Dover Conservation Commission Approves Four Applications, Flags Fuel Depot Wetland Risk

DOVER -- September 25, 2024, Dover Conservation Commission clears four wetland applications and flags a town fuel depot as an unreviewed spill risk. At the September 25 meeting, the commission unanimously approved a de minimis fence replacement at Charles River School, issued a negative determination of applicability for a deck reconstruction at 10 Draper Road, granted a minor modification for landscaping and a spa at 146 Claybrook Road for owner Lynn Hawkins, and issued an order of conditions for pool and pool house reconstruction at 15 Farm Street. The evening's sharpest exchange came when Planning Board Chair Carol Lisbon told the commission that a proposed DPW fuel depot, budgeted at between $500,000 and $1 million, would hold roughly 10,000 gallons of fuel just outside the 100-foot wetland buffer on a grade that drains directly into the storm water system and adjacent wetlands. Conservation Agent Janet warned that any spill exceeding 20 to 30 gallons "is going into a catch basin and then into the wetland," and noted the site sits in a Zone 1 groundwater protection district where fuel storage requires a Board of Selectmen public hearing. The commission directed staff to send DPW Director Kevin McCabe a letter requesting a presentation at a future meeting, with the Planning Board copied.