Conservation Commission Meeting Agenda/Materials 109R and 131 Clark Lane Exhibit List (linked)

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To: Members of the Town of Waterford | :
Conservation Commission | FEB 09 2023
From: Arlene Sherman
Date: 2/9/2023
You have heard two experts including Ms. Sigrun Gadwa, discuss how the current
application will have a detrimental and polluting impact on the pristine Fenger
Brook and the surrounding swamp wetland area while the applicant’s expert
claims there will not be a detrimental impact. The Commission has the authority
and charge to review the application and protect the irreplaceable wetlands for
the benefit of the Community. The Commission can use its own eyes and their
reasonable and prudent minds on acting on this application as is. Your reasonable
minds with the filter of your own eyes must see with reasonable foreseeability
that the current application, including but not limited to:
1. 47 mobile home units ‘sardined’ together with the need to share a storage
box with abutting units and causing a huge area of impervious surface and
runoff including multiple vehicles and extensive cement, tarmac, roofs,
metals and sidewalks with little tree replanting.
2. The creation of a bio-retention basin/mitigation pond the size of a football
field, that will not effectively filter the abundance and production of
harmful chemicals, metals, pollutants and silt that is produced by runoff
and overly dense packed living area.
3. The wetland buffer is minimal, barely 38 feet wide, in the northern and
southern portions of the property. This buffer should increase to at least
80 feet around the entire building area.
4. The densely packed housing design, in conjunction with enormous
impervious surfaces will increase the metals, hydrocarbons, phosphorus
and nitrogen concentrations in Fenger Brook, adding to the yearly,
presently serious algal blooms in the coves and beaches along Long Island
Sound, which kill off all marine plant and animal life, damaging our
economically important recreational fishery.
5. The enormous amount of water coming out of the bio retention basin will
eventually kill at least an acre of trees down gradient of the basin. The
basin is set below the seasonal water table of 3 feet causing the basin to be
continually wet and draining. Flooding the wetland will become a larger
problem during heavy rains for several days. Due to the excessive flanding
ein’ 131 CLARK LANE
PUBLIC HEARING
EXHIBIT # 40

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there will be a tree die off and the dying roots of these trees will continually
release nitrogen and phosphorous into the wetland and Fenger Brook. Also,
the water seeping continuously into this enormous structure, will form
shallow puddles and rivulets, even after draining, which will become a
breeding ground for mosquitos throughout the warmer months. Mosquitos
harbor serious viral illness for humans and animals, especially very young,
naked songbirds. Due to the wetland down gradient the mosquitos cannot
be handled with insecticide as it would pollute Fenger Brook. “Natural”
controls target not only mosquitos but many beneficial aquatic insects in
the fly order. The developer must address this problem.
. The detrimental and polluting impact on the pristine headwaters portion of
Fenger Brook, with its 24” pools in sections, is presently home to several
fish species including the migratory American Eel. Degradation would not
be corrected during anyone’s present lifetime if ever. In addition adjacent
swamp wetlands will be damaged; their natural balance is key to their
present pristine character. Losses of many trees and sensitive wildlife
species will create a chain of damage and degradation.
. The applicant is proposing to clear-cut/deforest all trees and vegetation in
over 10 acres of land to accommodate his dense buildings and impervious
surface/ infrastructure plan. This is not Best Management Practices (BMP)
and is a disruption of sensitive systems. This is a loss of over 250 mature
trees of multiple species. The trees are home and perches to a wide variety
of animal (insect, bird) species. The vegetation, even in scrubby former
farmland is home to a variety of mammals, song birds, amphibians, and
essential insects like pollinating butterflies and caterpillars, which are vital
animal food.
In addition to the large tree die off expected in the wooded swamp , east
of the level spreader, there are mature trees in the swamp wetland that
will be stressed and more vulnerable to disease due to the hydrologic
changes. Trees adjacent to the development, in the upland review area and
at the rear of in the Clark Lane neighbors’ lots will be stressed by
compaction, filling and beneficial soil type removal. Large trees transpire at
least 300 gallons of water per day, and filter air pollution caused by
excessive Clark Lane traffic. They remove harmful gases, carbon dioxide and
atmospheric particles from the air and moderate heat affects, through
evaporative cooling and the shade provided. It is reported that vegetation
removal, such as what the applicant is asking, will result in increased water

yield of over 40 mm per 10 %, for scrub, deciduous hardwood and pine,
resulting in soggier soil (soil will be more compact due to construction).
9. Increased catchment erosion and increased nutrient loading will result from
clear-cutting/deforestation, and both will contribute to wetland
degradation. Areas of special concern are downgradient of the southern
forested wetland, subject to high levels of stormwater discharge. After
clear-cutting, during construction, suspended fine sediment in construction
site runoff will pass through silt fence mesh hay bales into the buffer forest.
During large storm events when the ground is saturated, nutrient-rich fine
sediment has the potential to degrade water quality and settle in Fenger
Brook or its feeder streams, changing its present pristine condition and
present aquatic life.
10.The homes behind the proposed development have always had basement
flooding, especially in severe rain events. The removal of all the trees
behind their properties would increase the water table/wet areas and in
turn increase flooding in present homes. In addition the mature trees on
the present property owners land will be impacted by the clear-cutting on
the proposed development area because the root systems of the trees are
broad and will be damaged leading to additional tree die off.
11.The DEEP ‘Southeast Shoreline Summary 2015’ describes Fenger Brook as
impaired due to several factors and insists this area must be protected as a
valuable resource. It recommends cutting back impervious cover (from
roofs, driveways, parking lots, roads) that is impacting and impairing
aquatic life, additionally creating an increase in temperature impacting
receiving waterbodies. The report goes on in favor of protecting Fenger
Brook through encouraging public education, outreach, participation,
monitoring discharge, and buffering. It also recommends
monitoring/buffers for all construction and post construction runoff
controls; and recommends practices to minimize soil removal, soil
compaction, deforestation, erosion and sedimentation, and polluted runoff
from snow removal and storage.
The CTDEEP report urges reduction of impervious cover to prevent future
degradation of Fenger Brook and its tributaries, and especially protection of
existing buffers along riparian corridors and conserved lands throughout
watershed as those buffers will protect the swamp wetlands. The north

side of the project proposed will reduce the width of the naturally
vegetated buffer by 75% where the buffer is fifty to sixty feet wide. Most
important, the CTDEEP report also calls for implementation of Low Impact
Development (LID) practices and Best Management Practices for trees and
vegetation. This document was written to encourage everyone to protect
the Fenger Brook watershed as this practice is in all citizens’ best interest.
The motto for the Fenger Brook watershed is, “Do no harm”. The
Commission must strictly enforce this behavior.
12.The monitoring and accountability of all activity along this protected
watershed is not described in the developer’s application. This is a
complicated/multifaceted/interrelated wetland area and stormwater
management system with multiple aspects that will need ongoing attention
to detail and conscientious care into the future to achieve long-term
environmental protection by the developer. Construction activity must be
monitored frequently and penalties be presented if harmful activities are
not stopped. A busy construction contractor and his helpers may be
unaware of the wetland boundaries and cause irreparable harm with large
equipment. The haphazard ripping out of trees and vegetation, oil and
lubricants dripping out of construction equipment, ongoing soil
compaction, and fine sediment passing through perimeter barriers during
construction are some of the potential issues. The detention basin will be
enormous at roughly 32,500 square feet. It will be critical to frequently
inspect the condition of the discharge flow path and the condition of the
basin. Conditions such as erosion, mosquito activity, and vegetation
mortality must be monitored and issues addressed promptly by a
professional. Has the developer provided information about how he will do
this? Due to the enormous size of the project and the limited land available
to tenants, with no garage storage available to tenants, all areas must be
cleaned of litter and buffers freed of garbage, debris and dumping. Who
will continually monitor these conditions?
13.This is an overly dense mobile home design that is not appropriate for the
land size; there are 5.29 acres of impervious surface and protective buffers
are not wide enough along much of the project perimeter. There is too
much roof run off (all roofs should have ground infiltrators). The developer
has not addressed pets defecating and hunting unwatched, adequate snow

pile storage and play areas for children (they should not be in the
wetlands). Regular monitoring is needed to protect the essential wetland
areas and to avoid a very unfortunate outcome to the citizens of Waterford
and New London. Protecting the headwaters of Fenger Brook is imperative
for the present and future citizens. Will there be a third-party inspector
during construction, accountable to the town, not the developer, who
inspects on a frequent, regular schedule, and after every rain/weather
event? Will there be a property manager onsite responsible to manage this
activity and protect the wetland, pre and post construction, and who will
report any wetlands violations to the town? What is the penalty for not
protecting the watershed areas
14.A portion of the north end of the project (mobile homes and infrastructure)
is proposed to be built over the Veolia/City of New London 25” main fresh
water pipe serving 75% of New London County. In consideration of future
water pipe repairs/accidents (the pipe has broken 4 times in the past),
Veolia has asked the developer to design the layout so that no units are
directly over the pipe, as a precaution. The developer refused to change his
design. This must be addressed as the entire town depends on that water
pipe and it must not be compromised.
Now the Commission Members, after consideration of these factors and many
others, must reasonably foresee there will be substantial detrimental and
pollution impacts on the regulated resources (Fenger Brook and its associated
wetlands) with the current grandiose application (too much impervious
surface due to too much density creates severe adverse impacts on this
wetland). The Commission should hold the current application in abeyance
and tell the applicant to modify their current grandiose application and come
back to us with a reasonable wetland sensitive and a less dense plan. The
commission, we pray, will regulate the use and protect our fragile natural
resources.