Dover Conservation Commission Issues Eversource Emergency Certificate After Charles River Oil Spill

DOVER — December 27, 2023 — Dover Conservation Commission ends 2023 with unanimous emergency certificate for Eversource oil-spill cleanup in the Charles River. The seven-member board voted 7-0 at its December 27 meeting to authorize Eversource to carry out remedial actions under a DEP-approved immediate response action plan following a release of transformer oil beneath Chestnut Street Bridge into the Charles River and adjacent wetlands. Commissioners also opened — and then continued to January 10 — two Notices of Intent for back-to-back culvert replacements on Noanet Brook: a failing stone-and-concrete structure on Willow Street, where MassDOT found "serious condition" after an August storm sent the upstream headwall into the brook, and an undersized 52-inch metal pipe on Denim Street prone to repeated blockage. DPW Director Kevin McCabe described both 7-foot-by-9-foot concrete box culvert replacements as roughly three to four months of construction work, with Willow Street slated for a town meeting funding vote in May and Denim Street held as a shovel-ready project for the next state infrastructure grant cycle. The commission also approved a negative determination with conditions on a voluntary septic soil-testing application on Wilsondale Street, requiring all test pits to remain outside the 50-foot wetland setback.