrees.
Chairman Pabich stated that he would like to continue the item and set a site visit to view the property more closely. Duques added that DEP has not issued a DEP number yet so the Commission cannot close the item without one anyway.
Blier motions to continue to May 13th, and is seconded by McCauley . The motion passes 5-0. Chairman Pabich schedules a site visit for 5PM on the May 13th.
There being no more question from the Commission, Chairman Pabich opened the item for public comment. No public comments were taken.
- Request for a Certificate of Compliance—295 Derby Street—DEP #64-336
Duques recommends issuing a complete Certificate, noting that the Harborwalk is not finished, but all the other site work was completed satisfactorily. The original Order expired in 2005 and no work was done after that. Discussion regarding the timing and matter of the expired Order ensued.
Ricciarelli made a motion to issue a full Certificate of Compliance, seconded by Blier and approved unanimously.
- Emergency Certificate for work on National Grid’s property along the beach at Collins Cove off of Pierce and Waite Streets.
Ken Lento, LSP of record for this site, and Project Manager presented with Jason Naiden, Mark Denson, and Mark Mahoney from National Grid.
This will be a beach cleaning effort; originally National Grid had received a Negative determination, and the beaches were fine previously, but recent storms have unearthed additional materials. Mr. Denson presents a printout of the site and passes around photos of the material there.
As seasons change and sediments migrate, the fill is concentrated at the ground surface, as is the material. National Grid wants to clear it up before summer sedimentation sets in, hence the request for an emergency certificate. They plan to remove material with minimal disturbance to the beach. He describes the process, which is to record the current state of the beach, filter the sand, dispose of materials that don’t belong there, then survey again to compare the pre-and post-construction shape of beach. They will also make a determination if more needs to be done, as well as keep an inventory of all materials removed both short- and long-term, and replace them if necessary. Eventually they want to dig down and remove deeper material to resolve the matter
permanently, but that will happen at a later date.
Chairman Pabich asks how the material will be moved from the marsh grasses. Denson says it will be raked/picked up by hand. Chairman Pabich approves.
Duques asks if they will follow up with a Notice of Intent (NOI) or a Request for Determination of Applicability (RDA). Mark says he will file whatever the Commission requests – it will depend on how much material they need to remove. Chairman Pabich says if they want to do it more a Notice of Intent would be required. Mr. Lento says they will evaluate whether a permanent fix is needed so they don’t have to repeat this process again.
McCauley asks about the material – it’s a by-product of the gasification process, and includes hard coal tar, asphalt and generally a mix of materials. It is a threat to public welfare because of access – a nuisance condition. McCauley asks if the public has access - they do – although some property owners own a portion which would not be accessed, but the general public does have beach access. Mark says National Grid is filing a Release Abatement plan now.
Chairman Pabich clarifies that all equipment will be stored outside the buffer zone. Lento says they will start on May 3rd and finish in five days (the process is labor intensive because of the small size of the equipment used).
Chairman Pabich asked for a motion to issue an Emergency Certification to National Grid to restore and stabilize the coastal bank and coastal beach. Motion was made by McCauley and seconded by Blier, and approved unanimously.
- Request for a Certificate of Compliance DEP #64-450 – 6 Dearborn Lane
Lenny Papalardo was issued an extension, then he was going to report it and asked if he could request a Certificate since all he had to do was add on railings - the project is still not complete, but the addition of railings will not affect the resource area at all.
Hamilton made a motion to issue a full Certificate of Compliance, seconded by Ricciarelli, and approved unanimously.
Other Old/New Business
Chairman Pabich stated that this will be Conservation Agent Carey Duques’s last meeting with the Commission, as she accepted a position with the City of Medford. The Chairman stated that she will be greatly missed and thanked her for all her help over the years. Carey Duques thanked the Commission for all of their hard work and endless hours they devoted and continue to devote toward protecting Salem’s wetlands and waterways.
There being no more business before the Commission, the Chairman asked for a motion to adjourn. Ricciarelli made a motion to close the public meeting, seconded by Hamilton, and passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Stacy Kilb,
Conservation Commission Clerk
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