Middletown agency keeps cease-and-desist in place for Randolph Road farm, asks owner to submit wetlands delineation

The Middletown Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency voted July 3 to keep a cease-and-desist order in place for a Randolph Road property owned by Matthew Mitchell, saying the agency needs a wetlands delineation and a complete permit application before it can determine whether the owner’s farming activities are permitted.

The vote followed a site-visit report read into the record and a lengthy exchange in which Mitchell said he had placed untreated pallets and wood chips on his property for animal bedding and composting and that animals and housing were sited on upland ground. Mitchell said he stopped moving materials after receiving a cease-and-desist.

The commission said photographs from a June site visit show pallets and boards placed across a stream and areas with wetland vegetation. “You are crossing a wetland,” the chair told the owner, noting the commission requires a registered soil scientist to delineate the wetland boundary before the agency can decide whether any activity qualifies as farming that is exempt from permitting. Staff read an email from a USDA soil scientist clarifying that NRCS/USDA technical determinations for Farm Bill purposes do not substitute for Connecticut wetland delineations required for municipal permit review.

Commissioners urged Mitchell to submit a soils report, a map showing the location of proposed activities, and a wetlands delineation. A commissioner moved to keep the cease-and-desist order in place until a complete application and delineation are submitted; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The agency emphasized it will review any farming application that includes a delineation and a plan, but it will not accept incomplete applications.

Mitchell asked whether the agency could research creating a streamlined application for agricultural activities in upland-review areas; the chair responded that the commission will review any application when it is filed, but it declined to initiate such a research project at the meeting.

Next steps: The cease-and-desist will remain in effect until the applicant files the required wetlands delineation and a complete application. The agency recommended Mitchell find a registered soil scientist to perform the delineation; several soil scientists present or referenced told the applicant that NRCS work does not replace the local delineation requirement.

The exchange recorded many procedural clarifications about what is required on the application: a delineation by a registered soil scientist, soil sample characterization, a map of proposed work and access, plans for how livestock or equipment would access uplands, and applicable fees. The commission recorded the site-visit minutes and said the full meeting recordings are available on the Middletown website.