Old Lyme ― A quarry operator on Mile Creek Road is being called before the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission to account for activity that neighbors and officials say is threatening wetlands and the Three Mile River watershed.

The commission on Thursday will hold a show cause hearing to allow 308-1 Mile Creek Road owner Ronald Swaney to explain why an order issued last week to stop work on the wetlands portion of his 43-acre property should be lifted.

The cease and desist order was issued by Land Use Coordinator and Wetlands Enforcement Officer Eric Knapp at the request of the commission.

Concerns raised in commission meetings and correspondence include allegations from neighbor David Glasser that wildlife and ecosystems are being decimated and from nearby resident Peter Caron that work is happening within the wetlands and watercourses ― not just near them ― without any erosion protections in place.

Caron said a one mile-long bog area was intentionally lowered by a foot in a way that could affect wildlife and the water supply in nearby wells.

Caron in a letter to the commission described an “ask forgiveness, not permission” mindset by Swaney that resulted in a previous cease and desist order being issued about a year and a half ago.

The order was lifted in July 2022 based on conditions that Caron said Swaney continues to violate.

A zoning permit renewed almost two years ago ― and every two years before that for more than two decades ― specifies the property can be operated as a sand and gravel pit as long as inland wetlands and watercourses regulations are followed.

But at the special meeting of the inland wetlands agency last week during which members called for the cease and desist order, neighbors and members including Chairwoman Rachael Gaudio expressed frustration that Swaney has not applied for any wetlands permits.

The zoning permit is again up for renewal in May. The current permit was authorized by then-Zoning Enforcement Officer Dan Bourret for then-owner Eastport South LLC, with Glastonbury-based attorney Peter Jay Alter listed as trustee. The company now listed as the owner was registered in October by Swaney, according to the Secretary of the State’s business database.

Zoning permits follow the land. That means the ability to excavate and process sand and gravel remains, regardless of whose name is associated with it.

Land use documents show the commercial venture is allowed on the residentially zoned property because it was being used that way before zoning regulations were updated in 1988.

Knapp in a phone call Monday described a host of unpermitted work he witnessed on his visit to the site with Swaney last month. He said the owner added “a whole bunch of fill” near the Three Mile River and removed a large amount of dirt at the outflow of the river. Swaney also added material to an existing dirt road to make it more passable and clear cut an area on Four Mile Creek to accommodate a new road, according to Knapp.

“He was quite open about the fact that he’d done all those things,” Knapp said.

Local inland wetlands and watercourses regulations require commission approval for any filling, excavating, dredging, clear cutting, clearing, or grading within 100 feet of a wetland or watercourse.

Meeting minutes from last week’s meeting said Swaney told members he wanted to move the driveway, which currently sits next to the Union Chapel, in an effort to be a good neighbor. He said he also created a berm covered with woodchips along the river to address water that was coming from the river into a silt pond.

Based on the conditions of the previously lifted cease and desist order, Swaney is required to contact the town whenever material is being excavated or screened so the site can be checked for proper erosion controls. They also allow the town to initiate inspections of the property.

Knapp said he visited the site after the last order was rescinded to ensure a fuel tank had been removed, but “did not inspect it regularly at that time because it was not really in heavy use for a while.”

The wetlands enforcement officer said Thursday’s show cause hearing is the commission’s opportunity to review the evidence.

The commission last week ordered Swaney to hire a soil scientist to create a restoration plan addressing the work done this year and last without a permit.

Knapp said the commission can leave the cease and desist order in place, modify it or lift it. He anticipated they would lift it with conditions.

“If we continue to see violations, the next step up the chain is to have the attorney file litigation,” he said. “There's no other remedy available to us beyond at this point sending it to court.”

Swaney did not return a call for comment Monday.

e.regan@theday.com