HomeMy WebLinkAbout26IWC4 - Butlertown Rd - Wetland Report
February 27, 2026
Douglas K. Brush, Chair Inland Wetlands Commission Town of Montville 310 Norwich-New London Turnpike
Uncasville, CT 06382
Re: Town of Montville Butlertown Road Improvements Butlertown Road
Oakdale, CT 06370
CLA-7928 Dear Mr. Brush:
On behalf of the Town of Montville, CLA Engineers has performed a delineation and functional evaluation of the inland wetlands at the referenced site and assessed the site to provide a basis for determining the potential for impacts associated with the proposed improvements to Butlertown Rd. Details of the proposed development parcel are presented in the site plans.
The inland wetland boundary was delineated by R. Russo (CLA Engineers) in August of 2024. The wetland boundary and proposed roadway improvements are shown on the plans prepared by CLA Engineers dated 2/27/2026. These data were augmented with additional online information from CTDEEP, USFWS, USGS, and the Town of Montville GIS Viewer.
Site Setting The project site consists of approximately 0.23 acres of Butlertown Road which starts 0.28 miles south of Sachatello Industrial Dr. The site is almost completely impervious and drains northward.
An unnamed watercourse flows under this portion of Butlertown Road, which is a tributary to
Latimer Brook, the Niantic River and Long Island Sound. The surrounding parcels are zoned as residential (R-60), light industrial (LI), and industrial (I District). These consist of single-family homes, industrial buildings, and equipment parking and
staging areas.
CLA Engineers, Inc.
Civil Structural Survey
317 MAIN STREET NORWICH, CT 06360 (860) 886-1966 (860) 886-9165 FAX
Soils The upland soils mapped by NRCS are listed in the table below. There are no hydric soils mapped
on the property by NRCS. Additional descriptive details are provided in an NRCS soil report
included as Appendix A.
Table 1 - Soil Types and Properties at the Butlertown Road Site
Soil Series Parent Material Drainage Class Texture/Characteristics
Woodbridge Coarse-loamy lodgment till Well Drained Fine sandy loam to gravelly fine sandy loam
The Woodbridge series consists of moderately well drained loamy soils formed in lodgment till. They are nearly level to moderately steep soils on hills, drumlins, till plains, and ground moraines.
Wetland Characteristics Classification The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI https://fwsprimary.wim.usgs.gov/wetlands/apps/wetlands-mapper/) does show the onsite wetland. The stream is classified as a R5UBH. The description of this classification is provided
below. Classification code: R5UBH System Riverine (R) : The Riverine System includes all wetlands and deepwater habitats contained within a channel, with two exceptions: (1) wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs,
persistent emergents, emergent mosses, or lichens, and (2) habitats with water containing ocean-
derived salts of 0.5 ppt or greater. A channel is an open conduit either naturally or artificially created which periodically or continuously contains moving water, or which forms a connecting link between two bodies of standing water. Subsystem Unknown Perennial (5) : This Subsystem designation was created specifically for
use when the distinction between lower perennial, upper perennial, and tidal cannot be made from
aerial photography and no data is available. Class Unconsolidated Bottom (UB) : Includes all wetlands and deepwater habitats with at least 25% cover of particles smaller than stones (less than 6-7 cm), and a vegetative cover less than 30%.
Water Regime Permanently Flooded (H) : Water covers the substrate throughout the year in all
years.
Wetland hydrology
There is one regulated area on the project site. This includes an unnamed watercourse that drains
into Latimer Brook. This watercourse is hydrologically fed by a large wetland system to the east of the project site and by runoff coming from nearby development and Butlertown Road.
Factors important to functional assessment
The following observations are important to the functional assessment and are listed here to provide context to the later discussion of functions and values.
1. Connecticut protected species are not known to be present on the site per the December
2025 update of the CTDEEP NDDB. 2. The local zoning is Residential (R-60), Light Industrial (LI), and Industrial (I District) per the Town GIS, and the surrounding parcels appear to be used for single-family residences, industrial buildings, and parking areas.
3. The wetland is underlain by glacial lodgment till around its edges per available online
mapping. Detailed soil mapping from the U.S. Web Soil Survey is included within Appendix A. 4. Runoff from the road currently enters the stream during rain events 5. This water course feeds into Latimer Brook, which according to CTDEEP surveys, has
sensitive species such as wild brook trout and wild rainbow trout. This data is shown in
Appendix D. 6. This site is within the watershed of cold-water sites which is important habitat for sensitive fish species like trout. A map provided by CTDEEP can be found in Appendix E.
Principal functions
The functional assessment was conducted using the USCAE Highway Methodology (https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Portals/74/docs/regulatory/Forms/HighwaySupplement6Apr2015.pdf). It is important to note that this functional assessment was conducted during the winter,
where signs of wetland functions can be less visible and obscured. The assessment is included as
Appendix B and it revealed that the watercourse has the following principal functions: 1. Fish and Shellfish Habitat: This stream is classified as A for water quality and feeds into Latimer brook where wild rainbow and brook trout were documented by CTDEEP.
2. Sediment/Toxicant Retention: There are multiple industrial properties neighboring this
wetland where equipment and materials are staged. These are all potential sources of toxicants. 3. Production Export: Due to channelized flow and dense vegetation around its edges, this wetland has the potential to export a lot of nutrients in the fall once plants let their leaves
fall.
4. Sediment/Shoreline Stabilization: This stream has distinct stable banks with many plant roots stabilizing it. Given the development nearby and steep slopes above it, there are sources of sediment that this wetland stabilizes.
5. Wildlife Habitat: Although the site visit was conducted during the winter, aerial imagery helped determine that this wetland is surrounded by dense vegetation and has food sources
available for wildlife to feed on.
Potential for Impacts
As shown on the project plans, the following activities are planned.
1. Implementation of inlet sedimentation control devices during construction and installation of a Contech Cascade model CS-4 with grated inlet that will collect drainage and filter suspended solids and sediments from Butlertown Rd
a. Deep sump catch basin installation
b. 19’ of 12” of corrugated HDPE pipe connecting two inlets c. 12’ of corrugated HDPE pipe core drilled into existing culvert pipe with watertight seal 2. Full depth pavement reclamation
3. Implementation of a 4” epoxy resin double yellow line
4. Tree removal 5. Shoulder grading 6. Implementation of multiple vegetated swales 7. Construction of bituminous concrete driveway aprons
8. Installation of cape cod berms
9. Installation of approximately 67ft of metal beam guard rail The proposed activities outlined above may impact the regulated resource’s principal functions in the following ways:
1. Fish and Shellfish Habitat: The proposed activity should not affect this wetland function. This project would further protect this function by adding an inlet sedimentation control device to prevent any sediments from draining into the watercourse. Currently the water and any sediments/pollutants from Butlertown Rd. run off the bridge and down the slope
directly to the stream with no treatment.
2. Sediment/Toxicant Retention: This project will not have any direct effects on this watercourse sediment/toxicant retention function. Graded slopes will be loamed, seeded, fertilized, and mulched for permanent stabilization. Multiple vegetated swales will also be installed at locations along Butlertown Road to catch runoff and sediments from the road
before it can reach the watercourse. Work close to the intermittent watercourse also has
silt fence downslope of the proposed work. 3. Production Export: CLA expects there will be no alterations to the watercourses production export function. No vegetation removal or disturbance will occur in the wetlands.
4. Sediment/Shoreline Stabilization: Since the wetland will not be directly altered, there
should be no impact to this function provided E&S measures are functioning properly. 5. Wildlife Habitat: No vegetation or any habitat in or near the wetlands will be altered, maintaining this function.
Summary
This project proposes improvements and enhancements to drainage on Butlertown Road. This
would prevent runoff from Butlertown Road from entering directly into the stream without treatment. If proper erosion and sedimentation controls are installed according to the site plans, we do not anticipate the proposed development will have any impact on the functionality of the onsite wetlands as described above.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Russo
Soil Scientist, CLA Engineers
Norwich, CT
Appendix A: Soil Maps
From USGS Web Soil Survey
Appendix B: Army Corps Wetland Assessment
Sheets
Appendix C: Natural Diversity Data Base Map
Town of Montville, CT
Appendix D: CTDEEP Fish Community Data
Site Location
Site Location
Appendix E: CTDEEP Cold Water Habitat Map
Site Location