Carver Conservation Commission requires wetlands permit for Zero Mayflower Road sand excavation

CARVER -- October 1, 2025, Carver Conservation Commission issues split wetlands ruling on large sand excavation near sole-source aquifer. The three-member commission voted 3-0 on October 1 to find the proposed 7.45-acre, 448,000-cubic-yard excavation at Zero Mayflower Road subject to the Carver Wetlands Bylaw, triggering a required Notice of Intent, while issuing a negative determination under the state Wetlands Protection Act, a distinction the commission's conservation agent said would reduce the landowner's grounds to appeal. Catherine Harrelson of the Community Land and Water Coalition, which filed the Request for Determination of Applicability, presented USDA hydric soil data and 1995 aerial imagery to argue that bogs to the west of the proposed reservoir were originally bordering vegetated wetlands never delineated by the applicant's engineer. The agent noted the project would excavate 40 to 50 feet into the groundwater table on a site within the federally designated Plymouth-Carver Aquifer, with more than 20 private-well homes located downgradient.