Pepperell Conservation Commission Approves Conservation Land Use for Gas Station Cleanup

PEPPERELL — October 3, 2017 — Pepperell Conservation Commission unanimously authorized use of town conservation land as a treated-groundwater discharge point for an underground storage tank cleanup at 11 South Road. The commission, acting on a notice of intent filed by Mohammad Ahmad Dhani of Antepad Inc., signed an access authorization form that DEP and the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program required before they could complete reviews and issue an order of conditions; an earlier plan to discharge to a MassDOT catch basin on the state highway had been rejected by the agency after a site meeting. The project's environmental consultant said a geofabric diffuser bag would be placed on a straw mat on the upland edge of the conservation parcel, that the treated water from a comparable Chelmsford project met drinking water standards, and that actual pumping is expected to take two to three days rather than the permitted 10-day maximum. The commission also voted unanimously to accept a donated 1.16-acre wetland parcel at 29 Elm Street, assessed at $4,600, and to spend $470 in donated funds on cellular-connected trail cameras to monitor conservation land for illegal dumping.