Stephanie Roman
Coverage (7 articles)
Noble Energy Brings a Smaller Plan to Farmington Inland 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 TPZ Schedules July 27 Hearing on Noble Energy Rezoning
The Farmington Town Plan and Zoning Commission voted Monday night to accept Noble Energy Real Estate Holdings, LLC's application for a partial R40 to B1 rezoning at 8261 Fienemann Road and to schedule a public hearing for July 27. The 86-acre parcel — at the corner of Fienemann Road and the I-84 ramps, drained by a culverted channel into Hartford-owned Batterson Park Pond — is where Noble Energy has proposed a warehouse, a travel center, and fueling stations. The same project has been the subject of two contested wetlands hearings this spring, with an intervener petition formally accepted May 6.
Farmington Wetlands Commission Accepts Intervener Petition in Noble Energy Hearing
The Farmington Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commission unanimously accepted Stephanie Roman's intervener petition Wednesday in the continuing public hearing on Noble Energy Real Estate Holdings' proposed travel center, warehouse, and diesel fueling facility on the upstream edge of the Batterson Park Pond watershed. The petition's expert, Carya Ecological Services principal Sigrun Gadwa, flagged a state-endangered wetland plant — Saururus cernuus, lizard's tail — on the applicant's own plant inventory. The hearing was continued to May 20, with both commissions attaching conditions to anything they eventually approve.
Noble Energy Redesigns Its Stormwater Plan; Farmington Wetlands Hearing Continues 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 Is Set to Reopen This Summer. You Still Won't Be Able to Swim in It.
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.
Where Does the Water Go? One Night at the Farmington Wetlands Commission
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.
A Farmington Truck-Stop 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.