Farmington Inland Wetlands Commission
People
- Richard Berlandy, Commissioner
- David Fox, Commissioner
- Robert C. Isner, Commissioner
- Daniel Popovic, Commissioner
- Andre LJ Simons, Commissioner
- Mark Simpson, Commissioner
- Ned T. Statchen, IWC Chair
- Alana Carveth, Alternate Commissioner
- Frank Roth, Alternate Commissioner
Coverage (20 articles)
East Farms Pond Deck Gets Wetlands Approval for Repairs
Farmington's Inland Wetlands Commission approved repairs to the observation deck at the East Farms School pond, plus a ramp on the path to it, and a second driveway on Garden Street. Proposed changes to the town's wetlands rules still had not gone to the state.
Tree Cutting at a Farmington Wetland's Edge
An anonymous call led Farmington's wetlands agent to a tree crew cutting beside a wetland at 243 Brickyard Road. The cutting appears to stop just short of a protected easement, but the commission wants the line surveyed before it walks the site.
Farmington Sets Oct. 26 Hearing on 18 Active-Adult Homes
The Plan and Zoning Commission will hear a rezoning for 18 active-adult homes at 598 Plainville Avenue and three home food businesses on Oct. 26. It also approved a shared sign plan for the old Barnes & Noble building, an unlit sign on Scott Swamp Road and a courtyard kiosk at New Horizons.
Farmington Approves Last 46 Homes at Farmington West Estates
The final phases of a subdivision off Snowberry Lane, a project that traces back to a 1994 court decree, won approval with conditions to repair protected land a construction entrance appears to cross. The conditions were added after the vote, and no one said how they will be checked.
Farmington Wetlands Panel Uses a Term Its Rules Never Define
The Farmington Inland Wetlands Commission voted twice on Sept. 2 that a project was "not a significant activity." The phrase is not among the 33 terms its own regulations define. Staff is finishing amendments to fix that, and the only public step is a hearing nobody has scheduled.
Farmington Approves West Avon Road Wetland Restoration
The wetland being restored at 114 West Avon Road does not stop at the property line. Farmington's Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commission tabled the plan on July 8 until both abutting owners sent letters of approval. Two weeks later it had one of the two, and approved anyway, without settling on the record what the missing letter is worth.
Farmington Homeowner Dug a Backyard Pond in a Wetland
The owner of a West Avon Road house bought her first home, was told a grassy bowl out back was hers, and dug it into a pond. A neighbor's complaint and a cease-and-desist order later, she came before Farmington's Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commission on July 8 with a 575-plant plan to put it back. The commission liked what it saw, and held its vote for next month.
Noble Energy Withdraws Farmington Truck Stop Applications
Noble Energy withdrew both its wetlands and zoning applications for the proposed diesel truck stop on 86 acres above Batterson Park Pond, ending a fight that drew an intervener, dueling hydrology experts, and unanimous Town Council opposition. The company gave no reason. The project dies without a vote.
Three Farmington Boards Weigh In on Truck Stop; Two Decide
Three Farmington bodies weigh in on the fate of the Noble Energy truck stop, but the elected Town Council, the one residents keep asking to stop it, doesn't actually decide. A guide to who votes on what, and the June 17, July 13, and July 27 hearings that do.
Farmington Town Council Comes Out Against the Truck Stop
Farmington's Town Council issued two unanimous negative referrals June 9, opposing the Noble Energy truck stop at 8261 Fienemann Road and a separate National Land Holdings residential project, even though the binding decisions still belong to the planning and wetlands boards.
Noble Energy Hearing Comes Down to One Disputed Number
Noble Energy wants to build a diesel travel center and warehouse on 86 acres that drain toward Batterson Park Pond — the public pond the state is spending roughly $10 million to restore. After five hearings, Farmington's wetlands commission still won't decide, and it now comes down to one contested number: the applicant says the project removes under 5 percent of a vernal pool's watershed; the intervenor says 56.8 percent. The hearing stays open to June 17.
Farmington Wetlands Commission: Where Does the Water Go?
The Farmington Inland Wetlands Commission worked through a backyard patio, a post-fire wetland restoration, an 18-unit active-adult subdivision, and the third hearing on Noble Energy's diesel travel center in one long May 20 session — and asked nearly every applicant the same question: where does the water go? Two approvals, two continuances, and a Noble vote that can't come before June 17. The whole night, in one place.
Travel Center or Truck Stop? Noble Energy's Farmington Plan
Noble Energy's owner insists his proposed Fienemann Road project is "a mini travel plaza," not a truck stop — a distinction he argues turns on scale and a business model aimed at the local trucks the national chains leave out. Opponents counter that there is no legal difference, and that the 18,000-square-foot warehouse and the diesel traffic are what matter. Here's what's actually in the application, and why the label keeps surfacing in a wetlands fight.
Noble Energy Redesigns Stormwater Plan; Hearing to June 3
Noble Energy returned to the Farmington Inland Wetlands Commission on May 20 with a redesigned stormwater plan built around Contech "jellyfish" biofiltration filters — a system the project's own engineer acknowledged he has never installed. Roughly nineteen residents spoke, all in opposition, and the commission continued the hearing and the intervener's petition to June 3. The earliest a vote could come is June 17.
Batterson Park Pond to Reopen This Summer, Still No Swimming
Most of the testimony at the May 20 Farmington wetlands hearing was about Noble Energy's proposed diesel travel center — but the stakes kept circling back to Batterson Park Pond, which is set to reopen this summer with swimming still prohibited. Residents and the proceeding's intervener pointed to state data showing the pond's watershed is already past the threshold where water quality degrades, and argued the wooded land between the development and the pond is filtration the pond cannot afford to lose.
Farmington Wetlands Approves Restoration at 24 Somersby Way
The Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commission signed off on removing twelve inches of fill and a three-year monitoring schedule at 24 Somersby Way.
Noble Energy Brings Smaller Plan to Farmington Wetlands
Noble Energy returned to Farmington Inland Wetlands with a smaller plan for 8261 Fienemann Road: no restaurant, a shrunken warehouse and travel center, and wetlands impact cut from 3,700 square feet to under 1,000. The public, when its turn came, wanted to talk about four schools within a half mile. The hearing was continued to May 6.
Farmington Wetlands Approves Wolf Pit Road Batting Cage
Farmington's Inland Wetlands Commission unanimously approved a 70-by-15-foot batting cage at 20 Wolf Pit Road for Little League and high school use. The commission also tabled the JBS Developers application at 598 Plainville Avenue to April 15.
You Call That a Platform? The River Had Other Ideas
Modeling Floods, Wrangling Debris, and the Great Boulder Strip Compromise “I Gave Up Fishing in Boy Scouts Because I Always Ended Up in the River” FARMINGTON, CT — APR 25, 2025 | By Jack Beckett The Farmington Inland Wetlands Commission opened its April 16th meeting with the kind of roll call confusion only possible when…
Vine Hill Road Wetlands Restoration Plan Grows to 78 Shrubs
🌿 Wetlands chaos unfolds at 17 Vine Hill Rd as George Santos tackles 78 shrubs 🌱 Meanwhile, 1509 Farmington Ave drowns in Phragmites! More at The Farmington Mercury. 155 Scott Swamp Rd.