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Date: 9/6/2023
LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow Conservation Commission member Kimberly Barton brought Russell Rooney Brooke to the commission’s attention and requested the body do more to monitor and protect the stream.
The brook runs behind properties along Englewood Road to Longmeadow Street. Barton said she is concerned about the quality of water in Rooney Brook because its water flows into Cooley Brook, which feeds the Connecticut River and eventually empties out into Long Island Sound.
Barton made the case that Rooney Brook is a “perennial stream” with “significant flow” and “rapid movement of water” into Cooley Brook. She shared a map dating back to 1920 that showed Rooney Brook, as well as a document from the 1990s that refers to the brook as a “small perennial stream.”
According to Barton, both Rooney Brook and Cooley Brook are largely fed by outfall from storm water, with 11 storm drains feeding Rooney Brook. Rooney Brook is less than 200 feet from Longmeadow Street and Barton said that there is visible oil and pollution in the water.
The proximity to residences was also an issue, Barton said, because “there’s been damming of the stream” by falling trees and brush, and erosion of the banks had caused damage in backyards on Englewood Road.
To protect the brook, Barton said that the waterway should have a wider buffer zone than the 100 feet prescribed for intermittent streams. Massachusetts Department of Environmental protection regulations stipulate that a buffer of 200 feet be maintained around perennial streams.
Classifying Rooney Brook as a perennial stream would also give the town “leverage” against the installation of a proposed Eversource natural gas pipeline and the widening of Longmeadow Street.
Conservation Commission Chair John Bresnahan said while parts of Rooney Brooke may be a perennial stream, the shallow pooled water that Barton described as the “headwaters” are not. Conservation Commission member Patrick Carnahan said that he does not doubt that Rooney Brook is an existing stream but said that homes built in the neighborhood over the past 100 years have likely changed the flow of the brook, and that alteration should be considered.
Conservation Commission member David Dumais suggested the consideration of Rooney Brooke would be an opportunity for the commission to hire a consultant to perform training regarding the legal definition of terms such as perennial stream and intermittent stream. Bresnahan agreed that it was a “great idea.”
Conservation Commission member Andrea Chasen asked about the implications for homeowners if the brook were to be reclassified in the future. Bresnahan said that any new construction projects on the properties would have to abide by the 200-foot buffer and 100-foot non-disturb parameters laid out by the state.
Barton asserted the properties were “nonconforming” because they do not adhere to current bylaws. Bresnahan rejected this, however, as the buildings were conforming for the time in which they were constructed. Administrative Assistant Bianca Damiano explained that rules around nonconforming properties are specific to the building department and do not impact a finding by the Conservation Commission.
Bresnahan said that if an abutting homeowner proposed a project within the buffer zone on their property, the Conservation Commission would have the authority to either confirm or refute an assertion regarding Rooney Brook’s status. The commission cannot, however, unilaterally reclassify the stream.
MassDEP has a process for doing so, which includes observation and documentation, and factors in the topography and watershed size.