Friday, June 3, 2011

When will Peter Noyes learn?!

Seeming eco-terrorist Peter Noyes seems to be at it again. Click on the Peter Noyes label on the bottom of this post to see his other shenanigans involving things like dumping raw sewage in Salem Harbor.

This time, Noyes has been caught in the act of driving a commercial truck with crane through the Atlantic Ocean next to endangered lobster breeding grounds. There is a natural causeway to Gerry's island that is walkable/driveable at low tide, but he drove the large truck through the water, as you can see in the video on this Marblehead Patch story. I guess low tide wasn't convenient for this pillar of conservation, who just wants to do right by the island.

Once on the island, he decided to also import some goats, who he has set to destroying the shrubbery on the island, and remove the poison ivy. If they poop in the water? Par for the Noyes course. If they wander off? Hey, that's OK too. Someone else will clean up the mess.

According to the Patch piece, when Conservation Commission officials investigated, they also found oil leakage from the truck (though none would have leaked in the water, right?), dumping, and earth movement, all of which would be illegal in this wetlands protected area, never mind the fact that he hasn't been granted any permits for any of this. Noyes was issued a cease and desist order, which as is his pattern, he allegedly ignored as well.

From the Patch article regarding a site visit by the Con-comm and the Department of Environmental Protection:

They observed “oil leakage from the truck on the coastal bank, rocks repositioned on the coastal bank to accommodate the entry of the truck up a steep incline, removal of vegetation to allow passage of the truck, erection of tents, parking of the truck, grazing of goats, dumping of rotting floats,” the memo said.

The Marblehead Reporter has weighed in on this as well. Included in their piece was a not-surprising tidbit that was missing from the Patch story. Apparently the intended use for the island has changed, or more likely, more fully come to light. Noyes now says that he has rented the island, and that his intention is to turn it into a seasonal campground/park. The catch? The only way to access said park/campground/picnic area would be by paying him for a boatride, at $12-$15 to get there. Let me remind you that a round trip ferry ticket from Salem to Boston is $19 (if it ever starts ...). Also, let me remind you that Noyes initial application had nothing to do with ferrying people on and off of the island. How does he think they'll get off the boat and onto the island, and back? He hasn't asked for permission to build a dock. He hasn't even copped to this intended use to the island. Remember? He just wanted to shore up the seawall. Maybe he'd store some boats, but he's just a good Samaritan.

For this new violation of the Wetlands Protection Act, violating the conservation commission stop work order, and working without a permit, it's time for Noyes to finally pay. There's talk that he may be violating probation from prior transgressions, and the DEP may come down hard, so maybe he finally will. His chances of getting cons comm approval just got smaller.

3 comments:

  1. Natural causeway? According to whom? Examine the maps and the timing of the Land Court Documents. The maps don't show a way to the island. Until the giant project to build the retaining walls. Is it possible that the so-called causeway was filled with the same broken rock used to create the walls? I suggest you take a look.

    Frank McElroy

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  2. A lower form of life than the bacteria he dumped into Salem Harbor.

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  3. http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1760882986/State-upholds-denial-of-permits-for-Gerry-Island

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