The Conservation Commission on Tuesday voted 4-1-1 to seek the advice of town counsel after it reviewed concerns about water flowing off the Charleswood School construction site onto property owned by the commission.

Conservation administrator Judy Day noted that staff members had seen “high volumes of runoff that has sometimes been turbid” coming from the Charleswood site over the past couple of weeks.

Water from the site was seen running into a property off Briarcliff Drive that is owned by the Conservation Commission, triggering the review. The runoff has been caused by the geothermal well drilling, Day explained.

Steve Souza, an abutter who spoke later in the meeting, brought the issue to her attention because of the “volume and quantity of the water,” she said. He also questioned whether the commission gave permission for the dewatering activity to occur on its property.

Day requested on April 21 that the dewatering cease “until documentation was provided that the commission had given approval for that activity.”

Two days later, she said she observed additional turbid water coming from the site. On Monday, she saw clear water being pumped out onto the Conservation Commission property and mixing with sediment. She pointed out that there are no wetlands involved.

“We are currently waiting for direction from town counsel on whether the use of land for this purpose at all was warranted and what level of permission may have been needed at the time that the activity started,” added Day. “But regardless, nothing dirty should be leaving the site.”

Project reps explain situation

Joe Amara, the project manager from Brait Builders, said there is a construction document that shows that the land in question is “within the limit of work.”

He added that the geothermal well drilling increased the volume of water being generated. The drilling is expected to continue for another two or three weeks.

During 24 days of drilling, between 7,000-10,000 gallons of water were generated, according to Nicholas Brait.

The water was supposed to flow to temporary basins and then be transferred to a frac tank for treatment. But the water volume was “much higher than what was anticipated by anyone,” Amara explained.

Now there are four frac tanks on the site, he added. The company is taking turbidity readings twice a day. Amara stressed that the water being discharged now is clean and well below the Environmental Protection Agency’s threshold for discharge levels.

The discharge that had come from the stormwater basin now is going through the treatment system, he added.

“We do take exception to what [Amara] said that no one would have anticipated the amount of water that we’re seeing,” said Vertex owners project manager Chris Eberly.

Eberly stressed that the borings “very clearly showed a high water table.”

Said Eberly: “It was known that water was here, and Brait should have been aware of that.”

The initial proposal included dry wells at the edge of the site, he noted. There was a design “evolution” during the stormwater permitting process that created an “offshoot” that led to the discharge area.

Eberly added that he agreed with Day that town counsel should determine whether “there was something that was missed or whether the permitting as it was done was adequate.”

Past history of project violations

“We are not satisfied with the degree of attention that’s being paid to the filtration of this,” stressed Eberly. “As has been noted already, there have been a number of breaches that have occurred.”

He pointed out that, during recent rainstorms and higher temperatures, “there have been a number of times that containment of water on the site has been challenged.”

Brait should be responsible for cleaning up any sediment, he said, as well for the cost for a peer review. Amara agreed.

On Oct. 21, 2025, the Conservation Commission chastised the school’s developer for stormwater management violations and what it described as a slow response to solve them.

One month prior, work on the building’s foundation had to be suspended because the contractor began work prior to receiving a formal permit, approval or sign-off.

Eberly said he could not find anything in the project documents that showed the ownership of the land by the Conservation Commission. He believed permission had been granted to use the narrow strip where the dewatering was occurring because it was included in the order of conditions.  He called this a “good faith effort” to abide by the original permitting and the construction management plan the commission reviewed last September.

Souza then told the commission that water had been coming into his basement in February and March. Water also flowed across his driveway, down the street and into the storm drain. He speculated that other neighbors were affected.

“There’s a responsible amount of discharge,” said chair Melissa Recos. “And then there’s a ridiculous, irresponsible amount of discharge.”

Ed Harrow started to make a motion to issue a cease and desist order on the drilling. John Graziano, chair of the Elementary School Building Committee, intervened. He said stopping the project would “probably incur significant costs to the town.”

Amara agreed, saying the cost would be $20,000 per day of delay.

The commission voted 4-1-1 to have Day draft a letter that would encapsulate the discussion for town counsel’s review. Harrow voted against it, while co-vice chair Matt Moyen abstained.

Added Eberly: “We do want to take action to make sure that the construction is not creating an overburden situation for any of the abutters.”

75 South Street nears approval

The hearing on modifying the parking lot for 75 South Street was continued after discussion. The applicant, Lance LaFave, intends to repurpose the site from a commercial/industrial building to an office building/warehouse.

Consultant Joe Marquedant said the plans were modified at the commission’s request. They now included two areas for snow removal. A vegetated filter strip will lead to a rain garden.

Wetlands consultant Joe Orzel asked for more specifics on the rain garden. He also said that off-site work should be documented on the plans and that abutters should be notified.

Recos said she expected a decision to be made at the next meeting on May 19.

North Mill Street hearings continued

Prior to the meeting, applicant Lou Petrozzi requested that the two hearings on the proposed construction of a house at 12 North Mill Street be continued until the next meeting.

COC OK’d for REC Hopkinton

The commission voted 5-0 to approve a certificate of compliance for REC Hopkinton’s property located at 77 South Street. Recos said all of the peer review comments were addressed. Erosion control measures were removed. A barrier was installed around the isolated vegetated wetland to prevent mowing.