Old Lyme gravel pit operator agrees to stop work

Old Lyme — With promises from a Mile Creek Road gravel pit operator that no work will be done on his property while he addresses concerns from the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, the agency on Thursday modified the terms of its cease and desist order to allow him to bring equipment in and out of the site.

Ron Swaney, who has identified himself as the owner of 308-1 and 304 Mile Creek Road, attended a commission show-cause hearing to explain why an order issued last week to stop work on the front portion of his 43-acre property should be lifted.

The unpermitted work cited in the cease and desist order includes clearcutting trees along Four Mile Creek, creating a berm with unspecified material along the Three Mile River, and failing to put in place the kind of controls that would keep silt out of interior ponds.

The order was issued by Land Use Coordinator and Wetlands Enforcement Officer Eric Knapp at the request of the commission. The document required Swaney “to cease all activities” within 100 feet of the Three Mile River and any inland wetlands on the property, as well as an adjacent parcel he owns.

But Knapp at a site walk on Wednesday and at Thursday’s meeting said the order only applies to the front part of the site where concerns have been raised by neighbors. It does not apply to operations in the back section of the site, where Swaney has a special permit from the Zoning Commission to excavate and process sand and gravel.

After the meeting, Knapp reiterated that Swaney assured the commission the gravel pit won’t be functioning while the cease and desist order is in place.

“He can still work there but he’s indicated he does not plan to, for whatever that’s worth,” Knapp said.

Earlier that day, Knapp told The Day the most important thing is that Swaney applies for permits from the inland wetlands agency as required under the terms of his 2022 zoning approval.

He said the “areas of greatest concern” to him are situated along the dirt road leading to the area being excavated.

Swaney during the show cause hearing told commission members he needs to be able to use the road to move equipment to other locations so he can continue to conduct business while the 308-1 Mile Creek Road site is not operational.

The commission agreed to what Swaney described as a very minimal amount of traffic. Other modifications to the cease and desist order were more stringent, including one that required Swaney to hire an expert to study the unpermitted changes he has made and recommend how to fix them.

Swaney agreed the review will be conducted by certified soil scientist Don Fortunato. A final report addressing each concern outlined in the cease and desist order will be incorporated into a new application for a permit allowing Swaney to do business and conduct site work within 100 feet of wetlands or watercourses. The application is due no later than the commission’s April meeting.

Local inland wetlands and watercourses regulations require commission approval for any filling, excavating, dredging, clear cutting, clearing, or grading within 100 feet of a wetland or watercourse.

The zoning permit is again up for renewal in May. The current permit was authorized by then-Zoning Enforcement Officer Dan Bourret for then-owner Eastport South LLC, with Glastonbury-based attorney Peter Jay Alter listed as trustee. The company now listed as the owner was registered in October by Swaney, according to the Scretary of the State’s business database.

Land use documents show the commercial venture is allowed on the residential property because it was being used that way before zoning regulations were updated in 1988.

Commission member Michael Aurelia during deliberations said his review of land use documents shows a history of violations on the site going back to at least 1995.

“There’s a history here,” he said.

But he added he was hopeful Swaney’s forthcoming application for an inland wetlands permit will resolve the latest violations in “a friendly way.”

Aurelia questioned if there should be more wetlands oversight of the area being actively excavated under the terms of the zoning permit. He described seeing “large piles of fill and large piles of logs” during the site walk, but noted that the area was outside the scope of the active cease and desist order as described by the wetlands enforcement officer.

Swaney could be heard remarking “he does know it’s a gravel pit?” in response to Aurelia’s description of the site.