Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Inspection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Temple Conservation Commission flags possible logging violations at Barry property; town boards to meet with counsel
Summary
At its June 10 meeting, the Temple Conservation Commission discussed complaints that logging at the Barry property may not comply with the Basal Area Law and agreed to pursue water and soil testing and a follow-up meeting with town counsel, the Select Board and the Planning Board.
At its June 10 meeting at the Town Hall Annex, the Temple Conservation Commission discussed complaints from abutters that logging activity at the Barry property may not be following the Basal Area Law, and agreed on next steps including additional testing and interboard consultation. Scott Hecker, Chair, and Mike Madden, Treasurer, reported on their update to the Select Board and said a non-public meeting with town counsel, the Select Board and the Planning Board is the next step.
Vice Chair Sean Radcliffe said the Zoning Board of Adjustment expressed concerns about the Marsh Property site plan and asked the Planning Board to engage the Conservation Commission during site plan review; he then raised the Barry property issue, noting abutters had filed complaints with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES). "Abutters have submitted complaints to NHDES," Sean Radcliffe reported. Scott Hecker added that the boards would coordinate further review through a counsel-led meeting.
Mike Madden described environmental testing underway and planned: he said Wilton is conducting turbidity tests at NHDES’s recommendation, and that Hollis has taken soil samples from within the streambed to check for lead and arsenic linked to historical orchard pesticide use. The commission agreed that Sean Radcliffe will request an estimate from Moosewood Ecological to sample streambed soil for lead and arsenic at public bridge access points.
The record notes a separate concern raised about whether the logger is following the Basal Area Law; the commission did not record a citation or full text of that law in the minutes. Abutters’ complaints and town testing were described as the principal responses; no formal enforcement outcome was recorded at the meeting.
The commission did not take a formal enforcement vote at the June 10 meeting; members assigned follow-up steps including requesting a private meeting with counsel and boards and obtaining an ecological testing estimate.
