Mass DEP Officials Visit Hoosic Riverbank Stabilization Site
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Conservation Commission on Thursday heard that the town is making progress on gaining approval for a riverbank stabilization plan near North Street.
Community Development Director Andrew Groff told the panel that officials from the Department of Environmental Protection visited the portion of the Hoosic River where the town has needed to do an emergency stabilization in December 2019.
Groff, who also is the town's conservation agent, said that DEP did a site visit on Tuesday as part of the appeal of a Con Comm decision on a proposed subdivision off Summer Street. While the state officials were in town, Groff invited them to make the short drive to the intersection of North Street and Syndicate Road.
"I think it was helpful to get our public officials an onsite look," Groff said. "Now the key is we're waiting for [Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program] to approve the plan.
"It will still be up to this commission to approve the final order of conditions."
The Con Comm reviewed the proposed permanent stabilization plan at its June meeting, but the local body needs approval from the state agencies before it can sign off.
"I'll just have to keep asking them to move it along, move it along, move it along," Groff said.
"By Saturday would be good," Con Comm Chair Lauren Stevens said, alluding to the coming remnants of Tropical Storm Debby the next day.
Later in the meeting, Groff noted that the weather models were showing that Williamstown might be spared the worst of the weather system.
"When I wrote the agenda, I wanted to make the commission aware two days ago of possible flooding, but that's waning," Groff said. "I think emergency certifications [for storm repairs] now seem unlikely … but we are getting 2 inches of rain.
"It's a lot better than it could have been."
The storm brought heavy rain on Friday, particularly as it passed through the night, but Saturday dawned with blue skies.
The main business for the commission on Thursday involved issuing certificates of compliance — including one for a project that was permitted and completed about four decades ago.
Attorney Stanley Parese told the commission that his clients, Elizabeth Burris and Bradley Wells, purchased the property at 1479 Green River Road late last year.
"As part of the title search, we ran into an order of conditions [from the Con Comm] that was never matched up to a certificate of compliance," Parese said. "We had a somewhat difficult time finding details about that. It's about 40 years back.
"The project in 1984 had to do with the driveway and some drainage culverts that moved stormwater under the driveway."
The commissioners made a site visit on Thursday to review the work authorized by the 1983 order from the body.
"With the cooperation of Mother Nature, we could see the design works well, as it has for 40 years," Parese said. "There's no evidence I can see of major reconstruction out there. I think we're looking at a driveway installed by someone who knew what they were doing 40 years ago."
Stevens said he agreed that the site visit showed the property was in good shape shortly before asking for a motion to grant the certificate of compliance, which was awarded on a vote of 4-0.
The commissioners also voted 4-0 to give a COC for work permitted in November 2020 at 233 Park St. Residents Eric and Stacy Cochran received the commission's approval to complete enhancements to the wetland on their property, regrade mounds of earth on each side of their driveway and other work.
Stevens praised the homeowners for the work at the property that the commissioners saw on their site visit.
"I think we were all impressed with it," he said. "If Williamstown was having a garden tour, that's one of the gardens people should visit. It's wildflowers, it's pollinators. A lot of interesting things go into making a landscape."
The third action taken by the commission at Thursday's meeting was a determination that Notice of Intent is not required to replace a septic system at 1216 Hancock Road. The commission voted, 4-0, that the work proposed would not alter an area subject to the protection of the Wetland Protection Act.
The commission took no vote but did discuss a proposal from the Select Board to establish rules for the town to accept memorial donations of benches, trees and plaques and town-owned property.
With only four members of the seven-person body in attendance, Stevens did not ask for a vote to recommend approval by the Select Board. But the members present did seem generally amenable to the regulation the board is considering.
The commissioners did offer that the regulation should include a provision that the town review of proposed donations include consideration of their location of donated items, to keep them, for example, out of streambeds.
Stevens also noted that the town regulation should stipulate that any donated greenery be a native species.
The Select Board asked the Con Comm to review the proposed regulation because of the commission's management of numerous town properties, including Margaret Lindley Park.
