Community Corner
Conservation Commission: Kobyluck's Proposal Will Have Significant Impact
Due to the complexity of the proposal, the Conservation Commission voted to hire a third party to review Kobyluck's application.
Kobyluck was out of luck if it had been hoping for quick approval from the Conservation Commission last week.
to construct a stone processing facility at 28 Industrial Drive now measures about a foot high in terms of paperwork, commissioners were still left with questions about the timeline for the project and its overall environmental impact on the site.
“A breakdown on the impacts, that’s what we’d really like to see,” Waterford’s Environmental Planner Maureen Fitzgerald said. “There’s no discussion of any impacts, indirect or direct, during construction or after. It should be part of the application.”
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Commission members were not convinced by CLA Engineers’ soil scientist Robert Russo’s assurances that the project would have no negative impact in terms of water runoff that might lead to sediment in wetlands and soil erosion.
Russo went one step further to say the work involved in removing sediment from the stream to build the bridge needed by the project and the excavation of the site as a whole offered environmental benefits because would restore habitat and solve an ongoing erosion problem in the area.
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Either way, the commission members decided that “this is a significant impact activity.” As such, it will need to be given further consideration.
Third Party
The Commission also voted to hire a third party to analyze the application. This is the first time the Conservation Commission has voted to take this step but by state statute, it’s appropriate if an application is particularly complex.
“This is a complex application in my mind,” said Commission Chairman Gary Johnson.
Accordingly, the town will now issue a request for proposals in order to hire a third-party to review the permit. Specifically, the town is looking for a hydro-geologist to review the water flow issues and a wetland scientist to consider the impact of the project on the surrounding environment.
CLA Engineers offered to clear up some of the confusion expressed by commission members over the schedule for the project by writing up a simplified timeline. The next public meeting on the Kobyluck Brothers’ proposal is scheduled for January 26.
