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Torrington wetlands commission approves AJK LLC permit with erosion controls and 15-foot buffer
Summary
The commission approved wetlands permit WP-25-12 for AJK LLC at 3350 Winstead Road to continue material recycling operations in the upland review area with standard conditions, riprap/check-dam work and a 15-foot buffer delineated by boulders or similar barriers.
The City of Torrington Inland Wetlands Commission on July 1 approved a wetlands permit allowing AJK LLC to continue existing material recycling operations at 3350 Winstead Road, contingent on conditions intended to limit runoff and protect adjacent wetlands.
The permit (WP-25-12) was approved after the applicant’s attorney and wetland professionals described recent site visits and recommended corrective measures. Attorney David Sherwood, representing AJK LLC, told the commission that staff visits in November 2024 and May 2025 found only “very minor activity within inland wetlands” and minor activity within the upland review area. Sherwood said the applicant will not expand operations, will not clear trees, and intends to implement measures recommended by the wetland scientist and city staff.
The commission’s action follows a memorandum from the applicant’s wetland scientist and staff site visits that identified two primary areas needing attention: (1) a swale that discharges into the wetland where staff recommended lining the swale with rock and installing stone check dams to slow runoff and control sediment, and (2) an existing linear rock stockpile (a berm) along the easterly side of the northerly pond that staff agreed should remain because it functions as a sediment barrier. David Sherwood said the berm “is acting as a sediment barrier to prevent the sediment from running into the pond.”
The permit includes the 11 standard conditions the commission applies to inland wetlands permits and several additional, project-specific conditions: installation of riprap and a stone check dam to control concentrated runoff in the identified swale; retaining and improving the rock berm that protects the northerly pond; posting surveyed wetland boundary markers adjacent to active operations with design and spacing to be approved by the wetlands enforcement officer; addition of stone to an existing dirt swale nearest the permanent barrier; and a 15-foot buffer between pond edges and equipment storage to be delineated with boulders or similar barriers. Staff also recommended conditioning final approval on receipt of any required comments from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) relating to the site’s natural diversity database record.
Commissioners discussed an on-site gasoline-powered pump located in a material storage area and confirmed it is used to fill a tank truck for dust control; applicant operations staff estimated no more than about 1,000 gallons per week would be pumped for dust suppression and that water would ultimately return to the pond.
The commission voted to approve the permit by voice vote; the motion carried. The approval was conditioned on implementing the easement of measures described above and on coordination with the wetlands enforcement officer prior to any expansion of activity.
