As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ACT
The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act, §§ 22a-36
through 22a45a, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, as
amended.
AGENCY
The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency of the Town of
Canton.
BOGS
Are watercourses distinguished by evergreen trees and shrubs
underlain by peat deposits, poor drainage, and highly acidic conditions.
CLEAR-CUTTING
The harvest of timber in a fashion which removes all trees
down to a two-inch diameter at breast height.
CONTINUAL FLOW
A flow of water which persists for an extended period of
time; this flow may be interrupted during periods of drought or during
the low flow period of the annual hydrological cycle, June through
September, but it recurs in prolonged succession.
DEPOSIT
Includes, but shall not be limited to fill, grade, dump,
place, discharge or emit.
DISCHARGE
Emission of any water, substance, or material into waters
of the state whether or not such substance causes pollution.
DULY AUTHORIZED AGENT
An individual so designated by the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses
Agency to carry out its functions and purposes.
FARMING
Use of land for the growing of crops, raising of livestock
or other agricultural use and shall be consistent with the definition
as noted in § 1-1(q) of the Connecticut General Statutes.
See Appendix.
FEASIBLE
Able to be constructed or implemented consistent with sound
engineering principles.
MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
A practice, procedure, activity, structure or facility designed
to prevent or minimize pollution or other environmental damage or
to maintain or enhance existing environmental quality. Such management
practices include, but are not limited to: erosion and sedimentation
controls; restrictions on land use or development; construction setbacks
from wetlands or watercourses; proper disposal of waste materials;
procedures for equipment maintenance to prevent fuel spillage; construction
methods to prevent flooding or disturbance of wetlands and watercourses;
procedures for maintaining continuous stream flows; confining construction
that must take place in watercourses to times when water flows are
low and fish and wildlife will not be adversely affected.
MARSHES
Are watercourses that are distinguished by the absence of
trees and shrubs and the dominance of soft-stemmed herbaceous plants.
The water table in marshes is at or above the ground surface throughout
the year and areas of open water six inches or more in depth are common,
but seasonal water table fluctuations are encountered.
MATERIAL
Any substance, solid or liquid, organic or inorganic, including
but not limited to: soil, sediment, aggregate, land, gravel, clay,
bog, mud, debris, sand, refuse or waste.
NURSERIES
Places where plants are grown for sale, transplanting or
experimentation.
PERMIT
The whole or any part of any license, certificate of approval
or similar form of permission which may be required of any person
by the provisions of §§ 22a-36 to 22a-45, inclusive,
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
PERMITTEE
The person to whom a permit has been issued.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company, limited liability company, organization or legal entity of
any kind, including municipal corporations, governmental agencies
or subdivisions thereof.
POLLUTION
Harmful thermal effect or the contamination or rendering
unclean or impure of any waters of the state by reason of any waste
or other materials discharged or deposited therein by any public or
private sewer or otherwise so as directly or indirectly to come in
contact with any waters. This includes, but is not limited to, erosion
and sedimentation resulting from any filling, land clearing or excavation
activity.
PRUDENT
Economically and otherwise reasonable in light of the social
benefits to be derived from the proposed regulated activity provided
cost may be considered in deciding what is prudent and further provided
a mere showing of expense will not necessarily mean an alternative
is imprudent.
REGULATED ACTIVITY
Any operation or activity within or use of a wetland or watercourse involving removal or deposition of material, or any obstruction, construction, alteration or pollution, of such wetlands or watercourses, but shall not include the specified activities in Article
IV of these regulations. Furthermore any clearing, grubbing, filling, grading, paving, excavating, constructing, depositing, or removing of material and discharging of stormwater on the land within 100 feet measured horizontally from the boundary of any wetland or watercourse is a regulated activity. The Agency may rule that any other activity located within an Upland Review Area (see "Upland Review Area") or in any other nonwetland or nonwatercourse area is likely to impact or affect wetlands or watercourses and is a regulated activity.
REGULATED AREA
Any wetland or watercourse as defined in these regulations.
REMOVE
Includes, but shall not be limited to, drain, excavate, mine,
dig, dredge, suck, grub, clear cut timber, bulldoze, dragline or blast.
RENDERING UNCLEAN OR IMPURE
Any alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties
of any waters of the state, including, but not limited to, change
in odor, color, turbidity or taste.
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ACTIVITY
Any activity, including, but not limited to, the following
activities which may have a major effect:
A.
Any activity involving deposition or removal
of material which will or may have a substantial effect on the wetland
or watercourse or on wetlands or watercourses outside the area for
which the activity is proposed.
B.
Any activity which substantially changes the
natural channel or may inhibit the natural dynamics of a watercourse
system.
C.
Any activity which substantially diminishes
the natural capacity of an inland wetland or watercourse to: support
aquatic, plant, or animal life and habitats; prevent flooding; supply
water; assimilate waste; facilitate drainage; provide recreation or
open space; or perform other wetland functions.
D.
Any activity which is likely to cause or has
the potential to cause substantial turbidity, siltation or sedimentation
in a wetland or watercourse.
E.
Any activity which causes a substantial diminution
of flow of a natural watercourse or groundwater levels of a wetland
or watercourse.
F.
Any activity which is likely to cause or has
the potential to cause pollution of a wetland or watercourse.
G.
Any activity which damages or destroys unique
wetland or watercourse areas or such areas having demonstrable scientific
or educational value.
SOIL SCIENTIST
An individual duly qualified in accordance with standards
set by the Federal Office of Personnel Management.
SUBMERGED LANDS
Those lands which are inundated by water on a seasonal or
more frequent basis.
SWAMPS
Are watercourses that are distinguished by the dominance
of wetland trees and shrubs.
TOWN
The Town of Canton, Connecticut.
UPLAND REVIEW AREA
That area located within 100 feet measured horizontally from
the edge of a wetland soil or the center line of a watercourse. Within
this area, the Agency shall regulate activities that are likely to
impact or affect wetlands or watercourses. The Agency shall review
these activities to insure that best management practices are utilized
to prevent the pollution or alteration of the wetlands and watercourses.
WASTE
Sewage or any substance, liquid, gaseous, solid or radioactive,
which may pollute any of the wetlands or watercourses of the Town.
WATERCOURSES
Rivers, streams, brooks, waterways, lakes, ponds, marshes,
swamps, bogs, and all other bodies of water, natural or artificial,
vernal or intermittent, public or private, which are contained within,
flow through or border upon the Town or any portion thereof not regulated
pursuant to §§ 22a-28 through 22a-35, inclusive, of
the Connecticut General Statutes. Intermittent watercourses shall
be delineated by a defined permanent channel and bank and the occurrence
of two or more of the following characteristics: a) evidence of scour
or deposits of recent alluvium or detritus, b) the presence of standing
or flowing water for a duration longer than a particular storm incident,
and c) the presence hydrophytic vegetation.
WETLANDS
Land, including submerged land as defined in this section,
not regulated pursuant to §§ 22a-28 through 22a-35,
inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, which consists of
any of the soils types designated as poorly drained, very poorly drained,
alluvial and floodplain by the National Cooperative Soils Survey,
as it may be amended from time to time, of the Natural Resources Conservation
Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Such areas may
include filled, graded, or excavated sites which possess an aquic
(saturated) soil moisture regime as defined by the USDA Cooperative
Soil Survey.