Weymouth Conservation Commission Continues Sewer Hearing, Delays Pond Chemical Vote

WEYMOUTH -- January 30, 2024, Weymouth Conservation Commission delays approval of Whitman's Pond herbicide plan, continues sewer hearing. The commission voted to continue both the public hearing on the Lower Central Interceptor Replacement, a 1,150-foot, $multi-million sewer upgrade along Tide Mill Brook, and discussion of the 2024 Whitman's Pond vegetation management plan to the February 27 meeting. Ryan Allgrove of Environmental Partners, representing the Weymouth Department of Public Works, described the project as the final segment of a 30-year capital improvement effort to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows, with the Division of Marine Fisheries imposing a March 1 through June 30 work restriction to protect rainbow smelt spawning habitat. On Whitman's Pond, residents including Back River Watershed Association President Linda D'Angelo and a speaker identified as Phil raised concerns about chemical migration, inadequate pre- and post-application monitoring, and a prior misdirected herbicide application in Whitman's Pond itself, while Whitman's Pond Association representative Steve Haley countered that the permitted five-year plan represents the town's best practical option against invasive aquatic vegetation.