Letter to the DEP

Ms. Rojko

As abutters to the Ben Smith Impoundment in Maynard MA, the proposal to remove the Historic Ben Smith Dam will have a direct impact on our family and our home. We believe that the negative impact on the recreational value alone would be enough to oppose this plan. But the loss of history, culture, and community identity could not be remediated. As we have researched more we realize that the claims of environmental improvement will actually result in a loss of 100 acres of wetlands. In addition we are to have our entire neighborhood dug up for multiple years. All this so that WWTFs can continue to pollute the Assabet River. Dam removal only relocates the problem down stream. It seems clear that the best solution for all involved is tighter winter limits on phosphorous discharge.

We request that the recommendation to remove the Ben Smith Dam be stricken from the US Army Corps of Engineers "Assabet River, Massachusetts Sediment and Dam Removal Feasibility Study". We feel that this proposal does not meet the TMDL Phase II requirement of a 90 percent reduction in sediment phosphorus flux and is repugnant to the myriad concerns acknowledged in the report.

We request that instead the report should be altered to recommend that, based on the CDM modeling results, phosphorous discharge levels of no greater than 0.1mg/l should be mandated for any and all discharges into the Assabet River with no exceptions.

We also request that the above abutter objections are clearly outlined in the report and in the conclusion.

Thank you,


We'd like to see more sample letters keep them coming.