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Norwich OKs stormwater and upland controls for new Moriarty Elementary School; no direct wetland take
Summary
The commission approved plans for a new two‑story Moriarty Elementary School at 20 Lawler Lane after hearing engineers and wetland specialists describe underground detention, rain gardens and a 6,210‑square‑foot upland disturbance with zero direct wetland impact.
The Norwich Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approved an upland review application (IWWCC 25‑06) for a two‑story, roughly 81,600‑square‑foot replacement Moriarty Elementary School at 20 Lawler Lane. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the project with staff conditions and required plan revisions.
The design team told the commission the new facility will be built while the existing school remains operational and will serve about 550 pre‑K–5 students when complete. Consultants described a stormwater approach that reduces or matches existing peak runoff rates for the 2‑, 10‑, 25‑, 50‑ and 100‑year storms using an underground detention system, rain gardens and water‑quality features.
Megan Fogarty, project environmental scientist with SLR, told the commission the work in the upland review area totals about 6,210 square feet and that the project would cause "0 square feet" of direct wetland impact. SLR’s civil engineer said the design includes roughly 132 underground detention chambers with an isolator row and rain gardens to capture the first inch of runoff. The underground chambers and associated outlets are sized to convey the 100‑year storm, engineers told commissioners.
Commissioners and staff discussed construction staging because the existing school will remain in use during building. City engineering staff provided memo comments that the project team said they were addressing; staff asked that the memos be incorporated in the revised plan set. Dan Daniska, city engineer/wetlands agent, told the commission the proposed E&S measures met current expectations for protecting regulated resources.
The commission recorded a unanimous vote to approve IWWCC 25‑06 with staff notes. The motion required submission of revised plans addressing city engineer comments, routine E&S monitoring during construction and the inclusion of the E&S control details in the permit record.
The approval included standard follow up: revised plans to show responses to staff comments, monitoring and maintenance requirements for the stormwater features, and coordination on construction staging so school operations continue during construction.
Key technical notes supplied during the hearing: the site’s soils have limited infiltration capacity and groundwater is present, so the detention chambers are non‑infiltrative; the underground system includes pre‑treatment (hydrodynamic separator and isolator row) to remove floatables and the first flush of sediment and oils; rain gardens will serve both stormwater treatment and educational uses.
