[Adopted 6-20-1974]
The inland wetlands and watercourses are an indispensable and
irreplaceable but fragile natural resource with which the citizens
of the Town of East Haddam 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 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 Town of East
Haddam 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 Town 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 is in the public interest and is essential to the health,
welfare and safety of the citizens of the Town of East Haddam. It
is, therefore, the purpose of this article to protect the citizens
of the Town of East Haddam 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 dangers of drought, overdraft, pollution, misuse
and mismanagement by providing an orderly process to balance the need
for the economic growth of the Town of East Haddam 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 Town of East Haddam the
safety of such natural resources for their benefit and enjoyment and
for the benefit and enjoyment of generations yet unborn.
A.
An Inland
Wetlands and Watercourses Commission is hereby established which shall
consist of five members and two alternates who are electors of East
Haddam and shall be appointed by the Board of Selectmen by a majority
vote for a term of office of two years. In the event that a Commission
member is absent from four consecutive meetings, the Board of Selectmen
may remove the member by a majority vote and fill the vacancy created.
[Amended 3-1-2011]
B.
Electors
of the Town who are also municipal employees may serve as members
to the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission as provided by
Connecticut General Statutes § 7-421(e)(2)(D).
[Added 12-26-2006]
C.
At the
first regular meeting of the Commission in January of every even-numbered
year, the members shall elect officers: a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman
and a Secretary.
[Added 3-1-2011]
[Amended 3-1-2011; 3-28-2018]
The Commission shall have all the powers and responsibilities
authorized under Connecticut General Statutes §§ 22a-36
through 22a-45, inclusive, as amended.
