Carver Conservation Commission Votes 3-2 to Allow Septic System in Wetland Buffer at Samson Pond

CARVER -- July 2, 2025, Carver Conservation Commission splits 3-2 on a septic variance for a Samson Pond seasonal cottage. At the July 2 meeting, the commission approved both a variance and a notice of intent for a proposed septic leaching field at 45 Ridge Road, sited as close as 52 feet from bordering vegetated wetland and within the town's 65-foot no-build buffer, the only Title V-compliant location on the constrained three-quarter-acre parcel. Engineer John Flaherty of Flaherty and Stefani Engineers, Plymouth, representing applicant John Barango of Tilson Ridge Realty Trust, argued there was no viable alternative to a conventional leaching field, calling tight holding tanks a maintenance and discharge risk. Member Dave Hall, who dissented, countered that the site's high-transmissivity esker sand and overlapping buffer zones from Samson Pond and adjacent bogs made the leaching field placement "a really sensitive area." A deed restriction limiting the property to a one-bedroom septic system will be recorded at the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds. The commission also seated new member Jennifer Cullum, reelected Savory Morris as chair and Dave Hall as vice chair by 4-0-1 votes, and approved three certificates of compliance, two full and one partial, by 4-0-1, and heard a lengthy agricultural exemption discussion on plans to restore a long-troubled cranberry bog at 187 Meadow Street, with no vote required or taken.