Tierney: Army won’t reverse roadbed decision

SAUGUS – U.S. Rep. John Tierney said the denial of the proposal to dredge sand from the ocean to restore Winthrop Beach likely won’t be reversed by the Army Corps of Engineers.In a letter to the town of Saugus dated April 30, Tierney explains that the North Atlantic Division of the Army Corps of Engineers denied a proposal to take sand from an offshore site in April of 2008. This decision was appealed the following June and a decision went all the way to Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp. The denial was affirmed in January 2010.Tierney states in the letter: “It is my understanding that this review by the Chief of Engineers was extraordinary in itself, and the Corps does not provide for any further reviews through the agency.”While Tierney said “a request has been made to the White House,” he noted that it is “not anticipated the executive” would intercede with a decision “already afforded extraordinary review.”The Saugus Conservation Commission recently approved a proposal by the Department of Conservation and Recreation to remove 236,000 cubic yards of sand from the old I-95 roadbed.Hearings on the project started last summer as residents of East Saugus packed the meetings to voice their opposition to the project. The DCR originally wanted to remove 350,000 cubic yards of sand, but residents objected, saying the roadbed acts as a barrier to the Wheelabrator plant and Route 107, and is home to wildlife.The Conservation closed public hearings on the issue at a heated April 10 meeting and issued an order of conditions that includes 58 requirements on April 24.Tierney noted that after speaking with Col. Charles Samaris of the Army Corps, it was reiterated that while the Corps denied the application for using sand from offshore, it did not “suggest or direct any alternative source.””The choice of the site now in dispute was made solely by the commonwealth and, as we discussed, the Conservation Commission and other town officials and residents may have ways of challenging that decision, or certainly to condition any approval for action.”Tierney concluded by saying the Army Corps of Engineers “might” reconsider its denial should the state or the National Marine Fisheries Service remove “protected status” from the offshore area in the original proposal.Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian said he’s looking at possibly appealing the decision and criticized the Conservation Commission for not heeding advice from environmental lawyers provided by the town.”I’m waiting to see what Goldman Environmental wrote,” he said. “They prepared some information that never made it to the Conservation Commission. I don’t know why. I think that there are unanswered questions. The property ownership is an issue that needs to be determined by the attorneys. We have to find that out ? The DCR and the Conservation Commission drove a bus through this.”Manoogian also said he doesn’t think a marsh restoration project that is supposed to supplement the project will ever happen.”For anyone to suggest marsh restoration to be a part of this, I just don’t see it,” he said. “There is no plan.”Despite this, Manoogian did note some positives that came out of the hearings.”The amount of sand has been cut down,” he said. “There is going to be a buffer ? If the people didn’t go to all those meetings and complain, who knows what we could have ended up with?”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].