Groveland commission approves treatment-plant plans but removes Well 1 generator pad for separate review

The Groveland Conservation Commission voted 3— to 1 on July 8 to approve the Town of Groveland Water & Sewer Department's MassDEP notice of intent for a water treatment plant and roughly 7,900 feet of water main at 183 Main Street, with a condition that the generator pad at Well 1 be removed from the current filing and re-submitted for separate review.

Apex Companies' senior project manager Alston Potts presented the applicant's alternatives analysis and said the chosen site is advanced to about 75% design because it meets engineering, access and funding constraints. Potts described why other tank locations (Perry Hill and the Town Forest/Forest Hill sites) were judged infeasible, citing open-space protections, recreational use and the cost and complexity of running new untreated-water mains.

Danielle Galant of Apex described the project's mitigation plan for riverfront and buffer impacts, saying the team calculated about 1,500 square feet of clearing in the riverfront area and proposed planting roughly a 3:1 mitigation area. "We are proposing to plant approximately a 3 to 1 ratio of 4,500 square feet. As you see here, it actually comes to 6,500 as a total," Galant said, listing overstory species (red maple, silver maple, swamp white oak) and understory shrubs to blend with existing vegetation.

During public comment, longtime Groveland resident Francis J. Osborne urged the commission to reject the application or demand more site evaluation, arguing the proposed location abuts the 100-foot floodplain and noting local flood history. "The site is not only adjacent to the 100 foot flood plain, it indeed abuts it," Osborne said, and asked why the Water & Sewer Department advanced design before extended commission review.

Commissioners and the applicant debated flood-elevation metrics and regulatory standards. Apex said the FEMA 100-year elevation in the area is 18.7 feet and that the proposed finished-floor elevation for the facility is 25 feet, providing about 6.3 feet of vertical separation; it also cited the federal flood risk management standard that recommends a minimum of 3 feet of freeboard for critical facilities. "We're 6.3 feet above it," an engineer for Apex said, adding the team believes the design meets Wetlands Protection Act requirements and federal guidance.

A separate issue that drove heated discussion was a proposed concrete generator pad and limited road widening located within Groveland's 100-foot wetland buffer. Commissioners disagreed about whether public utilities should be treated as a distinct category from "industrial" under the town bylaw and whether the commission could or should grant a waiver; multiple members said the current bylaw contains no waiver for industrial or commercial uses in the 100-foot buffer. Concerned members said allowing the generator pad could create a precedent; others said backup power is essential for a critical utility.

To balance those concerns, a committee member moved to approve the plans as presented for 183 Main Street "with the exception that the generator pad at Well 1 be removed at this time to be further reviewed with town council and other appropriate people to see what can happen in the future." The commission carried the motion 3 to 1.

The approval includes the mitigation planting plan presented by Apex; the commission asked the applicant to return with any further detail needed to document offsets. The commission also directed that the generator pad be removed from the active NOI filing and handled as a separate filing or RDA so town counsel and other parties can advise whether a bylaw carve-out or waiver is appropriate.

The commission did not issue a final legal interpretation about whether public utilities should be a separate category in Groveland's bylaw; members asked staff to seek a legal opinion and, if necessary, to draft proposed bylaw language for town council review and a future town meeting.

What happens next: The project as presented (minus the Well 1 generator pad) was approved; the applicant and the Water & Sewer Department may return with a separate filing for the generator or a subsequent amended proposal depending on the legal guidance and departmental coordination with town counsel and funding agencies.