Last night, the Conservation Commission voted unanimously to set the wetland line for the property at 33 Industrial Road, a potential power plant site.
But without knowing the property owner's mind, it was hard to figure out what this decision really meant.
Tony Lorusso currently owns the South Walpole property, but Competitive Power Ventures hopes to build a power plant on the site. Setting the official wetland line is a necessary first step before the property can be sold or built upon.
Lorusso, who was not in attendance last night, has said he will not reveal his intentions - to sell the 14 acres to Competitive Power or not - until he receives a letter from the Board of Selectmen. Selectmen voted last week inform him they don't support putting a power plant on the property.
Until Lorusso decides to sell or not, last night's Conservation Commission vote means only "the applicant knows where the wetland is and can decide what they want to do with the property," Chairman John Wiley said.
"It's a preliminary step," he said.
The actual vote, 5-0-0, set the wetland line for the property as defined by a third-party consultant, Steve Ivas, of Ivas Environmental. It is a slight increase in the wetland area compared with the previous line, but nothing significant, according to Wiley.
With the setting of the wetland line, a 100-foot buffer is also set, Wiley said. If the owner wishes to make any changes within that buffer, an application must be filed with the commission.
At that point the commission will either accept the proposal as is or accept it along "with restrictions and conditions," Wiley said.
The town recently accepted a stormwater management and erosion control bylaw, according to conservation agent Landis Hershey. As a result, any project involving the disruption of more than 40,000 square feet of land must also file an application with the commission.
This means no significant construction could occur without a land disturbance permit being filed with the commission, she said.
David Amaral, a resident of Walpole, asked if anybody knew if the property was prepared for "the type of project being considered," that is, a 580-megawatt power plant.
"The post-development runoff could not exceed the pre-development runoff," Wiley said.
After the close of the hearing and the vote, discussion among commissioners turned to the uncertain future of the property.
Vice Chairman Al Goetz suggested the board should begin looking into the impact that a power plant would have on "wetlands and surrounding vegetation."
Wiley stressed that it would be "some time" before the board would see any application, if at all. No significant conversation need occur until "we see which way the ball bounces," he said.
Goetz brought up the possibility that Competitive Power will seek plan approval from the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board, thereby skirting local boards.
They would still have to come before the commission, according to Hershey. The Conservation Commission administers state law, she explained.
Jeb Bobseine can be reached at jeb@walpoletimes.com or 508-668-0243, ext. 13.
