Conservation Commission Approves Septic Replacement Near Harbor Street Wetland Buffer

PEPPERELL — May 2, 2017 — Pepperell Conservation Commission unanimously approved a negative determination allowing a septic replacement at 50 Harbor Street to proceed without a full Notice of Intent filing. Engineer Doug Smith of Soil Designs presented the revised plan for property owner Bob Matshkaupin, noting the proposed system sits approximately 54 to 55 feet from the 100-foot wetland buffer and that a gravity-fed design, finalized April 13 after a pump-based version was initially submitted, had already received Board of Health approval. Commissioners briefly tangled with a plan-version mismatch — the packet contained the older pump design — before Smith confirmed only the pump-versus-gravity distinction had changed and the system footprint was unaltered. In other business, a commission member reported that an unidentified individual had shot a porcupine at the Hill Street Orchard after a dog cornered the animal; the incident was reported to police, and commissioners discussed posting wildlife habitat signs and submitting a newspaper item, though no formal vote was taken. An ongoing stormwater management case — now on its fifth submitted plan — was tabled pending a clean redraft of disputed prior meeting minutes.