Conservation Commission Approves Arch Street Sewer Project With Special Brook Pipe Condition

ERVING — February 2, 2021 — Erving Conservation Commission unanimously approved the Arch Street sewer project with a condition requiring removal of an old asbestos pipe crossing Caleb Brook. The board added the requirement Tuesday after debating the long-term risk of leaving the 40-to-50-year-old pipe beneath the stream, which a project engineer estimated would cost roughly $100 per foot to remove. MassDEP wetlands reviewer Mark Stinson, attending as a member of the public, suggested threading the needle by attaching a special condition rather than delaying the entire bid process, which commissioners were told could push construction past the 2021 season if a redesign were required. The board also issued a complete certificate of compliance for Phase 1 of the Riverfront Park, formally closing that order of conditions, and continued the public hearing on the separate Wheelock Street culvert project after draft order documents failed to reach all members before the meeting.