Ayer Conservation Commission Issues Order of Conditions for New England Power Company Line Work

AYER — April 23, 2026 — Ayer Conservation Commission closes New England Power Company transmission line permit and hears early warning on Senior Center endangered species mitigation. The commission voted 4-0, with Vice Chair Mark Phillips abstaining, to issue an Order of Conditions for New England Power Company's maintenance and upgrades to transmission lines along Westford Road under DEP File Number 100-0501, after Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife confirmed in an April 13 letter that the project poses no adverse impact. A separate hearing on a cul-de-sac extension at Orion Park Drive by Sawyer May, LLC was continued to May 14 while Massachusetts Wildlife reviews a unified habitat impact plan. During public input, Ken Diskin of the Senior Center Building Committee told the commission that the proposed Senior Center on DPW land off Bishop Road will require a two-to-one Blanding's Turtle habitat mitigation, likely setting aside six to seven acres of conservation land near the Oxbow, with the commission identified as the intended land recipient once a formal Notice of Intent is filed.