Adams Conservation Commission Lifts Cease-Work Order on Coal & Grain Site

ADAMS, Mass. — The Conservation Commission lifted the cease-work order on the former Hoosac Valley Coal and Grain property and determined the project is exempt from the Massachusetts Rivers Protection Act.

The commission revisited Thursday the town's improper demolition of two building at the site and determined that it would have deemed the demolition acceptable.

"At this point it time there is nothing left there and there is no damage," Commissioner Corey Bishop said. "The work has been done and you are in area where you have the high concrete [flood control] walls ... It's much better now."

Last December, the buildings that sit in a wetland on Cook Street were knocked down without the Conservation Commission's approval. Also, the code enforcement officer was never asked to inspect the property before demolition. Because of some confusion, the contractor who took down the buildings never pulled the proper permits.

The commissioners put a cease-work order on the property until they could figure out the best way to go forward.

According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, because the demolition turned an impermeable surface into a vegetative surface, it is exempt.

"If you are going from the tops of the roof of these two buildings to the dirt and the grass you are exempt from the 220-foot riverfront guidelines," Chairman James Fassell said. "Nothing is being affected ... those two buildings are gone and now it's dirt."

Interim Department of Public Works Director David Nuvallie agreed, saying the demolition was more of a cleanup.

"It's really a demolition permit that should have been taken ... but the building was 80 percent down," Nuvallie said. "It was basically a cleanup."

The commissioners reiterated that they would have approved the demolition even though it was in a resource area, but wished that the proper procedure was followed.

Although it did not fall under the commissioners' jurisdiction, they gave their blessings to the St. Stanislaus Kostka School Duck Race.

"I would like you to market the heck out of this thing, get as many people as you can to come, have a great time, and make a lot of money," Bishop said. 

St. Stan's Principal Linda Reardon said the school will run the fundraiser this May in which people can purchase rubber ducks that will race down a river.

"It's a great fundraiser and it is a great community event," Reardon said. "No one has done it here in this area, this will be the first one."

The ducks will be dumped into the chute and collected by a net at the end. The owner of the winning duck wins a prize.

The commissioners just asked that organizers keep an eye out for any ducks that don't make it.

"They probably won't get stuck or go anywhere but keep an eye on it," Commissioner Thomas Robinson said. "They certainly aren't going to fly out."

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