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Commission tables 15 Guinea Road remediation plan after finding limestone runoff and unauthorized wetland work
Summary
The Town of Sharon Inland Wetland & Watercourse Commission tabled consideration of work at 15 Guinea Road after finding extensive limestone runoff into neighboring properties and signs of unpermitted work in regulated wetlands. The commission required removal of the stockpile, additional expert reports and a revised permit application.
The Town of Sharon Inland Wetland & Watercourse Commission on April 13 tabled consideration of remediation plans for 15 Guinea Road after commissioners and the land use office found large amounts of limestone washing off the property and evidence of work within a regulated wetlands area.
Land Use Administrator Jamie Casey and Chairman Jim Krissel said a March 11 report prompted a site visit that identified “large amounts of limestone running off the property onto adjoining properties due to a thaw.” Chairman Jim Krissel stated the contractor who performed the work was no longer on site. Engineer Keith Bodwell, who attended the meeting, described the site’s history and proposed removing the limestone, placing clean fill and topsoil, seeding, and creating a rip-rap swale with correction to the existing swale.
Commission members pressed for alternatives to eliminating the existing pond, requested a detailed maintenance plan to prevent future runoff, and recommended additional experts be retained to advise on pond retention versus elimination. A member of the public, Dan Kallman, urged recusal by the chairman; Krissel responded that he is not an adjoining property owner and has previously recused himself on River Road matters but would not recuse for Guinea Road.
The commission moved (Robin Zitter and Larry Rand) to table the application to allow proper evaluation, require that the limestone stockpile be removed or secured, verify and replace erosion controls as needed, and have the owner retain additional experts such as wetland soil scientist Tom Stansfield and a representative from the NW Conservation District. The motion carried unanimously.
Separately, because of the ongoing violation and an incomplete submission, the commission voted (Mike Dudek and Scott Schreiber) to deny acceptance of the 15 Guinea Road demolition and reconstruction application; only work expressly authorized by the commission may continue until a revised application is submitted. The commission also indicated it will post a follow-up site visit after removal of material and requested written reports and a robust maintenance plan with the revised submission.
The immediate requirements are procedural: removal or securing of the limestone stockpile, inspection and restoration of erosion-control measures, and submission of new expert reports and a complete permit application. The commission noted that Connecticut DEEP and local stakeholders had been notified during the response.
