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Conservation report: snub-dam removal switches to sandbag coffer dam; town to provide $130,000 match for Smelt Brook fish ladder
Summary
Staff reported snub-dam removal is under way with a revised diversion plan using a sandbag cofferdam rather than a pump; the commission was briefed on a Smelt Brook fish ladder project that will require a $130,000 town match (about 25% of the total) while the Army Corps would fund roughly 75%.
During the conservation report, staff told the commission that the snub-dam removal project has begun following a preconstruction meeting and that the contractor proposed changing the bypass approach from a pumped diversion to a sandbag coffer dam. Staff said the contractor raised concerns about pumps given the river’s shallow depth and turbidity risks and that the approved order contains a condition requiring commission approval for any change to the diversion plan.
Staff described the proposed sandbag coffer dam as a way to work on one side of the river in the dry, then divert flow and complete the other side, with turbidity curtains and downstream protections still in place. Staff stated Beals and Thomas, the project engineer/environmental scientist, supports the less-invasive approach.
On funding, the commission heard that the Smelt Brook fish ladder project is a joint initiative with a neighboring town and the Army Corps. Staff said, “It will go before the council, I believe, next Monday. It's a $130,000. That is the town's share of the match, combined with Braintree share. That makes up 25% of the project cost. The total project cost is over 1000000 dollars. The federal, army corps will cover that 75%, about $900,000.” The town’s $130,000 represents the local match portion; the Army Corps would provide the majority of construction funding.
Staff also updated the commission on other matters: a large planting effort (about 2,000 plants and roughly 30,000 beachgrass plugs) associated with the revetment work, the start of the LCI sewer replacement project in the Idowell neighborhood, ongoing Mill River study work and monitoring at Whitman’s Pond where a short-lived cyanobacteria bloom in mid-August has ended, and a notice-of-violation issued for wetland disturbance at 409 Columbian Street with remediation expected within a week.
Staff advised the commission that a previously denied project at 0 Green Street has been affected by the Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act and that a 6- or 7-lot subdivision proposal has resurfaced; some lots fall within commission jurisdiction and will require notices of intent and future public hearings.
