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2019.01.10 Staff Report To: Conservation Commission From: Sarah LaValley RE: Staff Report, January 10, 2019 Commission Meeting 5:30 PM, Continuation - Notice of Intent for proposed Paradise Pond Sediment Management Program for sediment redistribution and mobilization. Work to include alteration to within land under waterbodies – Paradise Pond and Mill River. Smith College, applicant A Water Quality Certificate for the project has not yet been issued. Continue the hearing until March 14 at 5:30 PM. 5:35 PM Notice of Intent for culvert replacement. Work includes impacts to bank, bordering vegetated wetland, land under water (unnamed intermittent tributary to Bassett Brook). Northampton DPW, Park Hill Road right of way. Application Overview: The work proposed is replacement of an undersized 21” concrete pipe with a 8.5’ by 4’ box culvert that will bring the culvert up to the Massachusetts Stream Crossing Standards. Work is proposed to occur during low-flow conditions, with bypass pumping during construction. All resource areas will be replaced in-kind. The alternatives analysis indicates that the selected option will do the most to improve existing conditions and hydrologic connections. Consistency with the Wetlands Protection Act and Northampton Wetlands Ordinance, Staff Recommendation The work is part of a consent decree issued to Eversource, and does not require review under the Wetlands Protection Act. The purpose of the project is to improve the crossing for wildlife and fisheries passage, and will reduce future flooding concerns. Work within the Protected Zone is allowed as a project that will “improve the natural capacity of a resource area(s) to protect the interests identified in MGL c. 131, § 40.” Issue an Order of Conditions with standard conditions. 5:45 PM Notice of Intent for proposed construction of a single family home within buffer zone to vegetated wetland. Charles Amo. 994 Florence Rd, Map ID 44-133. Application Overview: The application proposes construction of a single-family home within buffer zone to vegetated wetland. A common driveway and stormwater infrastructure were constructed on the parcel and within the buffer zone pursuant to an Order of Conditions issued in September 2006, for which a certificate of compliance was issued in 2014. A driveway to a house site, now within buffer zone, was also constructed. Resource area boundaries within the parcel have changed in the 13 years following the initial application. DEP Comments: No comment. Consistency with the Wetlands Protection Act and Northampton Wetlands Ordinance, Staff Recommendation The house is proposed within the 50-100 foot buffer zone, for which no specific Wetlands Protection Act standards apply. The Wetlands Ordinance, C337-10(E) provides that: Certain areas 50 feet to 100 feet from wetlands may be suitable for temporary, limited or permanent disturbance as appropriate when the applicant can demonstrate to the Commission's satisfaction that the proposed work, activity or use will not affect wetland values singularly or cumulatively and, by means of a written and plan view assessment, that reasonable alternatives to the proposed work or activity do not exist. The Commission may allow the alteration of up to 20% of the area within the fifty foot to one‐hundred‐foot buffer zone on a lot, or up to 2,000 square feet on a lot within a cluster subdivision. This is a total, cumulative allowance for all projects on a lot developed since the City first adopted a wetlands protection ordinance (August 17, 1989). The proposed work must have no significant adverse impact on the resource area, and the applicant must provide evidence deemed sufficient by the Commission that the area being disturbed will not harm the resource area values protected by the law. In response to staff comments, amounts of total buffer area on the lot and total impervious area were provided, though these do not separate the 50-100 feet figures. It appears possible, especially if mowing is included in disturbance, that the existing disturbed area already exceeds the maximum allowed by the Ordinance. The application also does not include an assessment of the affect of the proposed new work on wetland values, or consider alternatives, such as a house location outside buffer zones. The Commission should either request this additional information, or deny the Order of Conditions under both the WPA and local Ordinance due to insufficient information. Request for Certificate of Compliance, Paradise Pond Management Plan, Smith College, DEP File 246-580 The Commission has issued an updated Order of Conditions for continued management in and around the Paradise Pond area, and Smith College is requesting that a certificate of compliance be issued for the previous permit. The Order included a requirement that the applicant assess a future fish ladder at the dam. The applicant is requesting that this not be required due to expense and the limited amount of habitat it would create for migrating species. If the Commission agrees with the applicant that a fish ladder would not make sense given these limitations, a complete certificate can be issued. If a fish passage study is still required.