A.
The inland wetlands and watercourses of the State
of Connecticut are an indispensable and irreplaceable but fragile
natural resource with which the citizens of the state have been endowed.
The wetlands and watercourses are an interrelated web of nature essential
to an adequate supply of surface and underground water; to hydrological
stability and control of flooding and erosion; to the recharging and
purification of groundwater; and to the existence of many forms of
animal, aquatic and plant life. Many inland wetlands and watercourses
have been destroyed or are in danger of destruction because of unregulated
use by reason of the deposition, filling or removal of material, the
diversion or obstruction of water flow, the erection of structures
and other uses, all of which have despoiled, polluted and eliminated
wetlands and watercourses. Such unregulated activity has had, and
will continue to have, a significant, adverse impact on the environment
and ecology of the State of Connecticut and has and will continue
to imperil the quality of the environment thus adversely affecting
the ecological, scenic, historic and recreational values and benefits
of the state for its citizens now and forevermore. The preservation
and protection of the wetlands and watercourses from random, unnecessary,
undesirable and unregulated uses, disturbance or destruction are in
the public interest and are essential to the health, welfare and safety
of the citizens of the state.
B.
It is, therefore, the purpose of these regulations
to protect the citizens of the state by making provisions for the
protection, preservation, maintenance and use of the inland wetlands
and watercourses by minimizing their disturbance and pollution; maintaining
and improving water quality in accordance with the highest standards
set by federal, state or local authority; preventing damage from erosion,
turbidity or siltation; preventing loss of fish and other beneficial
aquatic organisms, wildlife and vegetation and the destruction of
the natural habitats thereof; deterring and inhibiting the danger
of flood and pollution; protecting the quality of wetlands and watercourses
for their conservation, economic, aesthetic, recreational and other
public and private uses and values; and protecting the state's potable
fresh water supplies from the dangers of drought, overdraft, pollution,
misuse and mismanagement by providing an orderly process to balance
the need for the economic growth of the state and the use of its land
with the need to protect its environment and ecology in order to forever
guarantee to the people of the state the safety of such natural resources
for their benefit and enjoyment and for the benefit and enjoyment
of generations yet unborn.
These regulations shall be known as the "Inland
Wetlands and Watercourses Regulations of the Town of Killingworth."
The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission
of the Town of Killingworth was established in accordance with an
ordinance adopted on September 21, 1973, pursuant to the vote taken
at a Killingworth Town Meeting held on August 28, 1973. This ordinance
was modified on September 30, 1980. The Commission's regulations first
became effective on July 16, 1974. The Commission shall implement
the purposes and provisions of these regulations and the Inland Wetlands
and Watercourses Act in the Town of Killingworth.
These regulations have been adopted and may
be amended, from time to time, in accordance with the provisions of
the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act and these regulations.
The Commission shall enforce all provisions
of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act and shall issue, issue
with terms, conditions, limitations or modifications, or deny permits
for all regulated activities on inland wetlands and watercourses in
the Town of Killingworth pursuant to §§ 22a-36 to 22a-45,
inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
