Littleton Conservation Commission Continues Three Cases, Pushes Amazon Site on Salt Controls

LITTLETON — November 26, 2024 — Littleton Conservation Commission continued three contested environmental cases and pressed an Amazon warehouse operator on salt contamination controls at its November 26 meeting. The commission deferred hearings on a deck replacement within 40 feet of a lake at 91 Matawanake Trail and a nine-tree hazard removal near a pond at 24 Green Needles, both to December 10, scheduling site walks in the meantime. The most contentious item was the ongoing enforcement order at 15 Powers Road, where member Chase Gerbig outlined six required elements for a restoration plan — including return of graded slopes to pre-existing elevations inside the 50-foot buffer zone and removal of storage equipment capable of leaching — after the property owner presented a hand-measured survey the commission said was insufficient to substitute for a professional survey. On the Taylor Street Amazon warehouse groundwater file, Northbridge Partners confirmed Amazon will use only brine solution for routine snow removal this season but will keep a rock salt reserve on site for major ice events; the commission required notification the next business day any time that salt is applied, plus documentation of secondary containment for the brine tanks. GZA GeoEnvironmental reported that historical chloride readings from 2015 at nearby monitoring wells — on the order of 316 parts per million — exceeded current readings, suggesting highway runoff from Interstate 495 and Route 2 as a significant background source.