Government
Mallozzi: Town To Halt Dumping of Dredged Material in Waveny Cornfields
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Though it’s saved money for New Canaan and even generated modest revenue, concerns about aesthetics and environment are prompting town officials to end the practice of dumping the organic material dredged from Mead and Mill Ponds in the southwest corner of Waveny. First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said his swift decision follows comments from residents that even though New Canaan is recouping some money from the dredged debris because it’s been sold to a local business that’s doing the considerable leg work of converting it into topsoil, “the wear and tear is not conducive to the ultimate goal of the preservation of that beautiful area of Waveny.”
Mallozzi had high praise for New Canaan’s Peter Lanni, who in past years has carted off the material from the area of Waveny known as the “cornfields,” and more recently has been working at screening and then carting off about 1,000 cubic yards of the debris, but said that on Thursday he informed the local man that “the town is not interested in continuing further.”
“He graciously understood and agreed to work with [the Department of Public Works] to grade and restore the area. We have 250 more [cubic] yards to go on the contract and then he will leave and we will no longer be using the cornfields for dumping grounds of any organic material that we dredge up or move out of other spots. And I did that after consultation with the Park & Recreation Commission and private citizens, and just the feeling we all have that it’s a beautiful area. We’re very appreciative of the work that Mr. Lanni did in removing it, but we’ll put it back the way it was over a couple of years and there will be no more dirt disturbance in that environment.”
The matter had emerged as a major talking point at the Park & Rec Commission’s meeting Wednesday.