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Eversource to remove unauthorized gravel, restore wetland at Boston Post Road substation; commission issues order
Summary
Eversource representatives told the Conservation Commission that a temporary gravel access placed without following emergency wetland procedures will be removed and the wetland restored; the commission approved the proposed restoration and mitigation plan and required monitoring.
Eversource and its environmental consultant told the Town of Sudbury Conservation Commission that gravel placed over geotextile fabric at the 163 Boston Post Road substation to enable emergency access to electrical infrastructure will be removed and the area restored.
David Hallowell of SWCA Environmental Consultants described how distribution crews put geotextile fabric and about a foot of gravel over a wetland area during an outage response last winter. The work was not carried out under the conservation office's emergency procedures and remained in place longer than intended. Hallowell said the company discovered the gravel during a delineation visit and coordinated with conservation staff to propose a restoration plan.
Eversource representative James Clancy said crews needed access to poles to restore power to roughly 700 customers during the outage. The contractor's proposed restoration includes removing the gravel and fabric, reusing suitable stone in the substation driveway and to build a small stone berm to control sediment, and restoring soils with wetland-appropriate material as needed. The plan calls for approximately 45 plantings — 15 silky dogwood, 15 highbush blueberry and 15 arrowwood — plus a wetland seed mix. Eversource also proposed invasive-species removal and longer-term invasive monitoring over an approximately 27,000-square-foot wetland area as mitigation.
Hallowell said a wetland scientist will be on-site during the removal and restoration work, and that the team will submit monitoring reports after completion and annually thereafter. Laurie, conservation staff, noted the proposed invasive removal across the larger wetland area as appropriate mitigation for this violation and asked staff to coordinate placement of shrubs so future utility maintenance could still proceed. The commission voted to issue the order of conditions for the restoration as drafted, with staff-specified reporting and monitoring requirements.
Eversource representatives said they will finalize logistics with town staff and keep the commission informed as the work proceeds. The commission asked the company to provide a schedule and contractor contact information before work begins.
