Conservation commission grants negative determination for Tanner Street truck scale within wetland buffer

The Lowell Conservation Commission on Aug. 13 granted a Negative 3 determination to Max Levine Co. to install a truck scale at the rear of a building on Tanner Street, after engineers said the work would be within the 100-foot buffer zone of a wetland but outside the immediate wetland edge.

Commissioners heard from the project engineer, Brian Malissi, who said the proposed installation would sit on existing paved ground "just beyond 50 feet from the wetland" but inside the 100-foot buffer requiring commission approval. Malissi described the layout and operational reasons for placing the scale behind the building, adding, "It's more of a turning radius. So right now, there's a 30-foot scale with two 10-foot platforms ... and by the time you got to the end of that second platform, there wouldn't be enough room to turn."

The commission's approval came after discussion about existing site conditions and contamination controls. Malissi said the site has an asphalt cap and that project contractors had taken soil samples "to pre-characterize that for disposal," and that concrete footings would extend below the frost line. He said removed soil would be managed under the property's AUL and a mass-contingency plan, and that removed material would be either backfilled and repaved or backfilled with three feet of clean material to satisfy capping requirements.

A commissioner asked whether the proposed work would penetrate the cap; Malissi replied that the work would include concrete footings that go below frost depth and that the project team had coordinated with the party that manages the AUL. After those clarifications a commissioner moved to grant the Negative 3 determination and another commissioner seconded the motion. The commission voted in favor: "Aye. Aye. Aye." The motion was recorded as passed.

The commission's action is limited to the wetland-buffer determination recorded at the meeting. The transcript shows that the project team included representatives saying they had already sampled soils and would manage excavated material according to the AUL. The commission did not discuss or record additional permits (for example, building department approvals) as part of its vote; any other permits or approvals remain subject to the usual review processes.

Project contacts and firms identified during the presentation included Brian Malissi (engineer, Haley Ward Incorporated), Mark Levine and Dan Levine (representing Max Levine Co.), and James (Jim) Parker (LSP, listed in the presentation). The commission's motion to grant the Negative 3 determination concluded the item at the Aug. 13 meeting.