Commission continues enforcement order on Sludge Lane Fill pending review of DPW and DEP reports

The Conservation Commission voted July 14 to continue an enforcement order concerning the Sludge Lane Fill to its next regular meeting so commissioners could review newly provided reports. Justin, the commission’s conservation agent, said he had received a current list of reports from the DPW director late in the day and had circulated them to commission members but had not had time for a full review.

Commission members noted the new materials include additional testing and retesting covering 2023 through 2025, with some documents dated as recently as the Monday before the meeting. One commissioner observed handwritten notes and initials in the report margins that appear to be to‑do annotations; Justin and another commissioner said some margin notes indicate actions such as “swales need to be cut” and later “swales were cut,” and that the material needs formatting and additional detail before the commission can draw conclusions.

The commission made a motion, seconded and approved to continue the enforcement order matter for further review. The commission asked members to read the full set of reports in advance; Justin offered to draft a summary for the next meeting. Commissioners also agreed to set up a follow‑up call among staff to go over the materials prior to the scheduled meeting.

No new enforcement remedies or formal penalties were adopted at the meeting; the action was strictly to continue the matter and gather more information for a detailed discussion at the next meeting.