Lab Test Results on Deming-Young Farm Soil Are Back
NEWINGTON - UConn lab-tested soil samples taken from the Deming-Young Farm indicate that a top layer that was removed by contractors on an MDC sewer and water project was returned and that, although grass is capable of growing at the site, a layer of unprocessed stone--a point of concern for residents and councilors alike--has been left behind.

       That was the report given to the Council by REMA Ecological Associates soil scientist George Logan at the Jan. 26 regular meeting.

       Processed stone tend to inhibit ground water from coming up from lower layers, but not from rain precipitation seeping through from above, Logan said. Trying to remove the material is not recommended, he said.

       â€"Processed stone will only have an impact if there’s not enough top soil,” Logan said. â€"To take all of the processed stone away, you’d have to tear up the whole site.”

       Vernon-based VMS Construction, a general contractor on the MDC project, utilized the town-owned property as a staging area for construction, installing a sewer and waterline in exchange.

       But the agreement between the town and the firm was arranged through a series of emails, as opposed to being written into a contract, according to VMS President Victor Serrambana, Jr., who attended the meeting and came before the Council to answer questions.

       â€"I guess it depends on how much you trust the contractor,” Serrambana said, when asked whether or not such an agreement is normal. â€"We’ve been around for a long time.”

       Councilors worried that the absence of a more formal agreement would not bind VMS to continue work to restore the soil composition to its previous state, but Serrambana said that he has every intention of seeing the effort through.

       â€"I’m not sure how the town had a leg to stand on,” said Councilor Maureen Klett. â€"I appreciate that you want to restore the top soil, but unless the town had something in writing, I’m not sure how far this Council can go.”

       The Council enlisted George Logan, a soil scientist for REMA Ecological Services, to do a comparison between soil from an area where top material was removed during a Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) sewer project and samples of an undisturbed portion of the town-owned Deming-Young farm site.

       Councilors who have walked the site have reported the presence of gravel and rusted metal in the disturbed area, and wanted to compare the composition of that soil with parts where none was removed.

       Personnel from MDC told the Council that top soil was removed from the farm--used as a staging area by MDC contractors from VMS Construction--because they didn’t have anywhere else to put it. The material was brought back, and upon the request of the town and MDC, VMS began sediment removal and the reapplication of lawn fertilizer in early September, according to MDC Attorney Chris Stone. That work was completed in October, he said at a previous meeting.

       The disturbance of top soil--the cover for â€"imperfections” in the larger composition--can cause gravel and other materials to appear, and that the restoration to its former appearance takes time, Stone said.

       â€"We have no base,” said Councilor Jim Marocchini. â€"We didn’t take test samples before it was dug up. What I like is how he put back the soil that was moved. The farmhouse got a few good things out of it. We kept heavy vehicles off the road. I think we should put this to bed.”

       An MDC project to install 2,200 feet of sanitary sewer on Church Street took place a few years ago to the tune of $4 million-a part of the MDC’s larger Clean Water Project. The project was driven by a need to address sewer overflows in towns connected to a 150-year-old Hartford Treatment Plant sewer system that today serves around 400,000 people.
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