By Journal Staff
The Revere Conservation Commission (ConsComm) held its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday evening, July 10, in the City Council Chambers. Chair John Shue and fellow members Nicholas Rudolph, Bernardo Sepulveda, Brian Averback, and Wilson Correa were on hand for the lengthy (more than two hours) session.
The first matter on the agenda was a request for a Notice of Intent (NOI) by Mark and Lauren Rondon of 42 Arcadia St. to add crushed stone and topsoil to level-out their backyard to reduce flooding. Mr. Rondon presented the application and briefly described the work to be done. He noted that his property is much lower than the surrounding properties in the neighborhood. Sepulveda said he had visited the property and observed the scope and intended effect of the work to be done. Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarrino-Sawaya spoke in favor of the project.
There were no opponents and the commission unanimously approved the application. Next up was a request for an NOI by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) to replace a portion of the MWRA water main (Section 56) that previously traversed underneath the General Edwards Bridge. The water pipeline serves as a back-up water main for Lynn. Peter Grasso, the project manager for the Section 56 water line replacement, presented a detailed slide show that described the scope of the work. He noted that the pipeline was installed in 1934 and Section 56 was removed because of corrosion in 2018. The pipeline thus presently dead-ends in Revere, which has created water quality issues in the city. Grasso said the bids should go out in the fall, with the work to get underway in early 2025, with an expected completion date in 2026.
Kate Schassler, a Permitting Specialist with AECOM, a world-wide infrastructure consulting firm, explained to the ConsComm some more details of the project, most notably that the new section of pipe will traverse 40 feet under the Saugus River and will be installed by use of a process known as horizontal directional drilling, which will minimize erosion and environmental impacts. The commissioners questioned the team from the MWRA on a host of issues pertaining to details of the project, including how the project will affect the Rice Ave. neighborhood, which will be directly impacted by the construction project. Hugo Rizzuto, a resident of Rice Ave., said he was not opposed to the project, but opposed to the method being proposed by the MWRA.
After noting that the pipeline to be replaced is a redundant system, he suggested that drilling under the Saugus River will have a significant impact on the environment and marine life. He said that the pipeline should be built underneath the bridge (as it had been before Section 56 was removed), which he said will have no impact on the environment. Grasso responded that the MWRA’s environmental impact studies show that drilling 40 feet under the river will be less impactful than placing the pipe under the aging General Edwards Bridge, which is set to be replaced in the early 2030s.
Schassler further noted that the state DEP and other state agencies have acknowledged that drilling under the Saugus River is the solution with the least environmental impact. In addition, she pointed out that the permitting process for the project has been ongoing for a number of years, with even more environmental reviews still to come from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Lynn Conservation Commission. Guarino-Sawaya raised issues regarding impacts to the residents in the Rice Ave. area. She received assurances from Grasso that the MWRA will work with the community to address the residents’ concerns. However, the ConsCom did not take a vote on whether to issue the NOI because the members did not have the opportunity to walk the area prior to the meeting, and thus put off a vote on issuing the NOI until their next meeting on August 7.
The next item on the agenda was a request for a Determination of Applicability relating to the ongoing response actions at the site of the 2020 Brown Circle gasoline and diesel fuel spill where a tanker truck overturned and spilled its contents into the adjacent marsh. Jeffrey Liddle, an environmental scientist and project manager with Verdantas, said the firm intends to inject a natural bioremediation agent into the sediment where the contamination persists. He said the work will not have a permanent impact on the wetlands area, thus removing it from the jurisdiction of the ConsComm. He added that the state DEP already has given its approval to using the bioremediation method, which will utilize naturally-occurring microbial organisms to break down the remnants of the spill.
Averback questioned Liddle as to whether the bioremediation agent has been proven safe. Averback said he wanted to be assured that the microbial agents “would not be the subject of a John Oliver HBO show 20 years from now about brain tumors in children.” Averback also referenced the Woburn Superfund clean-up site, referring to the cluster of childhood leukemia cases in Woburn neighborhoods where the drinking water had been contaminated by chemical pollutants that had leaked into a nearby river. Liddle responded that the microbial agent has been used safely for decades across the country. There were no opponents and the ConsComm voted 4-1 (with Averback opposed) for a negative Determination of Applicability, which means that the ConsComm will not be monitoring the remediation program going forward.
Claire Hoogeboom, a wetlands scientist with LEC Environmental Consultants, Inc., came before the board to make a preliminary presentation for a forthcoming NOI for 57 Oak Island St., which is an existing three-story, multi-family home, regarding a “base analysis on the project area and what activities can be done to maintain and improve the existing dwelling and yard.” She mentioned that the potential issues will involve additional parking areas and adding fill for a 10-foot buffer area around the perimeter of the house. The members asked some questions and provided guidance to Hoogeboom, who soon will be presenting a plan to the ConsComm when she files for an NOI. The commission addressed two enforcement matters pertaining to 23 and 29 Putnam Rd. in which the owners have added fill and are spreading a pile of soil in land subject to the jurisdiction of the ConsComm.
“You can’t add fill in those areas without getting permission to do so,” Shue told the homeowners, “and if it’s dirty fill, you will have to remove it.” One owner, who recently purchased the property, said he was unaware of the issues pertaining to the restrictions on his property, which is adjacent to a marshland, and that he would agree to remove what has been placed there. However, the members reiterated that for the removal-and-replacement of the fill, the owner still must obtain the proper permits. As for the other homeowner, he too, was told of the legal requirements that are necessary for him to do the proposed work. Courtney D Hilliard, the owner of the home at 127 Oak Island St., came before the ConsComm seeking an after-the-fact Determination of Applicability for her project in which she replaced an existing asphalt driveway with permeable pavers and replaced an existing brick wall with concrete blocks.
“The project was pretty much done when I visited it,” said Shue, who noted that the new work amounted to a simple replacement of what already was there. The commission voted unanimously for a negative Determination of Applicability, which means that the project did not require supervision by the ConsComm. The commission issued a Certificate of Compliance to Ayaz Akhtar, who completed the installation of steps going down to his basement and expanded the door to enter the basement in the rear of his property.
Lastly, the commission granted a request by McClellan Highway Development Company, LLC, for an extension for three years of an Order of Conditions at the Suffolk Downs redevelopment site at 220 Revere Beach Parkway for site preparation activities for Phase 1R-E of the Suffolk Downs Redevelopment.
The commission then adjourned until its next meeting on August 7.
