Date: Fri 27-Aug-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

ETH-Board-Of-Managers-dumping

Full Text:

ETH Board Of Managers Cited For Wetlands Dumping

(with photo)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The Conservation Commission is requiring that the Edmond Town Hall Board of

Managers remove four piles of masonry demolition debris which were dumped in a

wetland adjacent to the building's rear parking lot following the recent

replacement of plaza paving stones in front of the building.

Conservation Official C. Stephen Driver said he noticed the dumping violation

early in July after which the Board of Managers applied to the Conservation

Commission to sanction the dumping. The application states the dumping was

done to stabilize an eroding embankment.

On reviewing the situation, Conservation Commission members unanimously

rejected the application after deciding the ten cubic yards of masonry debris

was deposited in a wetland without first obtaining a wetlands permit to do so.

Also, the debris deposited is an unacceptable type of material to stop erosion

at the border of the paved parking area and the wetland, according to the

commission.

The Conservation Commission wants the Board of Managers to remove all of the

material dumped, as well as meet with the town engineer and public works

director to stop the erosion problem which is caused by water draining from

the parking lot into the wetland.

Mr Driver said the flagstone and concrete was dumped at four points along the

edge of the outer parking lot which is used for overflow parking at Edmond

Town Hall.

Edgar Beers, chairman of the Board of Managers, said Tuesday the board has

received no official notification on the matter from the Conservation

Commission. Mr Beers said he does not know what the managers will do when they

meet in the future to address the matter.

There is an erosion problem on the embankment between the parking lot and the

wetland and placing the demolition debris there was considered to be a way to

stabilize the eroding bank, Mr Beers said.

Debris

Mr Driver said the debris left at the edge of the wetland is "ugly" and must

be removed. The Board of Managers will have to return to the Conservation

Commission with a new application on how to stabilize the embankment, he said.

"There's no question there's an erosion problem there. This is just not the

solution," Mr Driver said. "Now they have an order, in essence, to clean up

their act."

"It's not a lot (of debris) but it's obscene... It was incorrect. It's just a

mess," he added.

If the Board of Managers had sought a wetlands permit before depositing the

material, the material could have been processed through a stone crusher and

then properly spread out over the area, Mr Driver said.

The demolition debris could have been deposited at the town landfill, he

added.

Mr Driver said if the matter is not resolved in several weeks, he will

probably issue a cease-and-desist order.

The Conservation Commission's objection to the dumping illustrates the town's

stepped-up enforcement of its wetlands regulations, he said. "The town is

taking the position `You have to follow the rules,'" Mr Driver said.