Littleton Conservation Commission closes Frog Pond dredging hearing, orders chemical alternatives review

LITTLETON — August 19, 2025 — Littleton Conservation Commission closes Frog Pond dredging hearing and flags ecotoxic chemical at Mill Road battery site. The commission voted unanimously at its August 19 meeting to close the public hearing and issue an order of conditions for a stormwater forebay restoration at Frog Pond — parcels at Zero Lake Drive and Zero Lakeshore Drive, DEP file 204-1026 — approving a revised plan by consultants from Tighe and Bond that moves approximately 99 cubic yards of sediment storage to a grassed, town-owned parcel across Lakeshore Drive. Commissioner Chase Myrick conditioned his support on requiring on-site pumping equipment, every-other-day monitoring, and biodegradable odor suppression, saying, "We don't tend to approve designs based on hope." In a separate continued hearing on a Littleton Electric Light and Water Department battery storage facility at 97 and 99 Mill Road, Myrick cited the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling, which describes the proposed fire-suppression chemical as "harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects," and the board directed the project team to investigate alternative chemistries before returning September 2. The commission also began mapping a timeline to force removal of unpermitted private docks on a town-owned Long Lake parcel at Lakeshore Drive, with Town Counsel advising that the docks violate the Wetlands Protection Act and a joint meeting with the Select Board tentatively targeted for September 8.