New Hub Worsens Pocotopaug Woes Resident Backlash Delays Gas
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BOX 373, GLASTONBURY, CT, 06033 POSTAL CUSTOMER PRESORTED STANDARD LOCAL ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ RIVEREAST News Bulletin Serving Amston, Andover, Cobalt, Colchester, East Hampton, Hebron, Marlborough, Middle Haddam and Portland Volume 43, Number 10 Published by The Glastonbury Citizen December 14, 2018 New Hub Worsens Pocotopaug Woes by Elizabeth Regan The new town hall complex taking shape on the runoff from construction of the Lake Vista Route 66 in East Hampton is responsible for condominiums. levels of sediment-laden runoff some Lake “This is not anywhere near the Baker Hill Pocotopaug advocates say have not been seen days,” Commissioner Ray Zatorski emphasized. since condominiums went up on Baker Hill in “It’s probably going to take more decades be- the late 1980s. fore [Baker Hill contamination] gets filtered out Many local officials, experts and residents of the lake, if it ever does.” have described the Lake Vista condos as the Zatorski, a former chairman of the commis- catalyst for algae blooms that have plagued the sion, has served on multiple municipal boards notoriously impaired lake for decades. They say over the past several decades. water quality issues were exacerbated by a According to the Hartford Courant archives, sewer system installed in the early 1980s that concerned residents first mobilized in Septem- deprived the area of natural spring water and ber 1987 when they noticed water in parts of left the lake vulnerable to pollution from sur- the lake was turning brown and wetlands wild- face runoff. life was dying. Conservation-Lake Commission member Joe “We did everything the town planner and Carbonell said this week that brown sediment town engineer asked for,” the Courant quoted spotted last month in a large portion of the so- Baker Hill developer Eitan Arzi as saying in called “back bay” near Hawthorne Road is the February 1988. “The problems with the lake worst he’s seen “since Baker Hill.” have been going on for a long time. I’ve only Carbonell and fellow Conservation-Lake been here six months.” Commission member Wesley Jenks attended Planning and Zoning Official Jeremy DeCarli last Wednesday’s Planning and Zoning meet- this week said the Baker Hill site plan was ap- ing to ask for stricter zoning regulations in the proved in October 1986 and modified in May lake watershed to help keep construction - and 1987. its environmental implications - in check. A watershed report by lake expert George The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Knoecklein released last year stated Lake ‘Tis the Season… Jacob Lee of Marlborough and Rebecca Ristow of Amston states sediment in the watershed can clog storm Pocotopaug experienced “unprecedented” al- attended last Saturday’s Gathering on the Green in Marlborough, which included drains, prevent vegetation from growing in gae blooms during the summers of 1988 and water and trigger blue green algae blooms. 1989. hot cocoa, a fire truck parade and Christmas tree-lighting. See story, additional At least one member of the Planning and During the Dec. 5 Planning and Zoning photo on page 15. Zoning Commission disputed comparisons to See Pocotopaug Woes page 2 Resident Backlash Delays Gas Station Decision by Allison Lazur Conservation Commission on Oct.15, approxi- Backlash over the proposed Route 66 gas sta- mately 15 residents spent nearly an hour plead- tion continued last Thursday as approximately ing with the Zoning Commission to deny the 35 residents packed Marlborough Town Hall proposal. for the Zoning Commission’s public hearing. Concerns surrounded the possible contami- The Marlborough One LLC project is listed nation of the well system and Lyman Brook, in the Secretary of the State’s business data- which runs through the east side of the prop- base as a venture of prominent local project erty, as well as an increase in traffic and crime developer William Wayne Rand. that neighbors say will compromise the overall The commission closed the Dec. 6 public safety of the community. hearing without a vote on the controversial Glenwood Drive resident Heidi Warner ex- project. Statue statute specifies they have 65 pressed concern about the nearby RHAM days to make a decision. middle and high school bus stop located at the The gas station proposed for the 1.5 acre par- corner of Route 66 and Shepard Drive. cel on 37 Hebron Rd. has been criticized for Warner said the bus often picks up students months by area residents on the Forest Homes between 6:35 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. when it’s still well system who fear contamination of their dark out and at an hour she called a “peak time wells and nearby Lyman Brook. for gas station fill ups for people on their way The well system owned by Connecticut Wa- to work.” ter Company serves approximately 40 homes. “In May 2015, a woman was killed at that Residents came armed to continue the fight exact intersection and that was in broad day- with bright purple signs featuring messages light. I spoke with RHAM [and] they are not such as “A Drip Can Destroy Many Drops” and willing to change the bus stop,” she said. “I Residents filled the room at the Marlborough Town Hall last Thursday to express “Water is Life, Treat it Right.” understand that Marlborough needs businesses opposition to the proposed gas station on Route 66. Messages on bright purple signs Despite the gas station’s approval by the See Backlash page 2 included “Keep the Water Safe & Clean” and “Water is Life, Treat it Right.” Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Pocotopaug Woes cont. from Front Page “I’m a developer in town that takes a lot of Commission meeting Jenks brought attention pride and takes a lot of care,” Motto said. “I to a recent spate of development in the same really do care about this stuff.” area of Route 66, including the newly-opened Motto and his wife Lisa are developing the Dollar General, a land-clearing project by 59-acre Edgewater Hill project, which encom- prominent local developer Wayne Rand, and the passes the municipal hub site and will grow to town hall complex. include restaurants, shops, offices, single-fam- “I’ve been pretty vocal, at least on our com- ily homes, townhouses, condominiums and mission, that these projects were going to im- apartments over the next decade. pact the overall quality of the lake and, sure Motto said freezing temperatures over the enough, I was right,” Jenks told commission winter will give crews time to stabilize the site members. and install additional protections by the time Jenks described the town’s failure to prevent water is flowing again in the spring. runoff from its own project as “a pretty poor DeCarli later emphasized the current sedi- example for the rest of the community.” ment situation in the back bay is different from Jenks and Carbonell shared photos with the contamination experienced during the Lake commission showing excessive sediment as Vista condominium construction because ero- seen from the bay side of Meeks Point Road sion and sediment controls remain intact. and from Hawthorne Road. “I think what happened over there [at Baker “Please do what you can to make sure people Hill] was it kind of blew out. We have not had don’t just come in and do whatever they want a blowout. Silt fences haven’t been knocked in the watershed,” Jenks, a Meeks Point Road down. We haven’t experienced that,” he told the resident, said. Rivereast. DeCarli and town hub project manager Steve Town engineers are working to figure out how Motto acknowledged the sediment coming from to build sediment ponds big enough to retain the municipal hub site, which broke ground in runoff for the time it takes the extremely fine early October. particles to settle before the water makes it into They blamed a combination of fine soil types the lake, according to DeCarli. and an excessively wet season. Tighter Regulations East Hampton Planning and Zoning Official Jeremy DeCarli said runoff from the Describing the runoff as “heartbreaking,” Zatorski during the meeting bristled at $18.98 million municipal hub site on Route 66 is responsible for a large area of Motto said he’s never seen so much rain. Jenks’s allegation that existing zoning regula- sediment deposited in the back bay of Lake Pocotopaug last month. This contributed “This fall has been unbelievable. The ground tions don’t go far enough to prevent developers photo shows the cloudy sediment in the foreground. is saturated. The rain has nowhere else to go,” from doing “whatever they want” in the water- he said. shed. Jenks emphasized that tightening zoning watershed from 100 feet to 200 feet. That means DeCarli – who serves as the town planner, “We don’t let people just do what they want,” regulations can be done “with very little money all building projects around the lake require a zoning enforcement official and wetlands en- Zatorski said. Then he threw a thick, spiral- out of our pocket.” wetlands permit. forcement officer – estimated rainfall in No- bound book onto the table in front of him. “Those regulations are already in existence Efforts in other areas of the lake include a vember was 200-250 percent over the average “Just take a look at this. Seriously, just take on other lakes that have recovered,” Jenks said. project to install low-impact, sustainable tech- for the month. He emphasized soil from the hill a look,” he said.