Posted on March 22, 2018
By Mary Markos, The Salem News
A complaint with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection regarding Crystal Lake has been dealt with, according to city officials. But another, separate issue regarding the dredging project is ongoing.
“All I can tell you is there is an ongoing enforcement matter regarding the disposal of the sediment from the dredging project at a landfill,” MassDEP spokesperson Joe Ferson said.
More than 46,000 cubic yards of material was dug out from the lake last year. The material filled 4,200 truckloads, which were taken to the city’s landfill off Farm Avenue.
The $3 million project is being paid for through a mix of state and city funds, including a grant secured several years ago by late Rep. Joyce Spiliotis, an earmark from Sen. Joan Lovely, community preservation money, and leftover funds from a flood mitigation project at Scouting Way.
A complaint was filed by a resident who lives near Elginwood Pond, which is next to Crystal Lake.
The resident claimed the dredged material from Crystal Lake was being released into the pond, according to a document provided by Ferson. The complainant also claimed the dumping caused a eutrophication, which is an excessive richness of nutrients in a body of water that causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life due to the lack of oxygen.
The complaint is dated September 2017, but the related investigation, completed by the city’s Conservation Commission, is dated July 2017. It is unclear how the investigation took place before the complaint was filed.
The resident requested that an inspector from the MassDEP visit the pond, but no one from the department inspected the pond. Instead, they requested that the Peabody Conservation Commission investigate and they reviewed the commission’s findings.
The Conservation Commission, along with the Department of Public Services and Tighe & Bond — an engineering and environmental consulting company — reviewed several areas surrounding Elginwood Pond, according to the report. They found no evidence of recent sediment disposition.
“For several years, we’ve worked very closely with MassDEP, pursuing permits and pursuing approvals for the restoration of Crystal Lake,” Mayor Ted Bettencourt said. “Every step of the way we were in contact with the department and we believe that that project was done appropriately.”
The mayor said although he would have loved to have dredged the pond along with the lake, the additional several million dollars it would have cost weren’t feasible for the project’s budget.
“We took very careful measures to make sure that Elginwood Pond and the surrounding areas around Crystal Lake were protected and there were no adverse impacts on those areas,” Bettencourt said. “We are hoping someday in the future to look at continuing the work at Elginwood Pond.”
Source: The Salem News
