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Thursday, August 28, 2014

WSSC FAILED TO NOTIFY BETHESDA BUILDINGS ABOUT NIGHTTIME WORK NOISE (PHOTOS)

Montgomery County's point man on noise says the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission failed to properly notify residents near St. Elmo Avenue of nighttime work that has kept many tossing and turning this week. Steve Martin, Environmental Compliance Supervisor for the county's Department of Environmental Protection, said in a letter to the Triangle Towers Apartments on Cordell Avenue that the WSSC admitted to him they did not provide the notifications. 

Martin informed the utility that there were 3 residential buildings within the 300' notification range that should have been notified in advance of the noisy work: Triangle Towers, the Bainbridge Bethesda apartments, and the Fairmont Plaza condominiums. I personally have heard from several residents in each of those buildings, as well as one resident of The Palisades, all of whom have complained of the noise over the last several nights.

And the work is not finished. According to a copy of the memo obtained by Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row, WSSC's contractor will be back on-site tonight, and on the evenings of September 2 and 3, 2014. The work involves a sewer line replacement, mandated by federal regulations on aging and failing sewer lines, according to Martin.

What can you do about the noise? Martin advises sleepless residents to contact Brandon Stewart, the WSSC Customer Care Representative for Bethesda, by email.

Martin says that, as a state entity, the WSSC is exempt from the county's noise ordinance - and that they did not advise him of the work in advance, either. He said he has informed the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, and the 2nd District station of the Montgomery County Police about the noise issue.

Here are some photos from their work last night:


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4 comments:

  1. Snark Addict6:22 AM

    "nighttime work that has kept many tossing and turning this week."

    The drama has been felt in EVERY QUADRANT OF THE GALAXY and far beyond.

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  2. Anonymous6:25 AM

    For those of us who live in the Woodmont Triangle, it was pretty disruptive. Lack of notice is concerning too.

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  3. Anonymous7:13 AM

    THANK YOU for highlighting this.

    The Woodmont are of Bethesda is just one ongoing noisy construction zone.

    I understand designated hours, but this is all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:41 AM

    A much more important question is why did the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services give the permit to WSSC to perform the work between 9 PM and 5 (or 6) AM in the area where there are three residential high rises?

    I am aware that a State Agency, like WSSC, is not a subject to local noise ordinance, and therefore did not need a permit from the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection.

    ReplyDelete