Quarry proponents plan Mount Decatur historic site

Ledyard ― Gales Ferry Intermodal LLC, which has proposed a controversial 40-acre quarry at the former Dow Chemical site off Route 12, now has plans to deed 3.5 acres of Mount Decatur to a national archaeological group to preserve the historic site.

It has agreed to fence off the area and make it part of the National Register of Historic Places and plans to fund a book about military leader Stephen Decatur, the War of 1812 naval commander who helped save a small group of ships from the English on the Thames River by hauling cannons atop the hill that now features his name.

The plans to turn over the former fort site to The Archaeological Conservancy were announced at the beginning of a Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing on Thursday night attended by about 100 people at Ledyard Middle School.

“This site is of national importance,” said David George of Heritage Consultants, who was hired by Gales Ferry Intermodal, known as GFI, to conduct a cultural assessment of the site. “This is an incredible win for what I do.”

Mt. Decatur’s historical significance and the intention to level large sections of it to create the quarry operation had been one bone of contention as hundreds of people showed up at a series of previous hearings to fight the project.

The fear the project will result in excessive traffic, noise and other issues including the likely release of silica dust into the air.

As of 8:30 p.m., no one from the public had been able to speak as GFI experts offered testimony about the company’s plans for the excavation, stormwater management and blasting that will have to be done.

Opponents outline their concerns

But in testimony offered before the meeting and available online, the battle lines had already been drawn.

“Please do not let the project continue to destroy Mt. Decatur,” said Mary Jane Peterson of 10 Fawn Drive. “This will destroy Gales Ferry. This is our history and a crime.”

Ruth Ann Eichelberg of 4 Fawn Drive cited several zoning regulations in her argument against the project, including references to not causing “unreasonable pollution” or “destruction of the air, water and other natural resources.” She pointed out that two elementary schools and a middle school as well as a child care center are within a half mile of the site.

“My grandchildren will be attending all four of these facilities, and it is scary to think about the particulates that they will be inhaling over many years if this project comes to fruition,” Eichelberg said in emailed testimony.

Elaine G. and W. Brunson Dodge of 52 Harvard Terrace cited local zoning regulations that stipulate “proposed uses and structures would be in harmony with the appropriate and orderly development of the Zoning District.”

In written testimony they said the proposed excavation is in total violation of the requirement, adding the proposed activity “would be noxious, offensive and detrimental to the area by reason of odors, fumes, dust, noise, vibrations and the appearance.”

The Dodges also cited a regulation stating that states there can be no adverse effect on property values or historic features of the immediate neighborhood. They said adverse effects to both property values and Mount Decatur itself are certain or almost certain.

Paul Sanderson of 11 River Drive argued that there will be serious environmental degradation to the area as well as “untold, permanent harm done to the woodland and wetland ecology on Mt. Decatur and the surrounding area.”

Kim and Jim Millar of 6 Riverside Place wrote that “The number of trucks entering and leaving the GF Intermodal site will DEFINITELY increase, bringing with them noise, exhaust, and the potential for increased motor vehicle accidents.”

GFI details blasting and misting

George Andrews of Loureiro Engineering gave a presentation for GFI on such issues as stormwater runoff and the misting system the company would use to alleviate the release of silica dust into the air. He promised there would be no runoff from the misting system, which would draw water from an on-site pond and town sources.

Andrews said in the course of his testimony that trucks will be weighed when leaving the site with gravel to help determine how much money Ledyard would be owed as part of GFI’s commitment to pay the town 25 cents for every cubic yard of material removed from the area.

Tim Harmon of Maine Drilling and Blasting, talked about the technical aspects of setting off detonations at the site, saying that blasting is done in milliseconds.

Plans call for blasting to occur between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., said Harry Heller, attorney for the GFI project. Harmon said the closest house to a blasting site is 650 feet.

“The dust mitigates rather quickly. It doesn’t really leave the site much,” he said to snickers from the crowd, as he showed a video of a test blast that showed particles remaining in the air after the demonstration.

Commission member Jessica Cobb asked Harmon how he could be sure they were blasting within contained areas.

“If you get that wrong, you’re blasting a historical site,” Cobb said.

Harmon said the key to avoiding “overblasting” is “you’ve got to have good planning. You have to have good engineering to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

l.howard@theday.com