The July 8 meeting of the Hudson Conservation Commission saw a pre-application discussion with paving contractor Brox Industries, which has a quarry at 85 Greeley Street.
Environmental Consultant, Bruce Gilday, of BAG Land Consultants was at the meeting with Eric Stevenson, representing the applicant.
“We were studying this parcel all during the years of 2022, it’s 185 acres I think, the purpose was to expand the quarry operations,” explained Gilday. “In 2023 we came before you, and we were prosing an impact of six isolated wetland pockets. These were identified, delineated in the field, and most of them were not hydrologically connected.”
The requested 2023 permit would have involved taking the wetland pockets to expand the quarry. Federal, state, and town regulators asked Brox to minimize the wetland impact of the expansion. They received a conditional permit allowing them to remove two of the six wetlands for the expansion back in February.
“There was a condition in that approval, and the condition was that we would come before this Commission, and also before the DES to take those two wetlands,” said Gilday. “That’s where we are right now.”
More research has since taken place on-site to identify any possible protected species in the area.
“We have filed with an intent to cut with the town,” said Stevenson. “That activity is ongoing as we speak.”
He added that the condition of asking for a new permit to remove the wetlands was a last-minute addition from state regulators.
“So, your company basically likes the granite that is in this area, and when you start blasting, it will damage the wetlands anyway. That’s why they say ‘taking it?’ asked Commissioner, John Walter.
Stevenson confirmed that was the reasoning given by NH DES.
“When we reviewed this project, everybody was happy we were going to save these two wetlands,” said Chair, William Collins. ‘These two, they’re not small wetlands. There are a few acres involved there. Personally, I don’t see how the NH Department of Environmental Services can say to you guys: ‘No, just go ahead and take them, without any kind of mitigation.”
Gilday recommended a restoration strategy, rather than trying to preserve the already disconnected wetlands, although he conceded that such restoration was a relatively vague, long-term goal.
“Restoration is now looked on more favorably than preservation,” he said. “Who wants to be the stewardship for all that preservation? Whereas restoration, now you’re fixing some infrastructure that really helps.”
Such a strategy would involve connecting the remaining wetland plots in the area. However, Stevenson emphasized that restoration was years away.
“Recreation wetlands is obviously a restoration we’ll have in place once this mine site is completed,” he said. “The life of this quarry is many years in the future.”
A presentation looking at the completed application for the quarry expansion will occur at the Aug. 12 meeting of the Hudson Conservation Commission. Gilday expected to have the application ready “within the next ten days” while taking any comments from members of the public or the Commission into account.