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Letter to the Editor: Gravel Pit Situation on Mile Creek Rd. is a ‘Travesty’, ‘Cannot be Allowed to Continue’

March 18, 2025 by George E. Ryan

To the Editor:

This letter is in response to the letter sent to the Old Lyme Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission (IWWC) from Old Lyme resident Olaf Bertram-Nothnagel, signed by 52 others, and published on LymeLine.com at this link.

The letter is an excellent summation of the travesty taking place at 304 & 308-1 Mile Creek Road.  This situation cannot be allowed to continue.  The IWWC has the authority to direct a cease-and desist order and request remediation of the environmental damages to this wetlands area.

The [IWWC] Commission, or its agent, shall enforce the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act and shall issue with terms, conditions, limitations or modifications, or deny permits for all regulated activities in the Town of Old Lyme pursuant to Sections 22a-36 to 22a-45, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.

The Old Lyme Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission (IWWC) was established by an ordinance adopted October 21, 1963, and tasked with the responsibility of protecting the indispensable, irreplaceable, and fragile natural resources in and around Old Lyme’s wetlands. This Commission oversees and grants permits for activities within wetlands, watercourses, and their Upland Review Areas (defined as the lateral 100-foot area around a wetland or watercourse, or the lateral 400-foot area around a vernal pool), or any activity altering the hydrology of a site and impacting a wetland or watercourse.

The IWWC’s mission is to protect natural resources within and around wetlands and watercourses for current and future Old Lyme residents.

Many inland wetlands and watercourses have been destroyed or are in danger of destruction because of unregulated use by reason of the deposition, filling or removal of material, the diversion or obstruction of water flow, the erection of structures and other uses, all of which have despoiled, polluted and eliminated wetlands and watercourses.

Such unregulated activity has had, and will continue to have, a significant, adverse impact on the environment and ecology of the state of Connecticut and has imperiled and will continue to imperil the quality of the environment thus adversely affecting the ecological, scenic, historic, and recreational values and benefits of the state for its citizens now and forever more. 

The preservation and protection of the wetlands and watercourses from random, unnecessary, undesirable, and unregulated uses, disturbance or destruction is in the public interest and is essential to the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of the state.

Sincerely,

George E. Ryan,
Old Lyme.

Editor’s Note: The author serves as the  vice chairman of the Old Lyme Conservation Commission but writes here solely in his capacity as a citizen of Old Lyme.

Filed Under: Business, Letters, Old Lyme, Outdoors, Top Story, Town Hall

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stephanie Lombardo says

    March 23, 2025 at 12:15 pm

    Great letter, wholeheartedly agree.

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