MONTAGUE — The Conservation Commission has scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, July 23, at 6:30 p.m. in which it could potentially place an enforcement order on Falls Farm in the wake of wetlands violations and erosion that stemmed from tree clearing on 3 acres of land.

During a meeting Thursday, the Conservation Commission was informed that engineer Michael Pitera is leading a wetlands delineation process with Dr. James Arcoleo, owner of the 202 Old Sunderland Road farm, as instructed by the commission during its last meeting to chart out exactly where wetlands are present. Although Falls Farm was expected to present additional updates, the documentation was not submitted in time for proper review and will be considered by the board on Tuesday.

Conservation Commission member Sean Werle motioned for an enforcement order that would call for a cease and desist of all activity on the farm not relating to erosion control, along with ordering that a certified wetlands specialist who is a certified professional in erosion and sediment control (CPESC) be hired to evaluate the site. However, he retracted this motion following commission apprehension to approve an enforcement order without first reviewing the documentation that were submitted by Falls Farm earlier that day.

Amanda Smith, a wetlands scientist and permitting specialist with the BSC Group, was present Thursday to discuss photos taken of the farm during a property walk-through on June 26. Smith attended the walk-through with members of the Conservation Commission and a representative from the Montague Department of Public Works.

Images from the site visit showed certain erosion-mitigating barriers that were implemented by the farm, but Conservation Commission member Margaux Reckard noted the commission was not notified about the specific erosion control measures in place, leaving them unapproved.

“It was at that point that the commission saw for the first time that silt fences had been put in,” Reckard said. “The commission was not consulted on exactly what the supposed erosion controls that were going in would be.”

Images also showed where there is sediment build-up both on and off the property. One image of a culvert on Meadow Road depicts sediment build-up inside, with water overflowing onto the road that the DPW had to correct.

The DPW issued several emergency certificates between June 21 and July 16 in consideration of public safety due to the accumulation of sediment that created dangerous conditions on the road.

Conservation Commission Chair Mark Fairbrother made note of an email that the commission had received from Falls Farm reporting that no silt movement had occurred from the heavy rains, which left him “speechless.” Fairbrother rebutted the information from the email, alleging the Meadow Road culvert sediment build-up came directly from the Falls Farm property.

Smith expressed the need for an impact assessment of the parcels that would include how the change in soil on the property has affected the hydrology of the land.

“We need the full scale of information of what was there before and what changes have happened, so that we can understand all the changes and how they change and impact all of this,” Smith said.

This site assessment and analysis would need to be provided by Falls Farm in the event that a formal enforcement order is issued, Smith noted. Arcoleo and Pitera reiterated their desire to work with the commission, with Pitera stating, “We’re all trying to fix what’s happening out there. The main goal of any site like this, especially with the highly erosive soils, is to slow [erosion] down.”

Given that the farm also has property in Sunderland, the Sunderland Conservation Commission had issued an enforcement order of its own in May. A meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Sunderland Town Hall to review the mitigation and restoration plan that Falls Farm was asked to provide as part of the enforcement order.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.