CORNWALL INLAND WETLANDS AND WATERCOURSES AGENCY
MINUTES OF THE
DECEMBER 6, 2011 REGULAR MEETING - CORNWALL TOWN HALL
Present: Regular members D. Stevenson Hedden, Adam Fischer, William Hurlburt,
Roger Kane and Andrew MacDavid and Land Use staff Karen Griswold Nelson.
Others present: David Battista, Lenard Engineering.
Chairman Hedden called the meeting to order at 7:33 PM in the Cornwall Town Hall meeting room with a quorum established.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November special meeting minutes.
Motion made by Mr. Hurlburt, seconded by Mr. Kane to approve the minutes of
the November meeting with the correction of Michael Trapp “not in attendance”
for agenda item App#556: unanimously approved.
Motion made by Mr. Kane, second Mr. Fischer to move agenda items #559 and #560 prior to all other business and/or until the arrival of representatives for App#556: unanimously approved
PENDING APPLICATIONS:
App#559 – George Charlton/applicant owner – Petition for a declaratory
ruling” for repair of storm damage- 251 Furnace Brook Road. (Not listed
on the November 17, 2011 special meeting agenda and addressed under IWWO report)
Griswold Nelson advised the Commission that the repair to the bridge over
Furnace Brook was completed as outlined in the application.
App#560 – Wayde Wolfe applicant/owner – Petition for a declaratory
ruling” for repair of storm damage – 145 Popple Swamp Road. (Not
listed on the November 17, 2011 special meeting and addressed under IWWO report)
Wayde Wolfe was in attendance to address modifications to his permit as reflected
in additional information supplied. Mr. Wolfe addressed his wishes to make
additional repair along the stream bed to address storm damage with agreement
that the work outside of the actual streambed was maintenance in nature.
Motion made by Mr. Hurlburt, seconded by Mr. MacDavid, to approve modifications
to App#560 for maintenance work outside of the streambed: unanimously approved.
Motion made by Mr. Kane, seconded by Mr. Fischer, to move App #556 further
down the agenda and/or until the arrival of representatives for the application:
unanimously approved
NEW APPLICATIONS:
App#561 – Mary Miscekoski applicant/owner – Petition for a declaratory
ruling for restoration of riverside property impacted by recent floods –
420 Sharon Goshen Turnpike.
Mary Miscekoski was in attendance to address the application, stating that
she shared a property line to the center line of the brook with Michael Trapp,
applicant for an application with similar proposed activities.
Ms. Miscekoski, noting her belief that the brook had widened expedientially
in the recent past, addressed flooding over her property during recent storm
events that had resulted in erosion around and the exposure of tree roots
along the river bank and damage to a wall. Ms. Miscekoski addressed her wishes
to restore her property as part of the Michael Trapp project.
Based on consensus that the applications for both Ms. Miscekoski and Mr. Trapp
were in some fashion contingent upon each other
Motion made by Mr. Fischer, seconded by Mr. Hurlburt, to table App#561 (and
allow discussion during the proceedings of App#556: unanimously approved.
PENDING APPLICATIONS:
App#556 – Michael Trapp applicant/owner – restoration of banks
and repair to stone wall impacted by recent floods – 7 River Road.
Bart Clark, PE and principle of Oakwood Environmental, was in attendance to
represent the application. Mapping entitled “Michael Trapp – Stream
bed stabilization – 7 Upper River Road, prepared by Oakwood Environmental
Engineers, dated 12/01/2011” was made part of the record for review
and discussion.
Acknowledgement was made of a November 29th, 2011 AM special Inland wetlands
site walk meeting during which IWWA commission member Roger Kane and commission
staff Karen Griswold Nelson were in attendance for discussion of the Trapp
application. Others present were Mr. Clark, David Battista from Lenard Engineering,
Donald Mysling from the DEEP fisheries division, Michael Trapp and Mary Dezenutis,
Mary Miscekoski and other members of the public.
Mr. Clark, with input from Mr. Battista, addressed the plans as prepared for
the first stage of the application, which would be measures for site stabilization
during the winter months. Mr. Clark addressed the plans as shown which would
provide for an excavator to be placed on the opposite side of the river (the
Whiteford property at 416 Sharon Goshen Turnpike) to remove rubble and place
stones back in the river to coax the channel back to its historic location.
Mr. Clark outlined the placement of stones in an overlapping shingle fashion
to create a berm and protect the retaining wall, the creation of three stone
jetty deflectors (several feet tall and 20 foot long) to encourage water to
go into preferred channels and the placement of some big stones (40 t0 50
in number and couple thousand pounds apiece) in and along the river bank.
Mr. Clark stated that cobble in the river would be used for backfill. Mr.
Clark outlined the precautions to be used to protect the Whiteford septic
system during the process.
Mr. Clark, with input from Mr. Battista, addressed the approval process for
the overall project, including the requirements to get approvals from both
the State of Connecticut DEEP and the Army Corp of Engineers for all phases
of the remediation. Mr. Clark addressed the parties involved in the review
and approval process, including Mike Saliter from the DEEP, noting the efforts
of Mr. Mysling from the fisheries division to work with the Army Corp to expedite
the process.
Mary Miscekoski addressed her wishes to expand the extent of her application
during the Trapp process, including changes to replace the parts of the wall
destroyed during the storm. Ms. Miscekoski was advised to submit modifications
to her application to the Land Use office.
Direction was given that all properties owners involved in the Trapp application
(including abutting property owner Skip Lush and the Whiteford) would be required
to submit written approval for any and all activities undertaken on their
respective properties and that all of the applications (Trapp and Miscekoski)
would be acted upon at the same time when all of the appropriate information
was received by the Land Use office. It was agreed that a special meeting
would be scheduled upon receipt of all of the appropriate information.
Motion made by Mr. Kane, seconded by Mr. Fischer to table App#556 until the
next scheduled meeting: unanimously approved.
PENDING ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS:
SHOW CAUSE HEARING: Notice of Violation – Cease and Correct - Adam and
Charlotte S. VanDoren – 54 Bradford Road – Regulated activities
including - Removal and deposition of material within wetlands soils, alteration
of wetlands soil, activities within a watercourse, and the possible crossing
of a watercourse without permits.
No discussion.
INLAND WETLANDS OFFICER REPORT.
Griswold Nelson addressed continued efforts to resolve the Yancopoulus maintenance
issue on Popple Swamp Road.
CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED.
OTHER BUSINESS PROPER TO COME BEFORE THE COMMISSION.
The Commission discussed the open positions created by the retirement of Mr.
Simont and Mrs. Senzer with suggestions as to new members to be followed up
by the Land Use Office.
ADJOURNMENT.
Motion made by Mr. Hurlburt, seconded by Mr. Fischer to adjourn at 8:32PM;
unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Griswold Nelson