Stormwater Zoning Amendments Pass

Thanks to everyone that came out to vote for the changes to Newington's Zoning Ordinance. Elimination of the exemption for parking lots from the wetlands setback will help protect surface waters, habitats and reduce nitrogen inputs into the Great Bay Estuary.

Look forward to seeing you at Town meeting on Saturday.

GSM Realty Trust Property

This won't be my most interesting post as I am using Google's blog as a way to share video and photos with Mark West of West Environmental, the Conservation Commission's wetlands consultant concerning a development proposal which we have asked to review and provide recommendations to the Commission. However, I thought it might help illustrate some of the projects I am involved in on behalf of the Newington Conservation Commission.

This particular project involves a property owned by GSM Realty Trust located on Gosling Road between the two older power plants, the coal & wood fired Schiller Station, shown above, and the oil fired Newington Station which has the largest stack in Town and is clearly visible from the Mall.

It is located near the Piscataqua River, but is cut-off to a large extent by the Boston & Maine Railroad tracks that run along the river. Town Planner Tom Morgan reports that there may be a strip that has access. The photo above is looking south toward Schiller Station in Portsmouth.

GSM Realty Trust proposes to clean up the site for future development. There will be some significant earth moving, including the substantial removal of an earthen containment dike that was constructed when the property was used as a former oil tank farm. It has also been reported that soils were brought on to the site from the former Pease Air Force base.
One of the reasons the project concerns the Conservation Commission is its proximity to the Piscataqua River. As shown above, drainage from disturbed soils and wetlands flows or seeps through soils and into a box culvert, shown below, that discharges directly into the River.

The video and photos show that, notwithstanding the history of the property, the water quality appears to be good, although I am not aware of any tests for contaminants that may be present from the soils on the property, or from emissions from the coal and oil fired power plants that are literally a stones throw away.


A number of pipes, an oil water separator, and other vestigial remains from the use of the site as a tank farm that will need be removed to restore something resembling natural drainage. On December 14, 2009, the Planning Board also adopted storm water regulations with assistance from the Conservation Commission, the Piscataqua Region Eastuaries Partnership and the UNH Stormwater Center, that will ensure that the use of the property does not result in nitrogen and other contaminants. Invasive species such as purple loosestrife, phragmites and other species that are already present will need to be addressed.


This video shows that there are surface waters flowing in some of the wetland areas which under Newington's zoning ordinance means that a 100 foot setback must be observed for any structures such as detention basins, buildings etc., or a variance or special exception must be sought.

Not very exciting stuff, but important none-the-less.

Preservation of Knight's Brook

Representatives of the NH Department of Transportation came to the Newington Conservation Commission's meeting on November 12, 2009 to discuss its proposal to acquire conservation easements around Knight's Brook in Newington as mitigation for expansion of the Spaulding Turnpike.

An earlier proposal under consideration was to acquire property on Great Bay in Newington. However, cost and other issues were prohibitive. As a result, a second alternative to acquire 60 to 70 acres of land around Knight's Brook is being considered. The plan shown above (click on it for a larger version), shows that three properties or portions thereof are being considered.

If the current discussions move forward, the NHDOT will purchase easements that would protect 60 to 70 acres as open space and then give the Newington Conservation Commission the right to manage those areas for conservation purposes. The Commission has proposed use of its own funds if the conservation areas could be expanded at a reasonable cost.

Town Forest Sign is UP!

The sign denoting the Town Forest opposite the old town hall is now in place. Local contractor John Bean out of Rochester NH did a great job and it looks very well.

The Conservation Commission will be meeting on Thursday November 12 at 6:30 PM to discuss a number of projects that remain to be completed for the Town Forest. First, a map will likely need to be prepared showing the location of trails and other features on the Town Forest and other public lands. There is an extensive network of trails branching off New Road that date back to the days when the Pease Air Force Base was active. There is some indication that the area was used for snow machines and cross country skiing.

Second, the Commission will also consider what rules and regulations should apply to the Town Forest and other lands managed by the Conservation Commission. One proposal to consider, especially as an interim measure, would be to make all Town-wide rules adopted by the Selectmen related to Town property applicable to conservation lands.


The third issue to consider in my mind is what to do with the many rocks and stones that have been stockpiled on New Road. The road is completely blocked at its beginning which is definately a deterrent to entering the Town Forest. This has been discussed with the Historic District Commission, the regulatory body that reviews proposals within the Historic District, and there appears to be support for moving the rocks to make a simple stone wall along New Road with the rocks that are currently there. They are far too large to be lifted by hand. It is unfortunate that they were not placed more carefully initially because they completely block the road resulting in the need to move them even though there is no real plan or need for their use at this time.

Stop by and check out the sign the next time you are at the Langdon Library, and, feel free to take a walk down New Road. It opens up after you pass the rocks and continues at least a mile beyond Arboretum Drive.

Signs of the times...

My apologies for the lack of updates. Unfortunately, being a volunteer, I am either too busy to write any updates, or there is not anything to say because I have not been busy at all. Well, several projects that have been in the works for many months are now moving forward. Here are just a few:

1. Town Forest Sign. The Conservation Commission has obtained permission from the Selectmen and the Historic District Commission to place a Newington Town Forest at New Road opposite the Old Town Hall. Building Inspector Charlie Smart prepared specifications for the installation and the Commission is soliciting one or more bids to place the sign adjacent to New Road. Another alternative would be to have the Town road crew do the installation.

Unfortunately, in bringing the sign to the necessary meetings, one of the two signs was dropped and broke (see above). The two signs cost the Town a total of $3,400, so the loss is unfortunate. Repairs may be possible but expensive.

2. Prime Wetlands & Pease Development Authority. On September 15, 2009, the Town of Newington filed a Petition for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in Merrimack County Superior Court. The Petition asks the Court to find that the State of New Hampshire is required under State and Federal Law and the terms of its deed to recognize the prime wetlands designation previously approved by the NH Department of Environmental Services on six prime wetlands on the lands it acquired from the United States.

I've tried to convert the petition into a JPG file so that google blogs allows me to upload it to this site. To do so I first coverted it to a TIFF, then saved it as a JPEG. Your JPEG viewer probably may have a "next page" feature that allows you to see all 7 or 8 pages.

3. Fox Point. The Conservation Commission proposed to the Selectmen that the Town convey a limited conservation easement on the Town-owned lands on Fox Point. The Selectmen voted to recommend that the Commission prepare an easement for their review which would then be subject to either public hearings before the Selectmen and Planning Board, or a vote at Town meeting in March 2010. The goal is to allow the current management by the Town Selectmen to continue but to protect the property from development.

4. Conservation Easement Acquired at Tricky Cove. The Conservation Commission obtained an easement protecting one of its prime wetlands at Tricky Cove at Little Bay. The property is relatively small and there are no plans to develop recreational access or trails, but rather to maintain the shoreland in its natural state. Part of the conservation easement covers property privately owned land. There will also be land conveyed to the Town that will be subject to the conservation easement. Much of the credit for the protection goes to the Planning Board and Tom Morgan, the Town Planner.

Our Next Meeting is Thursday October 8, 2009 and we typically meet the second thursday of the month at 6:30 PM at the Town Hall. Please come by and show your support.

-Justin Richardson, Chairman
Newington Conservation Commission