The City of Lowell • Division of Planning and Development

JFK Civic Center • 50 Arcand Drive • Lowell, MA 01852

P: 978.446.7200 • F: 978.970.4262

www.LowellMA.gov

Adam Baacke

Assistant City Manager/Director

Anne Barton

Deputy Director

CONSERVATION COMMISSION

JFK CIVIC CENTER

50 ARCAND DRIVE

LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS 01852

December 16, 2009

Members Present:

Chris Zacharer, Louisa Varnum, Kathy Downey, Kyle Davis, Nate Moore

Members Absent:

Anne Chalupka, Alysha Lynch

CALL TO ORDER

Chris Zacharer: Called the meeting to order at 7:05

INFORMAL MEETING

Gary Blaisdell

1516 Middlesex Street

Lowell, MA

Project Location: West Aldea Street

Christopher Zacharer: Mr. Campbell, I spoke to you about what could be done at the Site. I had instructed you that the pavement could be scarified, the pot holes could be filled, and you could file for the repaving in the spring. You have two options, the first being that you can be issued an enforcement order to take the paving out. Second, you can attempt to prove that you did not fill in the floodplain. The other problem is that you have paved your driveways. We have no prior elevations on those. They are going to have to come out.

Bob Campbell: There were pot holes approximately a foot to a foot and a half deep. When I started digging and scarified the pavement, I found porous cold patch. If I had just patched the pot holes, there would be safety issues.

Chris Zacharer: When a situation like that occurs, you should call the Conservation Commission. We are really concerned about the pavement in the parking lots. They were not part of the original agreement.

Bob Campbell: I'll get a hold of the City Engineer and the person who took the points and I'll ask him to retake the markings. If you say the pavement has to come out, we will take it out.

Chris Zacharer: You need to file a Notice of Intent immediately. You need to provide engineered elevations for the street so that they can be matched against what the City provided. If your elevations are at or below the pre-existing, then it's something the Conservation Commission can permit.

Bob Campbell: While the engineer re-points the areas, I'll have him look at the plan I got from the City. We will check the elevations, file a Notice of Intent immediately, and schedule a meeting.

Chris Zacharer: I'm going to open this up to the Commission.

Kyle Davis: Is there stormwater management on that street?

Bob Campbell: No, there's nothing.

Louisa Varnum: Could we look at the old City topos to see what level the parking lots were at before?

Chris Zacharer: It's something we could look at. You would have to have your engineer look at the old maps to establish a baseline.

Louisa Varnum: How old is that building?

Bob Campbell: The building has been there over 50 years.

Chris Zacharer: The reason we ask is because the wetlands protection act has been around for about 30-40 years. If this had been built under an Order of Conditions, there would have been engineered plans that would show the elevations on the property.

Kyle Davis: Do we have buffer zone impacts?

Bob Campbell: No.

Chris Zacharer: No, it's just floodplain. They are about 150-200 yards from the Black Brook. Give us a timeline for filing the Notice of Intent before the end of the year. I would like to see a filing sometime in January.

ENFORCEMENT ORDER

Peter Ngeth

35 Ruth Drive

Dracut, MA 01826

Project Location: 409 Pawtucket Street

Peter Ngeth not present for hearing.

Chris Zacharer: I drove by this and saw that fill was spread in the buffer zone instead of removed as instructed in our last meeting.

Kyle Davis: Is there anything within 25 feet?

Chris Zacharer: No. How do we want to proceed on this?

Louisa Varnum: Motion to continue until the January 6th, 2010 meeting.

Kathy Downy: Second

All in favor

INFORMAL MEETING

UMass Lowell - North Campus

1 University Avenue

Lowell, MA

Project Location: UMass Lowell - North Campus

Bob Atwood: We are working on oil/water separator installation work for the University. Two areas have been identified. One is an underground storage facility on the North Campus. The other is an aboveground storage tank on the South Campus. The objective is to install oil/water separators to give them added spill protection at those two locations that are considered to be somewhat high risk because of where the storm water drains go. We're hoping to submit an NOI next week for a hearing in January. We also wanted to ask permission to perform test pits prior to submitting the NOI.

Chris Zacharer: With these test pits are you looking for prior spillage?

Bob Atwood: No. We are going to put some holes in the tank area and around where the tank is supposed to go. We're concerned about the rock. We want to explore the integrity of the rock with a back hoe so that we can determine the buildability of the site.

Chris Zacharer: What are the identified resource areas for the two sites?

Bob Atwood: South Campus is outside of the resource area and the buffer zone. The North Campus is the power plant. The work area is outside the 100 ft buffer zone and half is within the 200 ft riverfront area.

Chris Zacharer: The City has a 25 ft riverfront area.

Bob Atwood: You don't regulate anything outside of the 100 ft buffer zone?

Chris Zacharer: No.

Kyle Davis: Unless there's an activity occurring outside the 100 ft buffer zone that has the potential to affect a resource area.

Bob Atwood: The topography of the site is such that the Merrimack River is separated from the site by the VFW Highway. It's a slope down. The area where the separator would go is on a sloped area that goes up to the campus.

Chris Zacharer: This is near the athletic fields?

Bob Atwood: Yes. The closest work point will involve work at the catch basin.

Louisa Varnum: The catch basin that goes into the river?

Bob Atwood: It does.

Chris Zacharer: That is potentially jurisdictional. Are you putting the separators in the catch basins?

Bob Atwood: No. We are going to be taking out a section of the existing storm drain, install the new oil/water separator and put a bypass in back where the old pipe used to be.

Chris Zacharer: Are you going to be trenching and backfilling right away?

Bob Atwood: No. Not right away. The trench will be open for approximately 2 weeks. It will be a fairly substantial excavation because the tank is 6ft long. The depth of the excavation will be to bedrock at approximately 15 ft.

Chris Zacharer: I don't see any difficulty in performed the test pits prior to preparing a Notice of Intent. It looks to me like some of your work is in the buffer zone but it's not the type of work that will affect the resource area. The catch basins can be cut off pending construction and then reconnected.

Bob Atwood: We would put in the bypass first. There is also a large tree that will probably have to come out.

Louisa Varnum: How would you be digging the test pits?

Bob Atwood: We would dig them with an excavator.

Chris Zacharer: You can proceed with filing your Notice of Intent.

Kyle Davis: Is there any increase in paved areas?

Bob Atwood: No. The finished surface will be exactly the same other than a few manhole structures.

Chris Zacharer: If you could replace the tree you intend to take down, we would appreciate it.

Louisa Varnum: That tree I believe is a norway maple. It would be better to replace it with a native species like a sugar maple or red maple. Do you have any kind of a berm around that storage tank?

Bob Atwood: There is a retaining wall but there is not a true berm. There is a catch basin and the stormwater in that area collects in that catch basin.

Louisa Varnum: So everything could flow into the catch basin the way it is now?

Bob Atwood: Yes. We are proposing to put in a hood in this catch basin for added protection.

Kyle Davis: Where does that other drain line go from that catch basin?

Roy Messier: Rooftop runoff runs into that catch basin.

Chris Zacharer: As best you can, isolate the area and any affected catch basins with hay bales and fencing.

MINUTES

Louisa Varnum: Motion to approve meeting minutes for December 2nd, 2009.

Kathy Downey: Second.

All in Favor

ADJOURN

Chris Zacharer: Motion to Adjourn

Kyle Davis: Second

All in favor