Seekonk Library Seekonk, Massachusetts Nitsch Project #11371

Transcription

1 Seekonk Library Seekonk, Massachusetts Nitsch Project #11371 Utility Infrastructure and Permitting Narrative February 19, 2016 Project Description: The Town of Seekonk is proposing to either construct an addition to the existing Library Building located at 410 Newman Avenue (also known as Seekonk Meadows), add/renovate an existing building on a site located at 230 Pleasant Street or construct a new Library building on the 230 Pleasant Street site This narrative outlines existing utility infrastructure that serves the sites listed above and initial thoughts about would need to be considered in the early planning process for each site Nitsch Engineering used in our analysis plans and reports provided by the Town and information that was gathered using Massachusetts GIS 410 Newman Avenue Exiting Library Site Water Systems: The existing library building is fed from a water service originating from the water main in Newman Avenue It appears from the plans provided by the Town that the existing water service is a 2-inch cement lined wrought iron water line There is a fire hydrant located across Newman Avenue from the main entrance to the Library There is likely adequate fire protection volume and pressures in the area, however, a hydrant flow test will need to be performed to confirm pressures and flow volume at the Library site are sufficient to support an addition to the building Any new construction at this site may require upgrades to the existing water services to insure adequate reliability of building water supply needs Also, depending on how large the proposed building addition is there may be a need to install a new hydrant within the site to provide adequate building coverage in case of a fire emergency This would need further discussion with the Seekonk Fire Department Sanitary Sewer: There is an existing septic system that currently serves the Library building the septic system consists of a 1,000 gallon septic tank, a distribution box and a 12-foot diameter leaching pit The sewer service from the building runs out the west side of the building to the septic tank located between the building and Newman Avenue The distribution box and leaching pit are approximately 20 feet south of the septic tank The current septic system is not Title 5 compliant and would need to be replaced with a new compliant system somewhere on the project site if the existing Library building is to be expanded The new system would need to take into account the anticipated Title 5 flows from the existing Library space and the new

2 expansion space The proposed septic design along with perc test information would need to be provided to the Board of Health and DEP for approval prior to construction Site Drainage: The site topography generally slopes from West to East and from South to North Grading around the Library generally directs water away from the building foundation There is no existing drainage infrastructure for runoff conveyance or mitigation surrounding the Library building or within the parking lot areas The majority of the parking lot runoff flows uncontrolled to the west towards the meadows at the back of the site where it continues to flow overland to the northwest and off the site onto the adjacent property There is small swale that conveys runoff around a mounded area just south of the existing parking lot This swale follows the perimeter of the mounded area and eventually flows to the meadows and continues as described above Any additional development on this site will need to provide a new drainage system designed according to Mass DEP standards, which require reductions in both stormwater discharge rates and volumes for the 2- year, 10-year, 25-year, and 100-year 24-hour rainfall events This new drainage system would mitigate runoff flow and volume from the newly developed areas by incorporating as many Low Impact Development elements as possible, such as grassed swales, porous pavements, and bio filtration (if appropriate) A retention/detention element will most likely need to be included as part of the proposed stormwater design This could be in the form of underground pipes/arch chambers or a surface detention basin should conditions allow Water Quality will also need to be addressed as part of the stormwater design Proprietary Units such as Stormceptor or Vortechnics could be used or more site integrated water quality options can be implemented as part of the stormwater design Runoff control on the Library site will need to be carefully analyzed to insure that further development on the site will not cause adverse effects to adjacent and downstream properties Other Utilities Electric and Tel-Com service appear to run from Newman Avenue to a pole located adjacent to the site driveway From there is appears that the services run underground to the Library building and enter the building on its south side Site lighting around the Library and the parking lot appears to be adequate in some areas and limited in other areas The site lighting would likely require upgrading as part of any proposed new construction Electric Service is provided by National Grid Telephone service is provided by Verizon and cable services by Comcast Based on information provided by the Town it appears that the Library is serviced by natural gas It is unknown at this time where the natural gas service originates or what size it is but it is likely to be fed from Newman Avenue Permitting Wetlands: There are no existing wetland resource areas, vernal pools or potential vernal pools located within the proposed project site There is a FEMA flood zone AE located northwest of the project site but is far

3 enough away from the site that the Massachusetts DEP and local Conservation Commission would take no jurisdiction over the site The Seekonk Conservation Commission has a 25-foot no-build boundary associated with all resource areas protected under their bylaw This is above and beyond standard MA DEP regulations and should be considered when reviewing potential siting options for new buildings, parking lots and roadways Within the Town of Seekonk by-law there are additional limitations placed on development within resource area buffer zones Nitsch recommends doing as much as possible to avoid development within 100-feet of any resource area Development that impacts resource areas and their associated buffer zones would require the filing of a Notice of Intent with the Seekonk Conservation Commission and the MA DEP Environmental Protection Agency (NPDES program) Construction activities that disturb more than one acre are regulated under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program In Massachusetts, the USEPA issues NPDES permits to operators and owners of regulated construction sites Regulated projects are required to develop and implement stormwater pollution plans (SWPPP) in order to obtain permit coverage Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act (MEPA): Development of this site (based on preliminary proposed site plans) does not appear to trigger any MEPA thresholds and will likely not require an ENF or EIR to be filed with MEPA Town of Seekonk Board of Health The design and construction of a new Title 5 septic system would need to be permitted through the Board of Health Other Permits: The Library site is an old capped landfill site The expansion of the library would further impact areas of the site that may result in impacts to portions of the capped landfill A Licensed Site Professional (LSP) should be part of the project team to help determine if the capped landfill puts any limitations on further development of the site or if that development would require any additional permits 230 Pleasant Street Site This site is located at the intersection of Pleasant Street and Arcade Avenue There is currently an existing building that occupies the site The existing building was once the Pleasant Street School and is currently being used by the Seekonk Council on Aging and Human Services as office space There are also two small parking lots providing parking spaces for the building and a large field at the rear of the site that appears to be an old baseball or softball field likely used when this building was a school Water Systems: The existing building gets its domestic water from a service that feeds from the water main in Pleasant Street There does not appear to be a fire hydrant in the general vicinity of the existing building and due to the age of the building there is likely not any fire protection sprinklers within the building If a new building is proposed on this site there may be the need to install a fire hydrant along Pleasant Street that would provide the new building with a water source for the fire department to use in case of a

4 fire emergency This would need to be discussed with the fire department during design of the site It is unknown what the flow volumes and pressures are within the water system at the site so flow tests will need to be performed to confirm pressures and flow volumes in the area surrounding the site Sanitary Sewer: The Town of Seekonk does not have a town sewer system so this site presumably has a septic system that services the existing building Due to the age of the building it should be anticipated that the existing septic system is not Title 5 compliant Any new construction or renovation/expansion to the existing building would require the construction of a new Title 5 compliant septic system somewhere on the project site The new system would need to take into account the anticipated Title 5 flows from the proposed Library program The proposed septic design along with perc test information would need to be provided to the Board of Health and DEP for approval prior to construction Site Drainage: The majority of the site topography is generally flat with a slight slope from south to north and east to west The front of the building along Pleasant Street appears to slope slightly towards the street The majority of stormwater runoff from the site flows overland towards the rear of the site with small portions of the site along Pleasant Street shedding their runoff towards Pleasant Street where it is collected in a drainage system The remaining site runoff flows off site towards a wooded swamp/wetland located along the west and north sides of the site Any redevelopment or new development on this site will need to include a new drainage system designed according to Mass DEP standards, which require reductions in both stormwater discharge rates and volumes for the 2-year, 10-year, 25-year, and 100-year 24-hour rainfall events This new drainage system would mitigate runoff flow and volume from the newly developed areas by incorporating as many Low Impact Development elements as possible, such as grassed swales, porous pavements, and bio filtration (if appropriate) A retention/detention element will most likely need to be included as part of the proposed stormwater design This could be in the form of underground pipes/arch chambers or a surface detention basin should conditions allow Water Quality will also need to be addressed as part of the stormwater design Proprietary Units such as Stormceptor or Vortechnics could be used or more site integrated water quality options can be implemented as part of the stormwater design Runoff control from the site will need to be carefully analyzed to insure that further development on the site will not cause adverse effects to adjacent and downstream properties and the wetland/swamp Other Utilities Electric and Tel-Com service to the building was visible in overhead lines that run along Pleasant Street Electric Service is provided by National Grid Telephone service is provided by Verizon and cable services by Comcast Based on a conversation with the Department of Public Works the building does have a natural gas service It is unknown at this time what size that service is or where it is fed from Permitting Wetlands: Redevelopment or further development of this site will likely require permitting with the MA DEP and Seekonk Conservation Commission The presence of the Runnins River along the westside of the site

5 would likely create a 200-foot Riverfront Area buffer zone on a portion of the site, bordering vegetated wetlands associated with the wooded swamp would also create a 100 buffer zone on portions of the site The presence of these resource areas will limit the developable area of this site as the local bylaw has a 25-foot no build buffer around all regulated resource areas No new structures, parking lots or any new site amenities would be allowed to be constructed in this 25-foot no-disturb zone There is also a 100-year FEMA flood zone AE on the west and north edges of the site associated with the Runnins River Work within the flood plain should be limited if at all possible Any changes to grades and elevations within the flood zone may require flood plain compensation to be provided As stated above, the Seekonk Conservation Commission has a 25-foot no-build boundary associated with all resource areas protected under their bylaw This is above and beyond standard MA DEP regulations and should be considered when reviewing potential siting options for new buildings, parking lots and roadways Within the Town of Seekonk by-law there are additional limitations placed on development within resource area buffer zones Nitsch recommends doing as much as possible to avoid development within 100-feet of any protected resource area Development that impacts resource areas and their associated buffer zones would require the filing of a Notice of Intent with the Seekonk Conservation Commission and the MA DEP Environmental Protection Agency (NPDES program) Construction activities that disturb more than one acre are regulated under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program In Massachusetts, the USEPA issues NPDES permits to operators and owners of regulated construction sites Regulated projects are required to develop and implement stormwater pollution plans (SWPPP) in order to obtain permit coverage Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act (MEPA): Development of this site (based on preliminary proposed site plans) does not appear to trigger any MEPA thresholds and will likely not require an ENF or EIR to be filed with MEPA Town of Seekonk Board of Health The design and construction of a new Title 5 septic system would need to be permitted through the Board of Health and the Mass DEP Other Permits: The existing building on the site is listed on the Massachusetts Historical Inventory Register It is likely that demolition, renovation or expansion of the existing building would require coordination with the Massachusetts Historical Commission