Saugus officials, environmentalist upset with Rumney Marsh plan

SAUGUS – When construction stopped on the Interstate 95 extension in the 1970s, it left a long stretch of sandy road bed smack in the middle of Rumney Marsh in Saugus.While it may have been an eyesore then, close to 40 years later, the old I-95 roadbed has become a vital part of the ecosystem in the area, which is why some officials are upset about a plan to remove a large chunk.?According to the study done by the Army Corps of Engineers, we?re going to be more vulnerable to flooding and what they didn?t take into consideration is the visual impact with RESCO,” said Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian of the nearby trash incinerator.The Department of Conservation and Recreation went before the Saugus Conservation Commission recently seeking approval to remove up to 350 cubic yards of the sand to restore Winthrop Beach.The plan seeks to bring down a portion of the roadbed from 25 feet down to five feet near the Ballard Street area. However, Joan LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Saugus River Watershed Council, said the DCR faced some stiff opposition from residents.?My impression of that meeting was that they were sent away to do more work on environmental issues,” said LeBlanc. “My sense of it is they came in with one proposal and they sound like they?re flexible. The plan did include leaving a portion of it as a buffer, but the general consensus was that wouldn?t be enough.”Over the years, LeBlanc said, the roadbed has become a barrier that protects the residential area to the west from flooding.View Larger Map?With climate change and sea levels rising, storm water protection is a big issue,” said LeBlanc. “If they do use that site, we believe there would have to be a strong balance between protecting the neighborhood from any storm water erosion and using the sand.”LeBlanc said the SRWC wouldn?t support the current plan, but noted the group is open to other plans that would include more habitat restoration.?They weren?t necessarily going down to the marsh level and so you don?t necessarily have any habitat improvement,” said LeBlanc. “So from our viewpoint, if you?re going to be removing sand from that area, it should be a wetland restoration project. There?s habitat that has established itself there and that would be disturbed ? the project should have an end result of a habitat improvement.”Selectmen Chairman Mike Serino, who lives in the area, said the road bed also acts as a “visual barrier” and a “noise barrier” from Route 107 and the Wheelabrator trash-burning facility.?I know they did it a few years ago on the Revere section to restore Revere Beach,” said Serino. “But what troubles me is they left it at elevation 15 on the Revere line and they want to go down to five feet in the residential neighborhood. It just doesn?t make any sense to me.”Serino said he requested a legal opinion from Town Counsel John Vasapolli to see whether the selectmen would have authority to issue a special permit.?We have an earth removal bylaw which could possibly require an S-2 permit,” said Serino.The DCR was scheduled to go before the Conservation Commission on Wednesday, but have asked for a continuance to a later date.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].