In its meeting held on May 4, the Rochester Conservation Commission discussed a Request for Determination of Applicability that was filed by Thomas Lewis of TEC Associates regarding vegetation management and pesticide spraying along railroad tracks running through Rochester.
The public meeting on the application in question was continued from the commission’s previously held meeting, as there were concerns raised by Vice Chairman Daniel Gagne surrounding the details of the filing. Primarily, Gagne expressed concerns that the application included a request for confirmation of wetlands boundary line that was not properly supported.
Gagne had explained in a prior meeting that the application submitted did not include nearly enough detail or review in order for him to satisfy the requirements that the commission normally adheres to for those kinds of requests. Normally, when a request for delineation of a resource area is made, the commission will seek the assistance of an independent peer-review consultant to create their own delineation of the wetlands area that can then be compared to that submitted by the applicant. In addition, abutters to the area would be notified and have an opportunity to review the delineation as well. In this case, the proposal submitted by Lewis did not include his own wetlands delineation and instead only portrayed areas along the tracks that would be either sprayed by pesticide or avoided.
Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon agreed that a Request for Determination of Applicability is normally not used for wetland delineation, but there are other communities that do follow that procedure. Ultimately, Farinon contacted the Department of Environmental Protection to try and best determine the proper procedure for this unique filing. Farinon told commission members that it would be ideal to amend the filing to exclude the wetlands demarcation, as it is not needed for the kind of work that was proposed by the applicant.
Farinon further explained that a letter or an addition to the meeting minutes could include a note that the wetland boundaries shown in the plan are only to be used for vegetation management and herbicide spraying. That way, the delineation of wetlands on the plans would not constitute an official record of the wetlands in the area.
Commission member Kevin Thompson suggested that a letter be included with the filing to clear up any confusion surrounding the application. In addition, Thompson explained that the inclusion of the letter could make it easier for Lewis to go forward with these applications in the future and with other conservation commissions throughout the commonwealth.
With that, the Rochester Conservation Commission voted to issue a negative determination of applicability for the project, allowing Lewis to move forward with his plans to spray along the railroad tracks.
The next Rochester Conservation Commission meeting is scheduled to be held via Zoom on Tuesday, May 18, at 7:00 pm.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Matthew Donato