Manchester Conservation Commission Approves Lincoln Street PFAS Water Treatment Project

MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA, January 13, 2026, Manchester-by-the-Sea Conservation Commission closes Lincoln Street PFAS water treatment project, continues harbor-front synthetic turf case. Acting Chair Henry Ottinger led the January 13 meeting in the absence of Chair Steve Gang, with the commission voting unanimously to close and issue orders of conditions for four active cases. The evening's most significant action cleared the way for CDM Smith's proposed granular activated carbon treatment facility at 42 Lincoln Street, which will bring the well supplying 40 percent of the town's drinking water into compliance with EPA PFAS limits by 2029; the commission granted a waiver for the project's mitigation ratios, just above 1-to-1 in both the 30-foot no-disturb and 50-foot no-build zones, citing tight easement constraints. A proposal by property owner Richard Buddell at 48 Central Street to install PFAS-free synthetic turf, a timber pergola, and porous bluestone pavers within the harbor-front buffer zone drew pointed public comment from three abutters, including Richard Mestranzi of 44-46 Central Street, who asked "what kind of precedent are we setting here," and was continued to February 3 pending technical specifications on the turf product, storm-surge anchoring data, and a generator pad relocation plan.