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Foxborough panel confirms Amtrak right-of-way boundaries in positive 2A determination
Summary
The Conservation Commission issued a positive 2A determination confirming resource-area boundaries for Amtrak’s renewed vegetation management plan along railroad rights-of-way; commissioners noted the determination binds boundary locations for the VMP but annual operational plans permit public comment.
The Foxborough Conservation Commission on May 18 issued a positive 2A determination confirming the boundaries of wetland resource areas as shown on Amtrak’s submitted maps of the railroad right-of-way.
Tom Lewis, representing Amtrak, told the commission the company is renewing its vegetation management plan (VMP) and submitted maps showing the right-of-way that runs from Mansfield into Sharon. He said rail vegetation is managed under state rights-of-way regulations (333 CMR 10.00) administered by the Department of Agricultural Resources, and that MassGIS data layers were used to identify wetlands, water-supply protection zones and priority habitat areas.
Lewis noted one Zone 2 groundwater protection area shown on the map had shrunk since the last cycle; he said most data layers are derived from MassGIS. Commissioners asked whether a positive determination would bind future actions; staff clarified that a 2A confirmation fixes the resource boundary for the life of the VMP but that the annual operational plan provides a yearly opportunity for public comment and requests for change. A motion to issue the positive 2A determination carried with one member recorded as opposed.
Lewis told the commission he will submit a similar filing for the Framingham line (toward Walpole) in the coming week. The determination confirms the boundaries that Amtrak and regulators will use as the company implements its vegetation-management activities under state rights-of-way rules.
