By Jodi Hausen,Staff Writer

INDUSTRY – Clearwater Lake may be somewhat of a misnomer if the town does not correct severe erosion discovered recently by staff of the Department of Environmental Protection.

After an inspection of the beach next to the town’s boat launch April 14, Becky Maddox of the DEP wrote to town officials that a lack of soil erosion controls at the site is a “serious matter.”

In a letter dated April 19, Maddox warned officials that the town is in violation of the Protection and Improvement of Waters Act by allowing soil to discharge into the lake, a protected natural resource. The town is also in violation of erosion and sediment-control law, she said.

According to Selectman Carolyn Eaton, the town grassed and seeded the strip of land about two years ago. Boulders were also placed in front of the parcel to prevent people from driving onto the grassy beach.

But last winter several residents complained that the boulders were barring lake access to ice fishermen, and the rocks were removed. Two of three selectmen voted for their removal, although Eaton was not one of them, she said Monday.

The grassy area was chewed up, she said, when people drove their trucks onto the ice in spring.

Maddox said in her letter that the town needs to take measures “to prevent unreasonable erosion of soil beyond the project site or into a protected natural resource.”

In order to bring the site into compliance, the town must install either hay bales or a silt fence around the disturbed soil and place seed and hay mulch on top in order to revegetate it. Once the site is revegetated, the silt fence and hay bales may be removed.

She gave the town until Thursday to rectify the situation.

“Provided that you complete all required restoration,” she wrote, “the Department is willing to resolve this matter without formal enforcement action. If all required restoration is not completed by the required deadline the department will initiate formal enforcement action to resolve this violation,” she warned.

Eaton said the town is taking the necessary measures to fix the problem. She said Dave Lewis of Strawberry Fields will be doing the work. The initial seeding was done by volunteers, but they were upset by news from the department and did not want to volunteer again, said Eaton. She did not know the cost for the work.