Tag Archives: Old Lyme Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission

TOP STORY: Old Lyme Cemetery’s Bridge Project Spurs Debate Over Temporary Road on Library Lane

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OLD LYME–Library Lane has become a meeting ground for public interests as the need for burial access at the Duck River Cemetery intersects with neighbors’ calls for traffic safety on the narrow road. 

The nonprofit Old Lyme Cemetery Association, which oversees the cemetery and its historic bridge over the Duck River, has proposed the construction of a temporary road accessible via Library Lane that would allow burials to continue during a partial bridge replacement slated for the fall of 2027. 

The application was approved in April by the Old Lyme Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission (IWWC). But it wasn’t until last week that some neighbors found out about it, according to Wetlands Enforcement Officer Eric Knapp. 

Cemetery Association President Ed Pinn in a Wednesday phone interview said the replacement project will cut off a portion of the cemetery from the existing entrance on McCurdy Road for about three months. 

“Without that temporary road, people’s loved ones won’t be able to be buried in sections that are beyond the bridge,” he said. 

He said bridge designs are not yet complete and bids have not yet been solicited for the project set to start roughly two years from now. 

“Our goal is to not begin the temporary road until just before we’re about to undertake the bridge project so that there’s minimal impact on the community and the road won’t appear active until it’s absolutely necessary,” he said. 

The inland wetlands application specifies about 0.14 acres of wetlands will have to be filled in to make way for the 12- to 14-foot-wide passageway. The project was approved by the commission in a 7-0 vote. 

Project documents show the plan relies on an easement allowing the association to use the driveway at 31 Library Lane.

No Public Hearing

At an IWWC meeting Tuesday, several neighbors raised concerns about the potential effect of increased traffic on the lane where people walk, bike and play. 

William Folland, who lives on Dunns Lane—a cul-de-sac that joins Library Lane—said the wetlands application did not indicate if any alternatives to crossing the wetlands had been considered. He also worried there were not enough conditions in place to ensure the temporary road did not become permanent. 

Folland said there should be a public hearing on the issue. 

“I believe that this is a privately funded project but with significant public interest; that is, the safety of the residents on Library Lane,” he said. 

But Old Lyme Land Use Coordinator and Wetlands Enforcement Officer Eric Knapp said the commission, after visiting the site, determined there would not be any significant impacts to the wetlands – and therefore no need for a public hearing. Other evidence weighed by the commission included engineering and erosion control plans as well as testimony from Nathan L. Jacobson and Associates, the cemetery association’s consultant. 

“The permit remains in place,” Knapp said at the commission meeting. “And at this point, it’s valid going forward.”

Knapp emphasized the commission’s jurisdiction is limited to environmental concerns in the wetlands. 

“The wetlands commission is ill-equipped to deal with traffic issues; it’s really not within your parameters,” he said. 

The temporary nature of the project means it’s not in the purview of the Zoning Commission, either, according to Knapp.  

A joint letter from Knapp and First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker addressed Monday to Library Lane residents recognized the neighbors’ frustration but said the town’s involvement in the process ended with the inland wetlands commission’s sign off. 

“No town approvals were necessary or required for this arrangement,” they wrote. “Additionally, no approval from the Zoning Commission was required, as there is nothing in the Zoning Regulation that would address a temporary use of this nature.” 

They said burials there average four a month. 

Holding the Key

The owner of 31 Library Lane told the commission he doesn’t see how the plan can proceed until more information is provided to residents. 

“I think I hold the key to this happening, since it’s on my property,” he said. 

Gary Dayharsh said he may allow access through his driveway for the temporary road, but needs important questions answered before giving full approval.

“I have yet to see a plan on what’s proposed,” he said. “I want to cooperate. I understand why it’s necessary. But I certainly want all my concerns addressed before I’ll even agree.”

He said he’s waiting for assurances that his driveway culvert won’t be harmed, general cemetery traffic won’t be coming up his driveway, liability insurance is covered and his property will be restored afterward. 

Pinn, the cemetery association president, said he will bring in engineers to look at Dayharsh’s culvert and will address all of his concerns. 

He said the temporary road will be returned to its original condition within six months or less, weather depending. 

The remediation plan is included in the engineering plans submitted to the commission. 

The association hasn’t decided how visitors will access the affected cemetery section outside of burial times, according to Pinn.

He described Dayharsh and the other property owners along the shared driveway as gracious for working with the association to make the project possible.

“We’re acting in the interest of the community by repairing the bridge, and we appreciate the cooperation of the neighbors, who’ve helped facilitate it,” he said. 

The association president noted the bridge’s condition came to light after the association brought in an engineer to determine the load carrying capacity of the 100-year-old structure amid plans to develop the cemetery’s Ledges section. Members ultimately agreed it was their responsibility to follow the engineer’s recommendation to replace the bridge. 

Pinn said he would keep affected residents informed of the project in writing going forward. 

“We want to be a good neighbor,” he said.

TOP STORY: Old Lyme Wetlands Commission Denies Swaney’s Request to Change Permit Conditions at Three Mile River Gravel Pit

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OLD LYME–More than a year and a half after environmental complaints publicly surfaced on the banks of the Three Mile River, the owner of a controversial gravel pit on Tuesday said he will undo changes local officials said he never should have made in the first place. 

The move came after the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission on Tuesday declined to take up a request by 308-1 Mile Creek Road owner Ron Swaney to walk back conditions placed on an “after the fact” permit approval the agency granted in March to bring Swaney into compliance with local regulations. 

Swaney’s request, if approved, would have allowed him to sidestep the commission’s requirements to rectify unpermitted work that had taken place. This work included the addition of pavement millings to the driveway and the placement of boulders within the banks of the river, among other violations. 

The news was greeted as a victory for the contingent of neighbors and environmental advocates who have mobilized around the issue. The group includes 59 people, who signed onto a June 20 letter opposing any changes to the conditions. 

“Time and again this property has been the site of astonishingly flagrant violations, time and again the town has attempted to bring its owners to operate within the law, yet time and again as cease and desist orders are lifted the conditions ordered with these permissions have gone unfulfilled,” the letter said. 

Shore Road resident Peter Caron after the meeting applauded the commission for not amending the conditions.  

“All in all, we’re happy that the commission stuck to their guns and they want to protect the river as much as possible,” Caron said. 

Commission member Michael Aurelia during the meeting said getting Swaney to come to the table with a permit application was a labor-intensive process. 

“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “We had to actually start court action to get an application.” 

The lawsuit, which was filed in November of last year, is pending, but not active now that Swaney is working with the commission to address the compliance issues. 

William E. McCoy, Swaney’s attorney, after the meeting said he disagreed with the contention that it took a lawsuit to spur his client to act. He would not elaborate. 

Swaney declined to comment.

The Alternative

McCoy warned commission members during the meeting that enforcing the conditions could do more harm than good. 

An April 13 report from certified soil scientist Joseph Theroux proposed leaving a portion of the millings, keeping some of the boulders, and adding a new section of berm to protect the river.

Theroux was hired by Swaney to come up with a mitigation plan as required by the commission. The assessment came after he visited the site to find conditions “stable” in the areas he recommended leaving untouched. 

The millings, boulders and berm “all stabilize the erodible stream banks/road bed, partially prevent flood waters from flooding across the roadbed and silting up the ponds, and prevent erosion and sedimentation on the road bed from entering the river,” Theroux wrote. 

McCoy said his client would go along with the commission’s conditions if necessary, but emphasized Theroux’s plan, “Potentially is a better remediation program than was put together at the last meeting of the commission, when it decided this.”

The commission’s permit conditions also require Swaney to ensure the culvert near the entrance to the property remains clear to prevent flooding. Swaney and his team have blamed beavers for continually clogging the culvert with their dam activity. 

Aurelia during Tuesday’s meeting said it became obvious to him during the commission’s June 10 site walk that the culverts were failing. He said he also saw fragments of roof shingles in the road millings that commission members worried would get washed into the river. 

Commission member John Mesham said he believed the culvert is not adequately sized. 

“So if you want to not do some of this remediation, bring us an engineering report and a resizing of the pipe, because that’s what most of this goes back to,” he said. 

Mesham referenced a letter from resident Raina Volovski, who identified herself as a certified soil scientist, wetland scientist, and erosion and sediment control professional with 15 years’ experience. 

Volovski said she attended the commission’s site walk as a member of the public, where she found issues that exacerbated flooding conditions in some areas while also contributing to low water levels in the three interior ponds on the site. 

“The property is within a mapped floodplain. Flooding is supposed to happen. The unpermitted impacts and proposed mitigation are not going to eliminate the flooding and will potentially increase flooding issues and additional wetlands impacts,” she said. 

Consensus Decision

The commission did not take a formal vote based on advice from Land Use Coordinator Eric Knapp, who cautioned members that a motion on the matter would constitute an appeals process that would add another layer to the ongoing legal situation. 

The commission directed Knapp to work with consulting town engineer Geoffrey Jacobson to approve the bond Swaney must post with the town before work can begin. The amount, which is meant to ensure the commission’s conditions are met in a timely manner, was tentatively set at $10,000 by Swaney’s project engineer. 

Knapp said he will review Swaney’s work to ensure compliance, with the option to bring in a consulting expert if necessary.

A permit from the zoning department authorizing Swaney to excavate the site expired in May. Knapp on Wednesday said the Zoning Commission will not take up a permit application until Swaney has “fully complied” with the inland wetlands permit. 

Knapp noted that a surface water discharge permit from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has also expired.