Worcester — The city’s Conservation Board on Monday postponed a scheduled public hearing to the end of the month to address the Walmart Supercenter’s proposed plan to remedy violations of the state’s Wetlands Conservation Act.
The Walmart Supercenter at 29 Tobias Boland Way allegedly cut down 200 trees in the Blackstone Riverbank area after the homeless camp was demolished in October 2021.
On October 20, 2021, the city’s quality of life team visited the site to serve homeless individuals and warned that the camp was being dismantled. The camp sat down and provided heavy equipment and trash cans. The police were also waiting.
Walmart continued to cut trees after initial clearing from a buffer zone near a portion of the river protected under the state’s Wetlands Conservation Act.
According to the document, the identified disturbance affected the eastern bank of the riparian corridor, with a 15-foot no-disturbance zone, a 25-foot and 30-foot buffer zone, and some areas up to a 100-foot buffer zone. .
A buffer zone consists of a 100-foot zone around the Blackstone River and a 100-foot zone from its shore. Other resource areas consist of 15-foot no-disturbance zones adjacent to flood-prone land, riparian zones, and stormwater protection zones.
On December 14, 2021, the city issued a cease and desist order to Walmart for all activities affecting buffer zones and resource areas.
A 49-page document titled Walmart Supercenter’s 2022 Riverbank Corridor Restoration Plan has been submitted to the city’s Conservation Commission and the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
The recovery plan, drawn up by Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, and environmental consultants Apex Companies in Rockville, Maryland, acknowledged that the Walmart Supercenter had “inadvertently” removed the tree and responded extensively to the situation. We are proposing remedies.
Planting recommendations include planting 200 trees. Also, according to the document, any changes to resource areas caused by vegetation logging activities will be “corrected and returned to their original state”.
Additionally, at the request of the Conservation Commission, the Department of Transportation will install a 6-foot chain link fence with a 12-foot wide access gate along the east bank along the 30-foot setback buffer zone.
Apex anticipates that city conservation boards and state environmental protection agencies will likely require two years of annual activity monitoring reports, the document said.
A public hearing is scheduled for January 30 during the next Conservation Board meeting.
