15 Hard Scrabble Road Gravel Wetland
At a glance
- What: a subsurface gravel wetland to treat storm water at an industrial recycling facility at 15 Hard Scrabble Road (captions render it "Hearts / Hogs Gravel Road").
- Where it stands: Conservation Commission hearing closed October 14 and an order of conditions voted, with special conditions. Planning and state approvals are in hand.
- Next: drainage easement across the road, Article 16 at the Special Town Meeting - October 27, 2026.
The proposal
- Replaces a pond that behaves like a dry pond; the facility has struggled with storm water discharge results under its EPA multi-sector general permit (TSS, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, pH, chemical oxygen demand).
- The applicant's consultant, "Mr. Walsh" (full name not caught), cited removal of about 96% of TSS and 60% or more of zinc.
- Estimated 4 to 6 months of construction; likely to start in spring.
Decisions
- Standard conditions plus listed special conditions, with maintenance changed to semiannual or more often; condition 7 added for pipes crossing the road.
- Ricky Aris chaired this item temporarily; Michael Garland was reinstated afterward (reason not stated in the captions).
Discussion time
About 19 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-14 - Conservation Commission | 19 |
Log
- 2026-10-14 - Conservation Commission - Hearing presented, closed; order of conditions voted with special conditions.
- 2026-09-23 - Finance Committee - Finance Committee deferred Article 16 (stormwater easement) to the petitioner.
- 2026-09-14 - Select Board - Article 16: no-fee easement so the Casella property can discharge stormwater directly to the pond; environmental review through the Conservation Commission.
- 2026-08-26 - Conservation Commission - Hearing taken off the agenda at the applicant's request to continue (from auto-captions).