By Susan MacEachran

The Inland Wetlands Agency (Wetlands) meeting on June 3 included discussion and approval of work at a residence on Mountain Road, review of Great Mountain Forest (GMF) work plans, a truck accident impacting a brook and concern about spraying the phragmites in City Meadow and the impact on local bee populations. Wetlands chair Hartley Mead announced that Bill Millard would fill one of the two vacancies on the agency.

Haley DeMarchis, an environmental consultant from Tighe & Bond, representing homeowner Carlene Laughlin, presented an application for work at 305 Mountain Road. DeMarchis described the plans for 1,300 square feet of native plantings in wetlands and an additional 3,300 square feet of plantings and reconstruction of two outbuildings in the upland review area. In response to a question about how long the project is expected to take, DeMarchis said the plants are on site and would be planted as soon as the application is approved. Work on the two outbuildings is expected to take up to a year. The application was approved.  

Mead read a letter from Russell Russ, representing GMF, summarizing a meeting Russ had with Wetlands Enforcement Officer Karl Nilsen. Nilsen confirmed the letter was an accurate description of the meeting where anticipated GMF work was discussed, including the plan to replace a partially washed-out culvert on one of the forest trails. Nilsen said that he asked to be notified when work commenced so he could verify that erosion control measures were in place.

Mead described an accident on Route 182 involving a pickup truck that overturned, spilling engine fluids into a brook across the road from a pond at 114 Colebrook Road. Mead said the state police had put pads in the brook to absorb any harmful fluids and wondered if any action was expected from Wetlands. Nilsen said that if the state police felt it was beyond their capacity to manage that they would alert the Connecticut Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection, and no action is required by Wetlands. 

Wetlands member Jill Chase asked Nilsen if he knew when the town intends to spray the phragmites in City Meadow.  She expressed concern for the bees she is keeping and noted that bees can travel up to three miles from their hive. Chase said there have been instances where entire colonies have been killed from encountering spraying. Nilsen assured Chase that he was monitoring work in City Meadow and would make sure there was proper notification prior to spraying. Chase noted there were other beekeepers in the neighborhood whose bees might be at risk without prior notification.