WESTFIELD – The Conservation Commission voted last night to continue the hearing on the environmental impacts of the proposed Cumberland Farms store and gas station, to be located at the intersection of North and Southampton Roads, after being presented details of modifications that failed to satisfy the commission’s requirements.
The commission heard the original plants at its Feb. 12 session, raising concerns about the buffer to the nearby wetland resource area, the underground fuel storage tanks and pipes, alarm systems, and employee training.
The original proposal had the rear retaining wall and drainage outflow within 30 feet of the resource area, well below the Conservation Commissions requirement of a 50-foot buffer. The board also requested the developers to consider above-ground fuel storage tanks because of the high water table in the development site and potential of environmental damage if the underground tanks failed.
The developer, First National Realty Corporation of Manchester, Conn., represented by Attorney Thomas Murphy of Murphy McCoubrey of Chicopee and project manager Patrick O’Leary, P.E. of the Hartford office of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), and Mark Grocki, a VHB senior engineer at the Springfield office, presented the second set of modifications.
The engineers reconfigured the plan to add 15 feet more to the buffer and asked that the board allow installation of the retaining wall separating the store site from the resource area.
Commission Vice Chairman Henry Bannish said that a 50-foot buffer is the board’s requirement.
“We wanted 50 feet and you come back to us with 45 feet,” Bannish said. “If we approve that, what do we do went the next person comes in and wants 40 feet? What should we tell other people?”
“If this was important to you, it would be 50 feet,” Bannish said.
O’Leary said the proposal is sensitive to the environmental conditions of the site.
“We’re providing every protection to the wetlands from an environmental standpoint,” O’Leary said. “We worked very hard to get as close to the 50 feet (buffer requirement) as humanly possible.”
O’Leary also noted that the store would generate 20 full-time jobs as well as tax revenue for the city.
“It’s a job creator, a very substantial asset to the city,” he said. “We’ve tried to get to the 50 feet (buffer), but we can’t get there, we’re hoping you consider all of the factors.”
Commissioner Dr. James Phillips suggested that a smaller project would yield the 50-foot buffer required by the board.
O’Leary said that Cumberland Farms would walk away from the project if the model store, constructed in several communities, including West Springfield, is not approved.
The discussion moved to other concerns, including the underground fuel tanks and pipes, before returning to the issue of the buffer later in the hour-long review.
The storage tanks are double-hulled fiberglass structures with alarm systems between the two tanks. That void is equipped with a number of sensors and alarms, detecting fuel leaking from the inner tank into the void, or groundwater leaking through the wall of the outer tank into the void, both indicating wall failure. The pipes are similar, with a pipe inside a pipe and sensors to trip alarms in the void between the two pipes.
Employees are trained to respond to the alarms, as well as small surface spills, usually the result of from customers improperly filling containers. All new employees attend a certification course, with refresher training every August.
“Our training is state of the art,” Thomas Kopack, Cumberland Farms regional manager, said. “All managers have to go through classroom training.”
Kopack said that he has never seen a fuel storage tank fail during his tenure with the company and that if an alarm sounds, a third party firm is brought in to determine if there is indeed a leak in either hull or if the alarm is due to a sensor failure.
O’Leary said that steel tanks and single-wall fiberglass tanks failed in the past requiring very expensive remediation, which is the reason that the double-walled system was developed. The void between the hulls is filled with brine, water with a salt solution, and any fluctuation in the level of the fluid trips an alarm.
“Cumberland Farms is very environmentally conscious,” O’Leary said. “They plan to be in the community for years to come. They are as concerned as the commission with protecting the environment around the site.”
Commissioner Robert Natario said that he sees the project as Cumberland Farms trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, saying that trying to fit a 4,500 square-foot project on that parcel is a self-developing problem and suggested that the developer seek to enlarge the proposed site through further negotiations with the property owner.
“There are other options. Somebody just drew a line. You need more area to switch the drainage and provide better protection for the resource area,” Natario said.
Commission Chairman Dr. David Doe also asked if the store footprint shifted south on the proposal.
Murphy said the south area of the site is a right-of-way required by the property owner to access other land behind the store site.
Commissioner George Martin suggested that a grass strip near the retaining wall be eliminated to get the additional five feet required by the board.
O’Leary said that the engineers would look at eliminating a guardrail and relocating the retaining wall.
“We’ll go back and take a hard look at that area,” O’Leary said.
Bannish said the developers have “worked hard” but have failed to meet the board’s 50-foot buffer requirement.
“You came in at the last meeting with 30 feet, then worked hard to get 45 feet when you knew the commission wanted 50 feet, now maybe you can give us the 50 feet,” Bannish said. “You floating numbers to see if we’ll accept less than what we require.”
