Judge Barbara Brazzel-Massaro delivered the verdict on September 10. She sided with Bethel’s Inland Wetlands Commission, declaring that Mark Bjorken failed to prove his unauthorized work on Limekiln Brook qualified for a maintenance exemption. The ruling effectively voids the legal shield Bjorken sought for the rocks and bridge he installed behind his Rockwell Road home.
The fight began in 2023. A neighbor, Brian Blanchette, reported that Bjorken was altering the brook’s flow by moving stones and reinforcing banks. Wetlands consultant James M. McManus later confirmed the eastern bank was undercutting, threatening structures on the western side where Bjorken lives. For a decade, Bjorken had relied on the brook’s proximity as a feature—he can fish from his bedroom window. The erosion, however, turned that feature into a liability.
Bjorken argued his 2024 application was simple property maintenance: clearing debris, removing dead trees, and repairing a crumbling stone wall. The Commission rejected this, classifying the work as unpermitted excavation and fill activity within an established watercourse. They demanded more evidence. Bjorken took the dispute to Superior Court, insisting the work was exempt. The town countered that he had not provided sufficient proof to bypass the state’s strict wetlands regulations.
The judge found the burden of proof rested entirely on Bjorken. He did not meet it. The court sustained the Commission’s earlier rejection, leaving him with a stark deadline. He can restore the brook to its pre-2023 condition, apply for the formal permit for the work already done, or appeal the decision. Bjorken told the News-Times he is considering an appeal, citing the ongoing threat of the stream moving “down” toward his house. The next step in this legal battle depends on whether he files that appeal by the court’s deadline.