Rochester Conservation Commission Chairman Michael Conway didn’t trifle with engineer Brian Grady after he explained why Decas Cranberry Co., Inc. deserved a Certificate of Compliance despite having deviated from the approved plan in five different ways.

“I think the changes that you made here … are substantial.,” said Conway, ready to reprimand the cranberry growing corporation for choosing to ask for forgiveness rather than ask for permission before making changes without the commission’s approval. “Decas – they aren’t farmers,” commented Conway after the commission was asked to consider some of the plan changes as agricultural in nature and therefore acceptable. “For whatever reason … they chose to follow their own choice of action. … They should’ve come in here.”

Grady listed the five changes that he emphasized did not have any negative impacts on the wetlands, and perhaps, even, possibly some ensuing positive impacts. The changes Grady deemed unsubstantial included a concrete retaining wall not included in the original plan and a slab for a proposed pump house, but the biggest concern to the commission was the relocation of the pump house 200 feet away from the approved location; however, for Conway, all the actions Decas took were of concern.

“Decas is not the decision maker in this regard,” said Conway. “The commission decides what is doable in the wetlands and what is not. They have done what they wanted to do,” Conway continued. In his opinion, he said, “The Certificate of Compliance should be denied,” and Decas should file an after-the-fact Notice of Intent.

There was a brief stare down between Conway and Grady before Conway spoke again.

“And on top of that, quite frankly, I don’t see that we’ve made any progress since our last meeting on July 17,” said Conway. “Nothing has changed.”

In response, Grady said, “Well, I’ve given you my opinion relative to the project – [and] I agree with you 100 percent they should’ve come in … but, given the situation we’re in – what changes that were made to the approved plan relative to the overall project – I do believe them to be minor … [with] no increased impact.”

Earlier in the meeting, commission member Laurene Gerrior told Grady that the situation bothered her because it was the third time something like that has happened with Decas. And although she understands the work is agricultural in nature, “it was done without permission,” said Gerrior.

In response, Grady told the commission that all the nearby wetlands are created agricultural resource areas, not natural wetlands.

When it came time for Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon’s turn to speak, following Conway’s comments, her first remark was, “Oh boy. Ummm …

“This is dangerous on so many levels that I’m going to elaborate on that,” said Farinon.

Grady did what was asked of him, said Farinon: he provided the commission with the letter they asked for back in July, asking if the changes were substantial while stating his case for why they were not.

“I share the board’s concern with any applicant for a certificate of compliance, and we’re seeing it more and more and more where letters coming in from engineers say, ‘We think it’s been done in substantial compliance…’ and we really battle with that.”

Farinon said she fully recognized Conway’s concerns and the commissions’ collectively, “On a project like this where we’ve had a rocky road all along,” said Farinon. “It’s a very high-profile case, months of us sitting in these meetings. … That wasn’t a fun time.”

But for Farinon, the project went well and Decas complied with most of the requirements, with the exception of these five.

“The concern that I have about requiring … a notice of intent is that it could potentially be taken out of context and the headline being: ‘Conservation Commission requires filings for exempt [agricultural] activities,’” said Farinon. “That could spread like wildfire, and we have limits that we can ask for.”

Farinon pointed out that the actions Decas took would likely have been granted if brought before the commission first.

The commission ran down the list, and most members accepted Farinon’s interpretation.

“I don’t think that any of these items here are significant to warrant another filing,” said commission member Daniel Gagne.

“I know I’ve been a naysayer,” said Gerrior, “But I have to agree with Dan. At this point in time, it’s not going to hurt our wetlands … I was ticked off out in the field … but it is what it is.”

The commission took up each deviation separately, and Conway was the dissenting vote in two of the five. In the end, the Certificate of Compliance was granted.

“It’s been painful from the beginning,” said Grady, “and until the end, apparently, so I think you for your consideration.”

Also during the meeting, the commission approved the Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation for Pedro Rodriguez, Solar MA Project Management, LLC, for 0 Walnut Plain Road.

Farinon recommended the approval, remarking on the excellent job done in the wetlands delineation.

In other maters, the commission continued the public hearing for the An Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation filed by Steve Long of Borrego Solar Systems to confirm 6,662 linear feet of bordering vegetated wetlands at 75 Vaughan Hill Road.

Farinon stressed that the application was solely to approve the delineated wetlands line, not a solar array field. Any future project will require an additional application.

The public hearing was continued until September 4 to allow ample time for Farinon to walk the entire 6,662 feet of the wetlands boundary.

The public hearing for the Notice of Intent filed by REpurpose Properties for a 22-duplex age-restricted housing development at Rounseville Road was continued until August 21.

The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for August 21 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

Rochester Conservation Commission

By Jean Perry

It was all business at the monthly meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee on July 30 as the group prepared for upcoming sessions with local contractors and residents in preparation for the Fall Town Meeting.

The committee is placing an article on the warrant proposing the Town adopt the “Stretch Energy Code,” a bylaw “for the purpose of regulating the design and construction of buildings for effective use of energy … [and] provide a more energy efficient alternative to the Base Energy Code.”

The bylaw, which a Town Meeting must adopt and is a requirement for Green Community designation, would apply to new residential constructions and commercial buildings.

Despite not having received comments back from town counsel on the document, the committee approved, in large part, a draft crafted from the Town of Dighton’s, with minor changes specific to Marion. That language has already passed muster with the Attorney General.

The region’s Green Communities Coordinator Seth Pickering is assisting the committee in tweaking the language of the bylaw as well as with public outreach to help the residents and contractors understand the bylaw’s individual elements. The committee, with Pickering, will be hosting two informational meetings to introduce the bylaw to the public. The first one for Marion Town Officials and construction contractors on Monday, August 27, and a second session for the general public on Monday, September 24. Both meetings will be held at the Marion Music Hall.

In other business, someone contacted Chairman David Pierce expressing an interest in developing a solar array on the town landfill, referred to as the “Benson Brook Solar Array.”

Committee member Jennifer Francis reported that in order to entertain a new proposal, the Town would need to issue a new Request for Proposals to obtain information on developers’ interest in the project. The committee must also ask the town administrator to submit a pre-application to Eversource.

The committee will ascertain whether it is possible to connect to the grid from the location at the landfill.

Members Bill Saltonstall and Christian Ingerslev are working with the Mass Energy Insight Program, a web-based program designed to help towns “understand their energy use and reduce their carbon footprint.”

Preliminary numbers indicate that Sippican School comprises 14 percent of the Town’s energy use, while the pumping stations, including the landfill, use 22 percent. The Town’s energy is powered 10 percent by oil, 44 percent by natural gas, and 46 by electricity.

The LED streetlight program is moving forward as the Town awaits an estimate from Eversource for the cost to purchase the old existing streetlights, expected at around $10,000.

Francis reported that the “big money” will be in purchasing the new LED lights, but that the overall savings will more than make up for that. Saltonstall noted that the purchase may be funded with the money generated by the First Generation Wind project, which has made the town roughly $167,000 in two years.

The Town is also looking into getting some new electric car charging stations and will need to determine their locations and the manufacturer. Ingerslev observed that while on a recent visit to the harbor, there were no signs or any indicators of the two charging stations located there; therefore, there were regular cars parked in the spots designated for the electric cars.

Marion Facilities Director Shaun Cormier, who attended the meeting, indicated that after installing the charging stations, “[he’s] getting a lot of pushback from the people who run the wharf,” he explained, to not install signs or paint the parking spots to indicate restricted parking. Saltonstall noted that parking is at a premium at the harbor, but having the charging stations there “doesn’t make much sense if we are not willing to designate the space to electric [vehicles].”

Cormier suggested the committee make a formal request to the town administrator for the signs and line painting.

While the committee considered moving the charging stations to a new and more convenient location, depending on the access to power, Pierce concluded that the committee should move incrementally on the ideas and first facilitate getting signs installed.

“We are here to help out!” Pierce declared.

The next meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee is scheduled for August 27 at 7:00 pm in the Marion Music Hall.

Marion Energy Management Committee

By Sarah French Storer

Some members of the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District Committee were perplexed on July 25 when Wareham CMWRRDD Committee member Gary Buckminster suggested the district, as it is structured now, should cease to exist.

“I personally feel that the CMW should be no longer,” Buckminster said, raising eyebrows just as the committee had received six applications for the executive director position.

Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson was leading the discussion on how personnel costs were down after a longtime district employee retired and part-time/over-time municipal workers had been filling in the gaps, and committee members were considering what was best for the district – consolidating, selling off property, cutting its losses, “biting the bullet now,” as Dawson put it. That’s when Buckminster suggested they trash the district as they know it.

“I think that it should be a municipally-run program,” Buckminster said. Let the three towns hire their own employee to run their portion of a differently structured “district” and hire a private hauler to collect the trash.

The “sticker price of the future,” said Buckminster, is a high one. “[It’s best] not to try to maintain a program that’s going to cost a lot of money. … I’d hate to see us go through all this effort of hiring someone. … It should be a town-run organization and let it be a cooperative effort between the three towns.”

That was the first he’d heard the committee mention dissolving, Dawson said. “It’s certainly not the road we’ve been travelling, not to say we couldn’t.”

There is still a contract, Dawson pointed out, but he was just as concerned about political fallout of even the mention of dissolving the district.

“There are going to be political issues here,” said Dawson. “Ironically, I think it’s going to be more difficult in the Towns of Carver and Wareham than it will be in Marion, because Marion still has its own curbside collection.”

Carver and Wareham do not provide curbside trash collection, Dawson said, adding that although no study has been done on usage of the Marion and Rochester facilities, he estimates that at least half the people who utilize the Marion transfer station are from those two towns because they do not want to pay a private hauler.

“It’s going to be those folks – the leaders of those communities – that are going to be hearing from them, loud and clear,” said Dawson.

And with six applicants to fill the executive director position left vacant after Ray Pickles was fired in January, Dawson said the sudden talk of a change in direction surprised him.

District Committee Chairman Steve Cushing said he feared the blowback of the mere mention of dissolving. And after the closure of the Marion compost pile, as Dawson pointed out, Marion has had its own share of blowback.

“If we change total direction and start to talk about eliminating … perhaps all of the other services, … politically it’s going to be a mess,” said Dawson.

For Buckminster, he would prefer to see operations run by municipal workers, not district workers, he reiterated.

Currently, under its contract with SEMASS, the district receives 100 percent reimbursement for operations costs, including employee pay. Marion Director of Finances Judy Mooney told the committee, “I don’t know how it would work if you dissolve – you won’t get the reimbursements anymore.”

This district is going to carry forward,” said Dawson, at least for now. “It may look totally different, and maybe it needs to look totally different,” which is what Dawson said he thought was going to be determined once a new executive director was on board to help determine the district’s future. “It’s gonna take an executive director to … sort through it.”

“[The district] may drop off at the end of 2020,” suggested Cushing, “but we need somebody to grab the reigns here and figure out over the next two years.”

The committee acknowledged that Pickles made some unilateral decisions that would drastically alter the future of the district, which would include Pickles’ unauthorized decision to decline another contract with SEMASS once the current one expires in 2020. Changing the district – the contract, town assessments, appropriations, the absorption of costs, budgets – “All of that takes some time,” said Dawson.

Cushing conceded that he wasn’t sure which direction to go in.

“The ins and outs of refuse disposal – I’m at a loss,” said Cushing. “I only know what I’m doing to a degree and that’s it.”

The committee decided to continue the process of selecting a new executive director, a position only guaranteed for a roughly two-year contract. The committee agreed to allow the three town administrators to review the six applicants and present a set of finalists to the committee.

In other matters, the district will not be holding a hazardous waste disposal day until at least next year.

The next meeting of the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District is scheduled for August 22 at 5:00 pm at the Marion Police Station, but the committee may schedule a meeting before then if something arises.

Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District

By Jean Perry