Council hears detailed questions on landfill capping; consultants and commissions urge independent oversight

Clinton Town Planner Abby Piersall updated the Town Council on the Old Nod Road landfill capping and closure project and reported that the Planning & Zoning Commission had submitted multiple questions about funding, contract scope, and site management.

Planning & Zoning asked whether the Council would support using existing town funds to pay for third-party oversight by a Connecticut-licensed environmental professional or professional engineer during construction, and what budgeted funds would cover long-term monitoring and maintenance of the closed site. Piersall said she would seek cost estimates for independent oversight and present quotes at the next Council meeting.

The Conservation Commission wrote to the Planning & Zoning Commission urging independent testing and town-contracted liability coverage. Conservation Commission Chairman Nicholas L. Webb wrote that the commission "recommend[s] an independent testing body to examine the filling once it is on site" and that testing should include sampling for PFAS and "other forever chemicals," with the testing contractor hired by the town rather than the project contractor.

A CDM Smith review provided more technical detail and urged several controls the Council should consider. The consulting letter from CDM Smith (signed by Kristie G. Wagner, PE, and Alexander T. Howe, LEP, PG) recommended "independent verification measures for imported materials," clearer material-acceptance authority, transparent application of a 95% upper-confidence-limit methodology for sample evaluation, and robust material-tracking and record-retention practices so imported materials can be correlated to placement areas and delivery records.

Planning & Zoning also flagged operational concerns recorded in the project files: LEA project documents indicate an average of about 50 trucks per day (about 100 vehicle trips) and up to 100 trucks on peak days (200 trips). Commission members asked whether the Town's contract with Loureiro Engineering Associates, Inc. (LEA) includes a road-condition survey, provisions for repairing town roads damaged by construction traffic, stormwater-protection contingencies, and a defined transition of long-term monitoring responsibility from LEA to town entities after construction ends.

Town staff told the Council that LEA has secured several permits (including a Construction Stormwater General Permit and approval of a Material Acceptability Protocol) but remains in permitting for a Solid Waste Individual Permit from CT DEEP and site plan approval from the Clinton Planning & Zoning Commission. The Land Use memorandum attached to the minutes notes that CT DEEP authorization would allow temporary stockpiling of up to 50,000 cubic yards of material but that grading for closure cannot proceed until all permits are in place. LEA told town staff it will not bring fill onto the site without Town approval.

Council members asked for cost estimates for independent construction oversight and for staff to clarify which town departments would assume post-closure groundwater monitoring and reporting duties to CT DEEP. Planner Piersall committed to obtaining oversight quotes and returning with answers at the next Council meeting.

The Council did not take formal action on oversight funding at the July 15 meeting; staff will present obtained quotes and responses to Planning & Zoning's questions for Council consideration at a later date.