There is “no wiggle room” for the 13 acres of Rochester land – known as Red Brick Farm East – for the town to explore water usage or other options.
The land in question can become a well site for neighboring Mattapoisett to explore for its own water use, per a regional agreement, according to Rochester Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission.
The land is part of a Buzzards Bay Coalition project that placed conservation restrictions on aquifer lands from Acushnet through Mattapoisett and Rochester.
At a meeting held earlier this month, the Rochester Conservation Commission said that it wanted Mattapoisett to sign an agreement to never develop a well on the 13 acres on Long Plain Road and the north side of Wolf Island Road in Rochester. Rochester also asked that Mattapoisett transfer the land to the Town of Rochester for $1.
Earlier this summer, Brendan Annett of the Buzzards Bay Coalition said it was too late to put these conditions in the multitown Conservation Restriction on 241 acres of aquifer land from Acushnet to Mattapoisett that this parcel includes.
Also earlier this summer, it was revealed that regional agreement would give Mattapoisett the water rights to the Rochester parcel, including possibly digging up to four new wells, under a co-ownership agreement with the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Authority. The Rochester Conservation asked for more information, especially as to whether the Conservation Restriction can be rewritten to give Rochester rights to some of that water.
After the Conservation Commission meeting on Tuesday, Kelly said that Buzzards Bay and other authorities say there is “no wiggle room” and that Mattapoisett will have the right to dig wells on the property for potential drinking water.
Kelly said that Rochester residents have also expressed concerns about its future water supply and would have liked to exercise that option on this town-owned land.
In other commission news, the members unanimously voted to forward a document to legal counsel that will be signed by interested parties to give Rochester commissioners the authority to conduct site visits when needed.
Commissioners said that it has always been assumed that commissioners have a right to site visit for an applicant conducting work within the wetlands.
This document will ease any legal concerns and is being used by other town boards.
Also on Tuesday, Kelly announced that at an upcoming meeting, a representative of the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife will educate commissioners on its new “internet savvy” BioMap.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission was not announced upon adjournment.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Jeffrey D. Wagner