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This news item was brought to our attention by First report - Nov 26, 2011 Dec 21, 2011 >> Read MA / RI TU Council's Letter to MA DEP Dec 21, 2011 >> Hadley Residents write letter of support and create website If you have pictures of this, new updates or wish to report other similar problems, please feel free to Contact the MA / RI Council Wednesday, December 7, 2011,
After work by a contractor that the state Department of Environmental Protection found excessive, the Chickley River along Route 8A in Hawley looks more like a drainage ditch than a wild river. The DEP has ordered that the environmental damage be repaired.
The enforcement order says that some of E.T.&L.'s work "exceeded the scope of the work" allowed under emergency rules DEP had issued Aug. 26 to allow emergency work to be done without the usual permitting and public notice that's normally required in wetlands. DEP details The contractor's unpermitted work, DEP found, "significantly deepened and straightened the Chickley River # (and) has isolated the Chickley River from its floodplains and floodways by the construction of berms." In the process it "appears to have created a potential for safety hazard in addition to altering habitat" beyond the scope of what was allowed under the emergency authorization. A Nov. 22 letter from the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program to the town reported that its inspection of the site found evidence of dredging work that placed dredged materials along the banks as well as altering the direction of flow by dredging a new channel through an abutting farm field. The work also put dredged materials into the river channel, deepened the river from several feet to up to 18 feet and "substantially" narrowed the river's width in several sections.
The DEP order says that when the contractor was interviewed by DEP on Nov. 15, it said it had not read the emergency certification in regard to work at the site. Within 10 days, the order calls on E.T.&L. to select a qualified environmental consultant and submit a plan specifying which work was done in conformance with the emergency regulations, and which was beyond the scope of those emergency rules, as well as which work has altered fish and wildlife habitat or isolated any part of the floodplain from the river - among steps to correct those problems. It has five days after DEP approval of the plan to begin taking that corrective action. In discussions Jennie Lee Colosoi, president of E.T.&L., declined to comment on the enforcement action, but she said the company has been having discussions with officials from the town about the work. When asked how this town of only 337 residents will pay for the work done in the river and possibly for subsequent remediation required by DEP, Hawley Finance Committee Chairman Kirby "Lark" Thwing said town officials don't yet know "how much money the town will be responsible for." "We haven't heard from MEMA (Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency), and we're working with our senators and congressmen to see if we can get assistance. We're anticipating somewhere between $350,000 to $500,000 worth of uncovered expenses." Another unknown is how extensive the state-required remediation will be and whether E.T. & L. or the town will pay. "I don't know how much of what they have to do will get billed to the town or to E.T.&L.," he said. "I've read through the (DEP's) order. I know we have to take down some of the berms that are above the flood plain. If (DEP) just makes us make sure that the river can act like a river, then I don't think it will be too bad. If there is no help with the uncovered costs, the town may have to take out a long-term loan, "a huge bond" that will take many years to repay, said Thwing. On its website, E.T.&L. Corp. said that it was hired by the state Department of Transportation to begin working 12 hours a day alongside National Guard bulldozers to get the state highway opened by the end of the week that followed the Sunday storm. Concurrent with that $2 million project, the website says, "the Town of Hawley sought E.T.& L.'s assistance refilling and stabilizing the Town DPW Garage, which had also been washed out by the storm. Shortly thereafter, (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) approved the Town of Hawley to go into the Chickley River and restore it to its original location, depth, and width. E.T.&L. Corp. mobilized additional excavators and has been working in a five-mile stretch of the Chickley River to reconstruct the river banks to avoid further erosion and destruction to property along Route 8A."
Lasting damage Andrea Donlon, Massachusetts river steward for the watershed council, said that even if corrective action is taken, lasting damage to habitat may already have occurred. She questioned why the state agency had not responded sooner to complaints from residents. "It's really clear that the straightening and dredging of the Chickley for several miles went far, far beyond what was necessary to repair and protect roads, bridges and private property, and apparently residents were complaining weeks or months ago," said Donlon. "Not only did the work harm wildlife and habitats, it likely increases risk next spring or in any future flooding." The Chickley is regulated as a cold water fishery, is home to two state endangered aquatic species and is stocked with Atlantic salmon fry each spring. The work site was also visited by representatives from the state Department of Fish and Game. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which also inspected the site late last month, is still investigating the work site, where, according to agency permits and enforcement chief Karen Adams, a necessary permit for the work was never issued. Her agency is consulting with the Environmental Protection Agency on whether to take enforcement action. The Watershed Council said it will ask to review the plan created by E.T.&L.'s environmental engineer and has informally asked DEP to also do a compliance inspection of the Cold River in Florida along Route 2 because that work is also being done by E.T. & L. "In most cases, towns took necessary action to recover from this catastrophic flooding," Donlon said. "It is not clear why such extensive work was executed in Hawley and who is paying for it. Rivers need to bend and dissipate energy from the water. Boulders and woody debris provide habitat for living organisms in the water. "A 4-5 mile stretch of some of the state's best cold water habitat has been ruined," she said. Ed note: Below is a representative shot of the Chickley River taken just before Irene..
Image Source: http://littlebangtheory.wordpress.com Copyright, 2011, The Recorder, Greenfield, MA -- Reprinted with permission Stay tuned for updates! Copyright MA-RI-TU-Council.ORG © 2011 | ||
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