MONTAGUE — The Conservation Commission determined during a meeting last week that the Franklin Regional Transit Authority’s development plans for a new bus maintenance and operations facility do not infringe upon the Wetlands Protection Act, and can move forward.
FRTA’s current maintenance garage, on Deerfield Street in Greenfield, which the transit authority leases, is not ideal for the circulation patterns of the fleet of vehicles, FRTA Assistant Administrator Michael Perreault has explained previously. By comparison, the new maintenance facility on Sandy Lane in Turners Falls would be owned by the FRTA and would better suit the traffic patterns.
Perrault previously said the project is worth around $9.5 million, funded by both federal and state grants. The purchase price of the land itself, which was previously owned by the town, was $125,000.
Civil engineer Peter Glick presented details regarding the FRTA’s plans to the Conservation Commission. The facility would be 27,700 square feet on a 5.05-acre lot. Perreault has previously said the property is slightly larger than what is being used in Greenfield, but the building is expected to be similar in size.
The nearest wetland to the Sandy Lane property is categorized as an “isolated wetland” to the west of the facility, with similar terrain to the south. A vernal pool exists on the property with other similarly-characterized pools.
In presenting the FRTA’s plan, Glick said while planners would need to recognize the nearby isolated wetland (delineated by Stockman Associates LLC in 2017) as protected by the Wetlands Protection Act, other surrounding terrain with similar characteristics don’t qualify to be recognized under the act.
“They’re under federal jurisdiction, but they don’t meet the criteria for a wetland,” Glick said.
Town Planner and Conservation Commission member Walter Ramsey added that this terrain isn’t regulated by the town in such a way either.
“Montague does not have a local bylaw that protects these, so as far as jurisdiction is considered, this is going to be pretty straightforward,” Ramsey said.
Similarly, aside from the singular vernal pool certified on the property, other pools fall short of such classification criteria. Because these natural features don’t meet the criteria to be labeled as wetlands and vernal pools, respectively, under the Wetlands Protection Act, the FRTA argues that infringement should not be a concern.
Glick’s presentation also contained details regarding regulatory systems that the FRTA intends to put in place to ensure minimal environmental harm. These systems include infiltration basins, treatment basins, a detention basin, flow attenuation regulation, a trio of water quality units, and a perimeter lined with silt and compost. He added that there would be above-ground diesel and gasoline tanks equipped with leak protection and in adherence with current standards.
The Conservation Commission ultimately reached negative determinations on “whether the work depicted on plan(s) referenced … is subject to the Wetlands Protection Act” and “whether the area and/or work depicted on plan(s) referenced … is subject to the jurisdiction of any municipal wetlands ordinance or bylaw of Montague.”
“It’s ultimately a negative determination because it’s not in the jurisdictional area,” Ramsey said. “That being said, it’s important to note that they’re not filling the isolated wetlands. … They’re close to the wetland boundary, but not in it.”
If all goes as planned, Perreault previously said, the site will undergo construction beginning later this summer.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or
jmendoza@recorder.com.