The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is requesting more information from Andover’s engineer before issuing an approval that would allow the Town to move forward with a controversial plan to pave the Haggetts Pond trail.
Andover is seeking a superseding order of conditions from DEP, which would allow the Town to forgo conditions set by the conservation commission when it approved the project in October. In an April 3 letter, DEP asked the Town’s engineer to submit a revised plan for the stormwater management design for the project. Andover has 70 days to comply with the request.
The conservation commission’s conditions include monitoring of tree health for two years and ensuring environmentally-friendly sealants are used for the paving. Haggetts Pond is the Town’s water supply.
For more than a year, a group of residents has been trying to block the Town’s plan to pave the mile-long trail that runs along Haggetts Pond. Andover officials maintain the paving will make the trail more accessible without causing significant environmental damage. The Friends of Haggetts Pond pushed for a special town meeting last year, but Andover’s legislative body ultimately rejected zoning changes that would have prevented the paving project.
In February, a group of 13 residents warned Andover officials they planned to file a lawsuit to block the project.