Last week there was a tree hearing on the fate of 18 trees in the area along a pipe to be replaced in Chickahominy by the town’s Sewer Division.
Greenwich Tree Conservancy director Kate Dzikiewicz and advocacy chair Francia Alvarez asked if there was a way to spare the trees, which they said were important for drainage in the neighborhood with a history of flooding. Booth Court is at the bottom of a steep hill.
In response Rich Feminella of the DPW Sewer Division and CDM Smith engineer Kristie Wagner said alternatives had been explored and dismissed.
The pipe goes from 18″ in diameter down to 12″ in diameter as is passes behind the Holly Hill Resource Recovery Facility, before increasing in diameter to 21″ and 24″ which Feminella said risks a bottleneck in the pipe that dates back to 1930.
Feminella said the “pipe bursting” method, which would instead break up the existing pipe and thread a new pipe through, had been evaluated but was not feasible due to inconsistent soil and rock conditions. Also, re-routing was not an option due to proximity to Tom’s Brook and the inland wetlands area, as well as the existence of rock in the area. Feminella also said that to excavate a new trench would be more disruptive and require more equipment and a longer construction duration than the estimated one-month for the project as proposed.
In all, about 370 feet of the 12″ diameter pipe is planned to be up-sized to 18.”
Feminella warned, “It can’t be overstated that if we were to have a failure…we could have a situation where there’s a break…and if it gets overwhelmed it’s coming out the manhole structures and you’d wind up getting raw sewage going into Tom’s Brook, which is a significant environmental health and safety concern.”
Ms Alvarez said a one-to-one replacement of the trees would be inadequate given 13 of the trees are of 10 DBH or larger.
During public comment, Dawn Fortunato, a resident of Booth Court, asked if the town had consulted Connecticut DEEP.
For years Fortunato has said there is contamination in the neighborhood as a result of the town incinerator having burned waste and deposited ash through 1977, and that contamination included heavy metals and PCBs.
“How are we mitigating the soil and water? Are we going to cause a disturbance if these trees are removed? How is our health going to be safeguarded?” she asked.
Mr. Feminella said replacing a sewer main did not require DEEP approval, but Ms Wagner from CDM Smith said, “We don’t have specific information on soil being contaminated here, but we will look into it.”
Tree Warden Dr. Kramer said there was agreement that more investigation needed to be done.
On Monday Dr. Kramer announced his decision.
“Having been presented with the project scope and learned more of the necessary work, as Tree Warden I will grant the removal of the listed trees.”
Dr. Kramer added a condition that the Sewer Department and the Tree Warden would continue to work together to review any further possibilities of retaining the three larger Red Oak Trees, one of which has a DBH of 30″, one 14″ and one 28″.
Second, Dr. Kramer said that a landscape plan would need to be designed during the project and implemented upon completion.
The Tree Warden’s decision noted that any person who objects to the decision has 10 days to appeal it to the superior court.
According to P&Z director Patrick LaRow, “Tree removal on Town property requires approval of the Tree Warden. Authority to repair, and replace the Town’s infrastructure lies with the authority of DPW and the Commissioner of DPW under the Charter.”
LaRow said the powers of the Dept of Public Works are under listed under the Charter here:
https://library.municode.com/ct/greenwich/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=THCHTOGRCO_ART12PUWO
Their their area of authority related to sewers under Sec. 262 and found here: https://library.municode.com/ct/greenwich/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=THCHTOGRCO_ART16SE
See also:
Neighbors Concerned Sewer Project Will Impact Flooding, Contamination in Chickahominy