Oscillating somewhere in between the unprecedented and the ironically familiar, what at first seemed like a molehill grew into a mountain of debate for the Marion Conservation Commission during its January 12 meeting.
The wrinkle that set off what otherwise would have been a feel-good granting of a Certificate of Compliance to Joseph and Caroline Sheehan for their successful eradication of invasive plants at 17 Nokomis Road was the applicant’s request to include an ongoing condition allowing Land Stewardship Inc., which was retained to perform the work, to treat the few stems of phragmites that may pop up.
“Over time, those plants are going to continue to encroach on other property,” said Conservation Commission Chairman Shaun Walsh, noting that members of the commission conducted a site visit on January 8. “The site looks great.”
While Vice Chairman Jeff Doubrava said he has no issue with ConCom awarding the Certificate of Compliance due the Sheehans, he said he is opposed to what essentially would be a “forever continuing condition that allows them to apply chemicals to a piece of property.”
“Now I think that, if they want to go and treat those, they could file (a Request for Determination of Applicability). We’ve given out RDA’s before for small, invasive plant treatment. That way, if things change in three years’ time, that order lasts for three years. And they can come back to us again and again, as opposed to saying, ’50 years from now it’s still okay to use chemical treatment to treat phragmites.'”
Conservation Agent Doug Guey-Lee said that if the homeowners do not file another application (RDA,) then the phragmites are likely to reemerge. He noted that every herbicide and pesticide is designed to kill something so there literally is no such thing as a safe one.
Walsh said that the management plan could include such a condition as requested if it references the land-management plan as previously presented, including hand pulling and targeted herbicide treatment.
Doubrava reiterated it to be a matter of control. “My issue is not with them continuing to treat the things that pop back up. My issue is forever,” he said. “You know, (if) 20 years from now we figure out that there’s a natural solution of some plant that will outcompete phragmites and we should never have used an herbicide on the saltmarsh again and, guess what, we’ve given them a ‘forever’ for the rest of all time. … That’s my concern, we’ve given all control up.”
Based on the reasonable assumption that any professional is going to choose the least-dangerous chemical, Walsh said he is in favor of including a perpetual condition that is “very specific and narrowly framed.”
Like Guey-Lee, ConCom member Emil Assing said he sees both sides of the argument. As a licensed pesticide applicator, he has observed a failure to eradicate phragmites in Brainard Marsh without the use of pesticides. Assing said the invasive plants have made a strong comeback there.
Nonetheless, Assing agreed with Doubrava, saying it’s not a big deal for the applicant to file a RDA for recurring treatment. “If it’s someone who really cares about managing the land, they’re not going to mind filing an RDA for this,” he said.
ConCom member Ethan Gerber asked if there is precedent for the kind of conditioning that Walsh favored. He later said he’s not a fan of combining chemicals with perpetuity.
While Doubrava stuck to his argument that the commission is ceding control by issuing a “forever” condition that theoretically could become detrimental should a safer chemical become the new industry standard, Walsh insisted that the safeguards are already built into the management plan.
Using the example of adding back sand to areas of beach erosion, Walsh asked Doubrava if the commission should then abandon perpetual conditions in all certificates of compliance. Doubrava acknowledged the point but did not stand down.
ConCom member Mark Bellanger said that the existing mechanism of three-year decisions come back to the commission on a regular basis. “A quick RDA is not a burden,” he said.
Walsh offered a compromise of including a perpetual condition but limited to hand pulling only with no use of chemicals authorized. The commissioners held no objection, and they voted unanimously to support the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance.
Two public hearings took place.
In response to Clayton Bosch’s Notice of Intent filing that proposed a septic-system repair at his 2 Sassomon Trail home, the commission voted to issue an Order of Conditions.
The new unit incorporates denitrification per the Board of Health, according to representative Dave Davignon of Schneider, Davignon and Leone Inc.
Davignon said that the house was built in two stages, beginning in 1980. ConCom conducted a site visit on January 8 and Walsh said that according to the plan, the leaching area sits among mature trees. Being a stone-and-pipe field, Davignon said the standard practice is to abandon it in place unless the soil is disturbed or contaminated.
“We know where the septic tank is, we were able to get an invert out of the tank,” said Davignon, noting the location as next to the driveway. “That’s what we need to pump and remove. As far as the leaching field … if it’s not in the location we’re showing it, all the better as far as I’m concerned.”
In summarizing special conditions, Bellanger described the work as a buffer-zone project located 57 linear feet from the resource area. Along with general conditions and erosion-control conditions, ConCom added 20 feet of siltation fencing or 10 haybales.
ConCom issued a Negative Boxes 2 and 3 Determination of Applicability to Diana Markel supporting her proposed plan for a 16-foot diameter stone paver patio on a gravel base at her 2 Lewis Street home.
John and Pamela Lees, who filed a Notice of Intent for reconstruction of a single-family house, an inground swimming pool, along with repair of a seawall with associated work at 49 Water Street, sought and were granted a continuance of their case to ConCom’s March 9 meeting. According to Walsh, the Lees will be doing additional analysis at the site and need to see that to completion.
The Planning Board requested ConCom’s comments on the Marion Lands Trust’s application for a Special Permit that would allow a common, 10-foot-wide gravel driveway to serve two lots at 371 Wareham Street, including a future single-family home now the subject of an Approval Not Required (ANR) filing.
ConCom had recently granted an Order of Conditions in which the driveway was servicing only the existing home. A new plan dated December 21 shows a more complete plan, according to Guey-Lee. According to Walsh, the applicant would need further ConCom approval to complete the new plan.
The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, January 26, at 7:00 pm.
Marion Conservation Commission
By Mick Colageo