Sweet Peet hearing ends

Questions about truck traffic and environmental impacts have been raised repeatedly in public comments. The answers remain unclear.

An engineering study by the opposition group came up with an estimate of how many trucks would have to travel to and from the operation. The estimate was based on information the Golds submitted with their application. But the Golds believe that the estimate is too high.

Another recurring concern is what the opposition calls tannins and what the Golds call "tannin water."

Tannins leech out from the composting wood shavings and manure. Tannin-laced water will be periodically drawn from a pit below the pile and poured back over the pile, dying it the unique Sweet Peet deep brown color. If necessary, excess "tannin water" will be sprayed onto surrounding fields, according to the Golds.

Tannins naturally occur in plants, creating a bitter taste that deters animals from eating them. They are found in tea, wine, chocolate, nuts, fruits and legumes. Chemical derivatives, such as tannic acid (which is not naturally occurring) are used in wood stain and for medicinal purposes.

Tannins are generally believed to be safe. They are commonly found in drinking water when the aquifer source filters through peat and other composting material

Concerns about tannin health effectsseemed to be resolved during the Dec. 14 hearing when ZBA Chair Joanne Wojtusiak asked the applicants what the difference was between tannic acid and "tannin water."

Resident Graham Underwood, who had commented previously that night in favor of the project, offered testimony.

Underwood said he is a chemist, and that the tannins that will be produced by the composting operation are the same as what is found in tea.

"It’s as dangerous as a cup of tea," he said.

Contacting The Lakeville Journal by e-mail on a variety of issues following the hearing, Kathleen O’Flinn (she and her husband, Peter O’Flinn, are leading the opposition to the permit) wrote, "Tea is not made with liquid that has been run through piles of horse manure and bedding. Would anyone who is giving serious thought to this consider drinking, or even wading into, the liquid in the reservoir?"

The O’Flinns also remain unsatisfied with proposed means of monitoring the site. The Golds stated initially that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would require monitoring of ground water as part of its permitting. But the permit is for storm water management, and carries the condition that no more than 5,000 cubic yards of material are on the site at one time.

Charlie Gold said last week that he and his partners in the proposed business (including his brother, Ralph) have decided to do their own monitoring.

The DEP permit is good for one year. A renewal requires a review, but Cornwall Zoning Enforcement Officer Karen Nelson told The Journal it is not clear what that review will entail. Manure management issues are coming to the fore. She expects that within the next year, the DEP will issue standards that will consider options such as composting.

"I think the DEP is going to be looking at every composting and manure management operation differently," Nelson said.

The O’Flinns’ attorney, Robert Alessi, stressed repeatedly on Dec. 14 that all that really needs to be decided is whether the use is agricultural. A defined by case law in Connecticut, agriculture is the raising and harvesting of living things.

That same definition was given to the Planning and Zoning Commission in a consultationwith its attorney, Steven Byrne.

"From these definitions, it would be within the sound discretion of the commission to find that the production of compost is not a permitted use of the land as the primary use of that land because it is not a living thing," Byrne wrote.

Byrne also suggested Planning and Zoning consider whether or not composting could be defined as an accessory use.

Ralph Gold said waste management is part of farming, and noted it is now illegal to spread manure on fields during part of the year.

"Composting is an accepted option," he said

Gold referred to a letter from Phil Prelli, the state’s agricultural commissioner. Gold quoted Prelli as saying the Sweet Peet operation "solves problems and creates a needed product," and that it’s a "good fit" for Cornwall.

Alessi noted in his closing statement that Prelli never actually called the venture agriculture.

Wojtusiak said ZBA members will look at the definition of agriculture in the zoning regulations, which she said, "would appear a little broad."