Hadley Conservation Commission Closes Hearing on Lake Warner Herbicide Treatment Plan

HADLEY -- May 27, 2025, Hadley Conservation Commission closes two hearings, issues stormwater enforcement order. The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to close public hearings for a 4,300-square-foot University of Massachusetts energy research building on Mullins Way and a five-year, roughly $10,000-per-year herbicide treatment plan targeting invasive water chestnut in Lake Warner, incorporating conditions requiring 48-hour advance notice before each diquat application, annual water quality reporting, and notification to state fish and wildlife officials in the event of a fish kill. An abutter farming 40 adjacent acres objected to diquat's toxicity to aquatic invertebrates but the commission noted it "cannot deny the project strictly because of the proposed use of diquat, it's approved by state and feds." The board also issued a formal enforcement order requiring the owner of 300 Venture Way to restore a deteriorated 2001-era stormwater system by November 1, continued a residential landscaping application at Maplewood Terrace to June 10 after flagging that proposed pavers may fall within the 35-foot no-disturb zone, and sent a Seven Brew drive-through coffee shop application at 347 Russell Street back to July 8 for a corrected riverfront redevelopment narrative and two-to-one mitigation calculations.