Pepperell Conservation Commission approves fuel tank near Varnum Brook with conditions

PEPPERELL — July 23, 2019 — Pepperell Conservation Commission unanimously cleared a 2,000-gallon above-ground diesel fuel tank installation near Varnum Brook at 20 Mill Street. The commission issued a negative determination Tuesday, finding that the project — proposed by Maisie Biosystems through engineer Kyle Burchard of Goldsmith Crest and Greenwall — falls within the outer 100-foot zone of the 200-foot riverfront buffer and does not increase impervious surface, relieving the applicant of a full Notice of Intent filing under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act. The tank, designed to power an emergency backup generator, will be set on a concrete slab surrounded by concrete-filled bollards and a lockable fence, with all fuel fills conducted under direct staff supervision. Commissioners raised extended concerns about the absence of catch basins on the sloping parking lot and the path a spill would travel toward the brook, comparing the situation to a prior Shattuck Oil incident, before accepting Burchard's commitment to stage on-site spill response equipment and extend the company's ISO-certified emergency protocols to the new facility. A separate hearing for 4246 Mill Street was continued to August 6 pending re-flagging of disputed wetland boundaries.