Milford wetlands hearing continues after experts dispute permeable-paver stormwater claims

The Milford Inland Wetlands Agency on Oct. 15 closed public comment on a continued public hearing for IW-25003634 (34 Buick Avenue) but left deliberations open, after engineers, wetland scientists and neighbors debated whether the project's permeable-paver parking system and a proposed roadside biofiltration basin would actually treat stormwater pollutants before they reach nearby wetlands and Stubby Plain Brook.

The applicant team, represented at the hearing by attorney Kevin Crusading and engineer Robert Weway, presented revised design details and said the proposed systems meet the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) stormwater-quality manual requirements for retention. "This is not a complex system," said Robert Weway, professional engineer, describing the paver cells as a stone reservoir with perforated pipes and inspection ports. Weway also said the project's infiltration testing produced conservative design values: "for the 7 tests, there was an average infiltration rate of 14 inches per hour" while routing used 0.4 inches per hour, a difference he described as producing a conservative design.

Why it matters: Neighbors and outside experts told the agency the revised plan may not prevent pollutant loads from reaching the wetland. "Simply detaining the water quality volume...doesn't automatically mean that nonpoint source pollutants will be removed," said Joel Green, attorney for neighboring property owners, citing…