Protect the Partrick Wetlands
and our Community
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Presenter: Sean TImmins
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Good Evening
My name is Sean Timmins and I reside at
I am a Manufacturing Information Systems Consultant, and hold a Bachelors degree of Business Administration in Computer Science from Pace university.
My wife and I purchased the Lewis Partrick home in
1994 from Pat and Jim Mulford who had lived here for
over 50 years. We are the 5th
owners of our 180 year old home. Our 4
year old twin daughters were born in 1999 and we look forward to raising them
and growing old here in
We recently lost our wonderful neighbor and an icon of
We come to you this evening and ask that you deny this
application for development of the Partrick wetlands based on your
responsibilities as outlined in the Planning and Zoning Regulations in
Section 44-6 Special Permit Standards Line (7) to Preserve important open space and other
features of the natural environment related to the public health, safety and
welfare.
In the
"Conservation
Dept. Reminder About Leaf Disposal Etiquette"
A few quotes:
“it’s illegal to dump debris in a wetland or watercourse.”
“these sensitive areas are governed by the Regulations for
the Protection and Preservation of Wetlands and Watercourses of the Town of
Westport, Connecticut and the Waterway Protection Line”
“Laws that Protect our
wetlands and waterways make sense and preserve not only the Town’s precious
resources, but private property as well.”
“when wetlands are filled in,
water is displaced to adjacent properties causing flooding of neighboring
land. Leaves can also clog streams and
cause flooding of upstream and nearby residences”
“in addition, they may cause
changes in the chemical nature of the stream and nutrient overloads. These excess nutrients are responsible for
abnormal algae blooms, lower dissolved oxygen levels and the death of dependent
aquatic organisms”
What about Dependent Human
Organisms?
What happens when those
wetlands are recharging Aquifers that feed residential wells?
These are THE EXACT same reasons No one should dig 22 foundations, install 22
salted driveways, 22 houses, 22 fertilized lawns, 3 sanded roads with
chemically de-iced sidewalks, an effluent and sewerage up-pump system piped
under the resident stream, on the only 9 dry build-able acres in a 55 acre
Wetland and Aquifer Recharge System that serves Hundreds of local drinking
water wells to house 22 families with 44 cars in the center of a property known
to contain Toxic waste including Arsenic and a potential list of other Heavy
Metals!
Don’t ignore the complete displacement of habitable
land for wildlife. Uplands are necessary for the health and efficacy of
wetlands. They will be gone! Leave the Partrick Wetlands Un-Disturbed!
The metals are of primary concern, since we know they
are present (specifically arsenic) at elevated levels inside the wetlands from
the previous Dumping and Mining Operations, which were
for many years conducted on the property.
Left undisturbed they pose little threat, however once
the digging starts, there will be no way of determining when our wells are may
be contaminated. The migration of metals
into the leaching plume and into the recharge system could take several years
and the developers will be long gone.
Hundreds of wells of
What new homeowner is going to live in the middle of a swampy mosquito infested forest and not use Pesticides given the rate of Lyme disease in the area and the risk of West Nile Virus?
What proud new homeowner isn’t going to fertilize her new lawn no matter how small it is?
The developers own experts testified to the Rapid Infiltration Capabilities of the site. Infiltration according to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is:
1 : to cause (as a
liquid) to permeate something by penetrating its pores or interstices
2 : to pass into or through (a substance) by filtering or
permeating
That means that any disturbed Toxic or Applied
chemical material will make its way very rapidly into the aquifer that serves
this community through hundreds of wells.
Local drainage and rainfall do not merely migrate to Poplar Brook and
find there way to the
The notion that the "Charter of the Home owner's Association" would ban the use of Pesticides and Fertilizers is Ridiculous. A recent New York Times Article stated they are unrealistic and Un-enforceable and that association charters are regularly abandoned when the association as a group chooses not to follow them.
Will the Town pay for remediation and damages when
contamination of wells begins?
Will the Town pay for continuous monitoring and
testing of all wells indefinitely into the future?
Will we be forced to drill
new wells or install chemical remediation systems in our homes to remove
contaminants originating from this site?
The developer’s attorney
refers to the sewer to
They also state that if the
neighboring wells are contaminated, they can merely hook up to the new water
main on
What will the world think of Westport CT and its
leadership when it learns that the Town knowingly put hundreds of wonderful
homes and families at risk when it allowed developers to build cluster housing
in not only one of the last pieces of open space in the town, but in an
ecologically recovering Dump and former Industrial Site? The DEP has NOT conducted a comprehensive
study of the property. They have
observed the removal of 10 truckloads of tires.
Our Lives, our Children’s Lives and our Community as a whole, are potentially at risk.
This is not a knee-jerk reaction of a couple of
fanatical neighbors ... We know Arsenic has been found in the site.
This is a deadly concern of an entire community!
In closing I will say to you again, We come to you
this evening and ask that you deny this application for development of the
Partrick wetlands based on your responsibilities as outlined in the Planning
and Zoning Regulations in
Section 44-6 Special Permit Standards Line (7) to Preserve important open
space and other features of the natural environment related to the public
health, safety and welfare.
Residents potentially affected by this development
will be those in the areas of:
Wilton Rd Windrush Ln April Dr Rices Ln Twin Falls Ln
Possum
Columbine Ln
Tall Trees Dr
Cooper Ln
The Stony
Winding Ln
If You want to know more
about Arsenic in well water read the World Health Organizations fact sheet …
http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact210.html
Extremely Concerned
Sean Timmins and Family
Lewis Partrick House 1823