Date: Fri 07-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

aquifer-protection-Michaud

Full Text:

Aquifer Protection Plan Starts Review Process

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

A Conservation Commission member has been formulating proposed aquifer

protection regulations for the town to safeguard the quality of underground

drinking water supplies.

Sandra Michaud said Tuesday she has submitted her proposed aquifer protection

regulations to Conservation Official C. Stephen Driver for his review and

comment on the administrative aspects of such rules.

Ms Michaud, who joined the Conservation Commission in January 1997, said she

has been interested for more than a decade in protecting the quality of

underground water supplies.

The regulations are proposed to protect and preserve groundwater quality

within stratified drift aquifers which are existing or potential public and

private drinking water supplies. These groundwater resources have been shown

to be easily contaminated by many land use activities; thus there is a need

for specific land use controls be exercised within these areas, according to

the proposal.

Several years ago the Legislative Council designated the Conservation

Commission as the town's Aquifer Protection Agency. The commission's role in

that capacity has been muted during the past several years because no town

aquifer protection regulations have been in place. The state Department of

Environmental Protection (DEP) repeatedly has urged the town to wait until the

state approves a "model set" of aquifer regulations upon which municipalities

can base their regulations.

But the state's adoption of those model rules repeatedly has been delayed,

prompting Ms Michaud to urge that town regulations be adopted before the

state's model rules are in place.

The state has been working on its model regulations for the past nine years,

Ms Michaud noted, asking why it is taking so long.

Ms Michaud said she is especially concerned that the water quality of local

aquifers will be degraded by development before the town can get aquifer

protection regulations in place.

Several other towns in Connecticut already have enacted their own aquifer

protection regulations, so it would behoove Newtown to do the same, Ms Michaud

said.

After Mr Driver reviews Ms Michaud's proposals, copies of a final draft will

be distributed to Conservation Commission members for their review and

comment. Also, the town attorney will review the documents.

Ms Michaud said she hopes the final version of the town's aquifer protection

regulations can be submitted to a public hearing and acted upon by the

Conservation Commission expeditiously.

State legislation on aquifer protection allows municipalities to have

regulations that are stricter than state regulations, but not any less strict.

The DEP, in effect, sets the minimum standards for aquifer protection within

the state.

Ms Michaud noted there is much commercially-zoned land near local aquifer

areas, stressing the need to move rapidly and get local rules in place.

"I've taken these regulations as far as I can take them. We are working very

hard to get these in place. I wish this had been in place a long time ago,"

she said.

Ms Michaud said she opposed the past construction of Sand Hill Plaza on South

Main Street, noting its proximity to the Pootatuck Aquifer wellheads through

which United Water supplies about 1,000 customers with public drinking water.

Ms Michaud said she does not oppose development, but stresses that development

must be done correctly to protect the environment.

Locally, the Pootatuck Aquifer, a major sand-and-gravel aquifer, is the source

of two public drinking water supplies -- the United Water system and the water

wells that serve Fairfield Hills, Garner Correctional Institution and

Nunnawauk Meadows.

Sand-and-gravel aquifers which provide groundwater to large public water

supplies are at particular risk of contamination because their groundwater may

be very close to the surface and their soils are highly permeable.

When town aquifer protection regulations are in place and a violation is

noted, the town's Aquifer Protection Agency would issue a cease-and-desist

order to stop the violation. If that order is not effective, the agency would

pursue a court injunction to halt the violation. Zoning violations are pursued

in such a manner.

DEP Areas Of Concern

According to DEP, businesses which are likely to be regulated under aquifer

protection regulations include manufacturing and industrial operations,

wholesale facilities which store and use hazardous materials, gasoline

stations, auto repair businesses, machine shops, dry cleaners, furniture

strippers, printers, photo processors and laboratories.

Also, highway maintenance garages, road salt storage areas, airports and waste

disposal areas will be regulated. Workshops and laboratories within schools

and other institutions will have to follow "best management practices,"

according to DEP.

Also, homeowners may be affected by restrictions on underground fuel storage

and certain home occupations. Residents in aquifer protection areas will be

educated about the risk to groundwater quality from pesticides and

fertilizers, improper septic system use, paints, paint thinners, and

automotive fluids. Low-risk activities in aquifer protection areas include

low-density housing, open space land, and certain types of agriculture,

according to the DEP.