The Conservation Commission on Tuesday reprimanded the representative for the Newbury Glen subdivision for the latest in a series of stormwater management violations, this time apparently brought about by a contractor in late October.
Newbury Glen, previously called Elmwood Farms III, is located off Blueberry Lane. It incurred three violations in July and August 2023, which led to an enforcement order that September. Another violation occurred in December 2024, and more recent stormwater violations there were discussed in March and in May.
Conservation Administrator Judy Day shared that chair Melissa Recos notified her of silt she observed on Oct. 26 in the stream that leads to the off-site basins at the development.
“Definitely not as bad as we’d seen earlier this year,” said Day as she displayed several pictures showing the water, “but still clearly turbid.”
Two days before, Day saw that a basin plug was “not fully closed.” Also, a larger basin off Blueberry Lane was “about as full as we’ve ever seen it and pretty filthy.”
“I think there’s questions about how Toll [Brothers] is planning to manage the volume that’s been in this basin,” she added.
Ted Merchant, the land development director for Toll Brothers, explained that he had “determined that the water was good enough to let out” of the basin, based upon pictures he had received from a contractor. The contractor opened the basin Oct. 24.
“The explanation that we had gotten was something changed within the basin,” he said. It was unclear to him “whether someone had pumped water in to the basin” while working on-site over that weekend.
Merchant noted that the site contractor relays information to him as to when he believes water should be discharged from the basin. Sometimes the water is pumped out through a silt bag to capture debris. Decisions are based on weather forecasts and potential rainfall amounts, he said.
“I feel like that basin never looks clean,” said Recos. “Obviously this wasn’t a rain event overtopping basins causing flow. It was definitely somebody’s choice to turn on the pump and allow the water to leave the basin in this condition.”
Recos added that there seemed to be a “breakdown in communication or oversight.” She also called out Merchant for allowing unsupervised pumping to happen on weekends. He agreed that the pump should be supervised and should only be de-watered on weekdays.
“This is not the Toll Brothers’ first rodeo in Hopkinton,” said member Ed Harrow. “This is a continuation of the same sorts of things we’ve seen before.”
Harrow called the situation “a failure of management.”
“I’m just at my wit’s end,” added co-vice chair Ted Barker-Hook. “I don’t know how many times we need to have Toll Brothers reps here. It’s so, so, so deeply frustrating.”
Merchant apologized and agreed to communicate with Day and the commission about pumping plans moving forward.
“It seems like the expectations have been laid out,” said co-vice chair Matt Moyen. “Hopefully we won’t have to talk about this again.”
Whisper Way truck accident discussed
In contrast to the Newbury Glen situation, the commission praised the actions by developers to act quickly to resolve issues after a tractor hit a tree and caught fire on Wood Street, near Whisper Way.
Day said she was contacted by Mark Arnold of Goddard Consultants on Oct. 30. Goddard, who represents the Nation development family, informed her that a dump truck had veered off the road leading to the subdivision on Whisper Way early that morning. It dumped a load of asphalt millings into the wetlands when it overturned.
“We came out after the truck was removed and saw a ton of work going on to remove the material from the wetland by hand before the rain hit,” she added. “They definitely acted quickly and were in really good communication with us.”
Day said she did not expect “any lasting damage” from the accident.
Arnold clarified that the accident occurred at a common driveway between two lots, not the subdivision roadway. He explained that the truck fell over on the downstream side after it appeared to have “just misjudged the edge of the asphalt and went off.”
He added that there were no effects to the vernal pool there. There was damage to the bark of the red maple that was struck, but Arnold said he was hopeful that it would survive.
Crews quickly installed erosion controls and shoveled out the asphalt millings to remove them “as quickly as possible,” he noted as photos of the scene were displayed. The damaged area was replanted with willows, white pines, ferns and other vegetation to give the area “a boost of life.” Leaves were spread in the area to speed up soil regeneration.
The next day, Arnold said the area was inspected for oil sheen, but nothing was found.
Recos thanked Arnold for his thorough presentation and for addressing the situation in a timely manner.
Town seeks to replace Well 1
The commission approved a request for negative determination of applicability by the Department of Public Works to replace Well 1 off Fruit Street with a similar well 15 feet away.
Hydrogeologist Maura Callahan, representing the DPW, said Well 1 has lost its capacity to provide viable drinking water. Built in 1958, it was repaired in 2019 with a small screen that inhibited its water output.
At this time, she explained that the town needs to run all its wells to meet peak water demand. This means that there is no time for the wells to be cleaned or maintained.
The proposed new well would be placed on a 12-acre parcel off Fruit Street, about 15 feet northwest of Well 1. She noted that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), which oversees the state’s drinking water, stipulates that a replacement well must be within 50 feet of the well it is replacing. It also must be at the same depth and draw from the same source. It will rise 2 feet above the floodplain.
Replacement wells are exempt from the Wetlands Protection Act, added Callahan.
DPW Director Kerry Reed explained that flooding in that area has been caused by an undersized culvert where the stream there goes. Work to improve the culvert funded by a grant from the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) will take place in tandem with this project.
Note the response difference between the Toll Bros, who have been brought up multiple times for violations by ConCom, and the Nation’s proactive response to the truck rollover accident at their Wood St subdivision.