Atrius Health doesn’t need Conservation Commission approval for generator installation 

The Conservation Commission approved a Request for Determination of Applicability (RDA) from Atrius Health at its most recent meeting, finding that the Wetlands Protection Act does not pose a barrier to the company’s plans to install an emergency generator, dumpster pad and underground electrical conduit at 1601 Trapelo Road.

The project, represented by environmental scientist Taylor Donovan of VHB, will be contained entirely within a previously paved area near a stormwater basin.

The commission’s discussion centered on whether the nearby water body actually qualifies as a protected wetland under state law. While it appeared on state mapping as a wetland, commissioners and staff noted that it looks and functions more like a stormwater retention basin. 

It concluded that since the body is a pond designed to collect runoff so it doesn’t flood elsewhere, it doesn’t have the same protections. The commission was unable to confirm the basin’s construction date, which would have helped settle the question as basins built after 1995 are classified differently under the law.

Ultimately, the commission voted to approve the project, finding that even if the water body does qualify as a protected wetland, the proposed work would have no negative impact on it. Atrius Health is now free to carry out the project without input from the commission, since wetland protections do not apply.