IWC Slated To Consider Railroad Wetlands Application

By Andrew Gorosko

Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members are expected to discuss and possibly act next week on a controversial wetlands application from the Housatonic Railroad Company concerning earthen filling that has occurred on the northern section of the railroad’s 13.3-acre property at 30 Hawleyville Road (Route 25).

An IWC meeting on the subject is scheduled for 7:30 pm Wednesday, February 10, at the Municipal Center at 3 Primrose Street at Fairfield Hills.

At their last session on January 27, IWC members said they wanted more time to review the many application documents that had been submitted for their review.

IWC Chairman Anne Peters said on January 27 that she had reviewed some of the technical reports but needed more time for additional study of the documents.

IWC member Sharon Salling said that she has sought to focus specifically on the wetlands aspects of the application, adding “I would appreciate the [extra] time.”

“It would be very useful [to have the time] to sort through that,” she said.

The applicant of record for the wetlands permit is Newtown Transload, LLC, a firm that would work as a contractor for the railroad as part of the railroad’s controversial proposal to expand its solid waste handling operations at its property.

After inspecting site conditions at the railroad property in January, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) determined that it lacks wetlands protection jurisdiction over the railroad’s past earthen filling on the northern section of its property because that filling did not occur in wetlands.

That filling was done in connection with the proposal to expand solid waste handling on the property.

Because the railroad had not sought an IWC review of its filling work before doing that work adjacent to wetlands, the IWC issued the railroad a violation notice, which eventually resulted in the railroad ceasing its filling and applying to the IWC for a technical review of environmental protection aspects of the situation.

Unlike USACE, which only has regulatory power over wetlands, the town IWC’s jurisdiction covers wetlands and the 100-foot-wide area next to wetlands, which is known as the “upland review area.” The railroad’s earthen filling occurred in that upland review area, and thus is subject to IWC regulation.

Questioning, however, whether the IWC has legitimate jurisdiction over its activities, a railroad representatives has said the company would hold open the option of challenging the IWC’s jurisdiction.

In a January 8 letter to the town, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, however, stressed his support of the IWC’s having the legal jurisdiction to review the railroad’s wetlands application.

The railroad performed the extensive earthen filling on a spur of land on the northern section of its property in connection with its controversial proposal to expand its solid waste handling at its rail terminal. The railroad proposes significantly increasing the tonnage and also expanding the range of solid waste that it transfers from heavy trucks onto railcars for shipment by rail for disposal at out-of-state landfills.

When Congress approved the Clean Railroads Act of 2008, it required that the health and safety aspects of solid waste handling by railroads be subject to regulation by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Previously, railroads had been subject only to federal regulation. The railroad’s application marks the first time that the DEP has reviewed such a waste handling proposal under the terms of the Clean Railroads Act. The railroad’s DEP waste application is pending.

The town government and an ad hoc citizens group known as the Hawleyville Environmental Advocacy Team (HEAT) oppose the railroad’s expanded waste handling proposal. Town government opposition and the citizens group’s opposition has focused on issues including the potential for surface water pollution and groundwater pollution due to expanded waste operations. Other issues include increased truck traffic, increased noise, and additional blowing dust in the area.