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03/28/2024 02:00 PMNORTH HAVEN
By a 6-0 margin, the North Haven Inland Wetlands Commission unanimously rejected an application to fill the town’s Wetland 16 area as a starting point for the ambitious waste-to-energy plant project, AB Eco Park.
The commission was primarily concerned about the adverse ecological effects of filling in the wetland, along with uncertainties regarding the type of fill that would be used and a lack of several other critical details in the application.
In a statement for The Courier, Gambardella said the denial of the application was “disheartening” and a ”regrettable moment for North Haven.“ Without the project, the town could higher taxes and is deprived ”of a project that could have lowered waste disposal costs and preserved“ the Tidal Marsh Trail.
Vice Chairman Steven Miller made a motion to deny the application brought forth by former state representative and real estate attorney Bill Gambardella that would have started the process toward the building of AB Eco Park at 250 Universal Drive near Target.
The proposal was heavily scrutinized by North Haven residents, most notably at a public hearing on Feb. 28.
Miller said his reasons for denial of the application was that filling in Wetland 16 is not an ecologically sound plan, considering that it “would obliterate approximately 2,500 square feet of wetlands” and cause adverse effects to already heavily contaminated wetlands at the site. He also was concerned about the lack of any alternative plans that “offer the possibility of using clean fill” or less fill, a view shared by Commissioner Anna Garsten.
Miller was also concerned about the absence of data concerning tests of the contaminated wetlands that contain harmful chemicals like creosote and cancer- causing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as the absence of the tool of geotextile membranes, which is used in remediation projects that prevent further contamination of soils at a property. Miller said this tool has been used in “past practices in connection with major remediation products presented to the commission.”
“No such mitigation measures are proposed with respect to this application,” Miller said.
Secretary John Whitcomb did not have concerns with the fill that the application called for to fill in Wetland 16, but was still not willing to give his approval of the site plan.
Whitcomb stated that he sees “the opportunity to make this a usable site by providing a fill for this site” with the fill recommended by Department of Energy and Environmental Protection that the applicant was looking to use, but was also concerned with the potential effects to Wetland 17, which is the most contaminated wetland at the property.
“The issue I have is if Wetland 17 isn't addressed, and that can leave us in a position where we ended up with pretty much the same site,” he said.
Commissioner Cheryl Juniewic said she was concerned about how the applicant was “going to monitor the type of fill that they’re getting” from the “many dump trucks that were proposed to be on the property on a daily basis.”
Chairman Frank Bumstead shared Whitcomb’s view that he is “not as scared of the fill that's coming in,” but added that the “knowledge of what the fill is was not relayed out correctly to the public at all.” Ecological effects were among several concerns that Bumstead shared with the commission.
“The project could use a ton of work,” said Bumstead.
The unanimous rejection of the application was met with applause from members of the audience of citizens.