Eye on Town Government

By Susan MacEachron

Richard Byrne, director of the Local Emergency Planning Committee, attended the Inland Wetlands Agency (Wetlands) meeting on Nov. 7 to provide an update on the Nov. 5 gasoline spill on Route 44.

Byrne described the ongoing work of digging out contaminated soil and drilling wells along Maple Ave. to monitor the situation. Excavated soil is being trucked to the town farm, adjacent to the transfer station, as a short-term storage location. He also noted that crews from Environmental Services Inc. are working at the intersection of Mills Way and Emerson St. to pump out contaminated water. Forty thousand gallons have been extracted so far. Byrne said there are many unanswered questions but noted that local emergency responders and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) have been on the scene since the accident.

The application to clear a pond at 280 Westside Road was resubmitted to Wetlands. Jesse Bunce, the contractor undertaking the work, explained the project. He expects to excavate 25 truckloads of material and said he will use a combination of silt fences and waddles to contain the muck removed from the pond. Once it has dried out and settled, Bunce will return to re-landscape. Hartley Mead, Wetlands chair, asked Bunce to produce a diagram to show the current status, the pond after clearing and the receiving area for the soil removed. 

Having determined that the project did not require a special permit, Wetlands approved it. Mead told Bunce he must provide the information requested before proceeding. 

Wetlands discussed the issue of the defoliant sprayed along Bruey Road, which had been raised at the previous two Wetlands meetings. The Wetlands notice of violation letter and the letter written by First Selectman Matt Riiska to the homeowner, Bart Wenrich, were read into the record. Wetlands members expressed the hope that Wenrich would be “civil” and provide his neighbors with the information as to what product he used.