Charlton Commission Closes Little Nugget Lake Hearing, Issues Negative Determinations on Two Properties

CHARLTON -- May 27, 2026, Charlton Conservation Commission closes public hearing on Little Nugget Lake aquatic management program. The commission voted unanimously Wednesday to close the hearing on Notice of Intent DEP No. 128-2012, which proposes annual survey-driven management of invasive and nuisance vegetation at the 14-acre freshwater lake using manual removal and targeted herbicide spot treatments, along with a seasonal water drawdown of up to three feet via an existing gate valve between November and April. Karen Portillo, permit coordinator on the project, told the commission that Massachusetts DEP had requested more detail on drawdown operations and that a final operations plan would be submitted before any drawdown begins. The meeting also produced unanimous negative determinations for a 12-by-24-foot shed at 18 Hyde Road and the removal of up to 10 dead or diseased trees within the buffer zone of South Charlton Reservoir at 236 Partridge Hill Road. Commission members Alan Leone and Ron Royer were reappointed for three-year terms; reappointment of absent member Mitch Dunn was deferred to June 17. Conservation Director Rose Conway told the board she would investigate a formal written complaint from resident Eric Borgerson about an expanding mining operation at 73 Potter Village Road, which he alleged is discharging discolored water toward the Buffonville wetlands and lacks a public reclamation plan.