PEABODY — The Conservation Commission has issued an Enforcement Order to Salem Country Club for violating the Wetlands Protection Act.
The Enforcement Order, dated May 3, requires the club to “cease and desist from any further earth, tree removal etc. on the property as discussed at meetings and site walks.”
The order is in response to a Jan. 30 violation order issued to the club and Mayer Tree Service for illegally removing trees and conducting other illegal activities within buffer zones in close proximity to jurisdictional resource areas.
The order states that the club’s activities occurred “in a resource area and/or buffer zone and is in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act (M.G.L. c. 131, section 40) and its regulations (310 CMR 10.00) because the activity has been/is being conducted in an area subject to protection under c. 131, section 40 without approval from the issuing authority (i.e. a valid Order of Conditions or Negative Determination).”
“The bottom line is that they didn’t ask for permission so the reasons they give the commission pretty much don’t matter,” said Conservation Commission Chair Stewart Lazares. “We don’t make the law; we enforce it. They are going to be made accountable and are going to have to replenish trees.”
Prior to removing the trees, the club obtained permission from the commission to remove 20 trees on the sixth and seventh holes located in non-jurisdictional areas in connection with a $3.5 million course-renovation project the club began last fall.
The scope of the tree removal went well beyond the 20 trees the club had permission to take down; at a March 23 public hearing, club officials admitted to removing 683 trees in total.
At no time did the club give notice to the commission of its plans to engage in massive tree-clearing. In January, Conservation Agent Lucia DelNegro received complaints from the public that the tree removal was not confined to the sixth and seventh holes and that a bank to a jurisdictional pond had been altered and that there had been a complete bunker restoration within buffer zones.
A verbal cease and desist was issued on Jan. 27, followed by a site visit. DelNegro determined that there had been significant tree removal, including the grinding and grubbing of stumps, in jurisdictional areas and that large amounts of wood chips were seen in buffer zones in various locations on the property. Staff also confirmed the alteration of the bank to an irrigation pond. Specifically, the commission found that natural vegetation had been replaced with grass to expand the area of the golf course.
After being issued the violation notice, club representatives admitted at the March public hearing that 205 of the 683 trees it removed were located within conservation jurisdiction areas. On March 28, the commission conducted its first site visit. Reporters from a local television station The Daily Item and The Peabody Weekly News were barred from attending the site visit by the club. A follow up site visit was conducted by the commission on April 25.
The order contains a reference to a Jan. 27 article in a local newspaper that confirmed the restoration of the bunker as well as tree removal.
“In that article, club officials were quoted as saying there was a complete restoration of the bunker, so the club’s subsequent claims that it only pulled back the bank and that it was regular maintenance simply are not true,” DelNegro said.
“It sounds from that article that this was a long-planned renovation and the club knew exactly what it was doing,” said Lazares.
The Enforcement Order imposes several other conditions. The club must ensure that all existing erosion controls shall remain in good condition and be replaced as needed. A club representative must appear at the May 11 Conservation meeting. A restoration plan for bank alreations, trees/understory removal and replanting design must be submitted to the commission as soon as practicable; a date shall be determined at the May 11 meeting.
The club will pay for the costs of a third-party peer review of a Wetlands Delineation Plan submitted by the club on April 20. The club must also submit a Certificate of Compliance within three months from the date of the order. A site visit will be conducted to confirm what work has been completed and whether further enforcement is necessary.
Under the terms of the order, the commission reserves the right to issue a separate enforcement order. Separate fines may apply. Lazares said an enforcement o8rder has not yet been issued to Mayer Tree Services, but the department is working on one.
“We are working on this bit by bit, but I’m still pushing for fines,” Lazares said. “And the fines just won’t go to a general fund, but will go specifically to the betterment of the city’s environment, maybe through the Peabody Conservation Land Trust. This is a wakeup call to tree cutters that they have to come before the commission before cutting anything down. And it’s not just the country club. People including Mayer cannot ignore their town’s requirements. We have forms that tree service companies and anyone who is cutting down trees must use and Mayer didn’t. Doing that never bodes well for anyone.”
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
