CONCORD, Mass. – The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District to conduct work in waters of the United States in conjunction with maintenance at the Benedict Pond dam in the towns of Great Barrington and Monterey, Mass.
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is proposing maintenance work to the dam face at Benedict Pond. The dam is in a state of disrepair and action is required to ensure the dam functions as designed. The work includes the discharge of dredged or fill material for maintenance repairs to the 550-foot long face of the dam along the shore of the pond. This work would require about 4,300 square feet of temporary fill consisting of compact gravel for a berm coffer dam that would be constructed in the pond for dewatering the work areas.
The work is proposed in Benedict Pond within the Beartown State Forest in Berkshire County, Mass.
Approximately 1,500 square feet of pond bottom would be excavated along the face of the dam to expose areas for maintenance work and then backfilled with compact gravel. About 1,600 square feet of gravel would be temporarily placed on the pond bottom to support heavy machinery. All temporary fill material would be removed and bottom contours restored following construction activities. The pond water surface would be partially drawn about 4 feet to allow work areas to dewater. Stream flow to Stony Brook would be maintained with a bypass pipe.
Mitigation of temporary impacts to water quality would include a temporary berm coffer dam, and water flow control, bypassing the pond outflow around the work areas during construction. The project will use turbidity curtains and use of best management practices for control of sedimentation, erosion, and turbidity impacts.
The application for the federal permit was filed with the Corps of Engineers in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in U. S. waters, including wetlands. The public notice can be viewed on the Corps website at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil. Select Regulatory/Permitting and then weekly public notices.
Public comments on this proposal should be forwarded no later than Feb. 17, 2012 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: John Sargent), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager John Sargent at 978-318-8026 or toll free 800-343-4789 or 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts) or by email to: john.c.sargent@usace.army.mil.