Resident alleges heavy machinery crossed Rice Brook; property owner denies work and threatens trespass

Jeremy Forbes told the Charlemont Conservation Commission on Aug. 14 that while walking trails on the Hinata property roughly one month earlier he saw "heavy machinery treads crossing through the brook," observed trenching and pulled culverts, and said the construction noise and tree cutting concerned him.

Jeff Nielsen responded that no work was being done "near the brook," saying recent washouts followed about 5 inches of rain and that crews were "putting dirt back" and would replace broken culverts. Nielsen told Forbes he was "not welcome back on his property" and said he would serve a no-trespassing order and provide it to the Charlemont Police Department.

Chair Thorne Palmer noted the town’s interpretation of the Wetlands Protection Act as it applies to the commission’s remit, saying driving through a brook is an action but that the Act focuses on bank modifications; he cited a separate Department of Environmental Protection case in which driving through a brook was not treated as a bank-modification violation. The commission agreed, in that discussion, that crossing did not necessarily constitute a wetlands violation in the example presented.

Commissioner Bill Harker urged erosion-control measures near the stream, recommending seeding, hay placement and tree plantings; he said any disturbed ground would likely drain toward the brook. Meeting minutes record that the washout described was about 200 feet from the river and that, based on the discussion, commissioners did not identify specific construction-rule violations at the meeting.

No formal enforcement action by the Conservation Commission was taken during the meeting. Chair Palmer later reported an unrelated enforcement-item update (180 8A) in which he planned to raise possible extension of an enforcement order with the Select Board; he did not tie that procedural step to a new wetlands determination in this case.