As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ACT
The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act, §§ 22a-36
through 22a-45 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
AGENT
With respect to the Commission means a Town employee working
for the Commission. "Duly authorized agent" means an individual designated
by the Commission to carry out its functions and purposes, and with
respect to the applicant means any person authorized in writing to
act in the applicant's behalf.
AQUIFER
A water-bearing stratum of permeable rock, sand, or gravel.
BOGS
Waterways distinguished by evergreen trees and shrubs underlain
by peat deposits, poor drainage, and highly acidic conditions.
BUFFER
An undisturbed natural area or a planted area adjacent to
the edge of a wetland and/or a watercourse.
CLEAR-CUTTING
The cutting or the harvest of timber in a fashion which removes
all trees down to a two-inch diameter at breast height.
COMMISSION
The Conservation Commission of the Town of Weston.
COMMISSION MEMBER
A member, or the designated alternate, of the Conservation
Commission of the Town of Weston.
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, wetlands or watercourses, whether or not such substance
causes pollution.
DISTURBING THE NATURAL AND INDIGENOUS CHARACTER OF THE LAND
The activity may significantly alter the inland wetlands
and watercourses by reason of removal or deposition of material, clear-cutting,
or alteration or obstruction of water flow or may result in the pollution
of the wetland or watercourse.
FARMING
Shall be consistent with the definition as noted in §
1-1(q) of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
FEASIBLE
Able to be constructed or implemented consistent with sound
engineering principles.
GARDENING
The tilling of the soil, planting, cultivating and harvesting
of vegetables, fruits and/or flowers.
LICENSE
The whole or any part of any permit, certificate of approval
or similar form of permission which may be required of any person
by the provisions of these regulations under the authority of the
Commission.
LIMITS OF DISTURBANCE
The line designating the separation between the nondisturbance
area that may be required by the Commission and areas of disturbance.
MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
A practice, procedure, activity, structure or facility designed
to prevent or minimize pollution or 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; design
and construction of drainage systems to prevent post-construction
disturbances or changes to wetlands or watercourses; and procedures
for maintaining continuous stream flows confining construction that
must take place in watercourses at times when water flows are low
and fish and wildlife will not be adversely affected.
MARSHES
Areas with soils that exhibit aquic moisture regimes that
are distinguished by the absence of trees and shrubs and are dominated
by soft-stemmed herbaceous plants. The water table in marshes is at
or above the surface throughout the year, but seasonal fluctuations
are encountered and areas of open water six inches or more in depth
are common.
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.
MINIMAL IMPACT
A regulated activity that occurs within the regulated area,
but not in a wetland or watercourse, and has no more than minimal
impact on any wetland or watercourse as determined by the agent's
objective review based on scientific and technical facts.
MUNICIPALITY
The Town of Weston, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
NONDISTURBANCE AREA
The portion of a property to be left in its existing natural
state where no clearing, grubbing, tilling, filling, cultivation,
excavation, construction, or other activities that change existing
natural conditions take place.
NURSERIES
Places where plants are grown for sale, transplanting, or
experimentation.
PERMITTEE
The person to whom a license has been granted.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
limited liability company, 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 Weston 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 benefits
to be derived from the proposed regulated activity to the landowner,
provided that cost may be considered in deciding what is prudent and
further provided that a mere showing of expense will not necessarily
mean an alternative is imprudent.
REGULATED ACTIVITY
Any operation 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 §
215-4 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 and any other activity located within such upland review area or in any other nonwetland or nonwatercourse area that is likely to impact or affect wetlands or watercourses is a regulated activity.
REGULATED AREA
Any wetland or watercourse and upland review area as defined
in these regulations.
REMOVE
Includes, but shall not be limited to, drain, excavate, mine,
dig, dredge, suck, grub, stump, bulldoze, dragline or blast.
RENDERING UNCLEAN OR IMPURE
Any alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties
of any waters of Weston, including but not limited to change in odor,
color, turbidity or taste.
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY
Any activity, including but not limited to the following
activities, which may have a major effect or impact on the area for
which an application has been filed or on another part of the inland
wetland or watercourse system:
A.
Any activity involving deposition or removal of material which
will or may have a substantial effect on the regulated area or on
another part of the wetland or watercourse system or on wetlands or
watercourses outside the area for which 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 diminishes the natural capacity of a wetland
or watercourse to support aquatic plant or animal life and habitats,
desirable fisheries, wildlife, or other biological life, prevent flooding,
supply water, assimilate waste, facilitate drainage, provide recreation
or open space, or other functions.
D.
Any activity which is likely to cause or which has the potential
to cause 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 the wetland or watercourse.
F.
Any activity which causes or has the potential to cause pollution
of a wetland or watercourse.
G.
Any activity that damages or destroys unique wetland or watercourse
areas or such areas having demonstrable scientific or educational
value.
H.
Any activity which creates conditions which may adversely affect
the health, welfare, and safety of any individual or the community.
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
Watercourses that are distinguished by the dominance of wetland
trees and shrubs.
TOWN
The Town of Weston, Fairfield County, in the State of Connecticut.
UPLAND REVIEW AREA
An area within 100 feet of any wetlands or watercourse or
a further distance if the proposed activity is likely to impact or
affect the regulated area.
VERNAL POOL
Consists of a confined basin depression which contains a
small body of standing water, usually drying out for part of the year
during warm weather. It can be natural or man-made, and lacks a permanent
outlet stream or any fish population. Further, the occurrence of one
or more of the obligatory species which include the fairy shrimp,
spotted salamander, jefferson salamander, marbled salamander, wood
frog and eastern spadefoot toad is necessary to conclusively define
the vernal pool.
WASTE
Sewage (natural or man-made) or any substance, liquid, gaseous,
or solid, or any radioactive material which pollutes or tends to pollute
any of the regulated areas.
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, as amended. 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 of hydrophytic vegetation.
WESTON
The Town of Weston, Connecticut.
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, as amended, which
consists of any of the soil types designated as poorly drained, very
poorly drained, alluvial and floodplain by the National Cooperative
Soil Survey, as it may be amended from time to time, by the Natural
Resources Conservation Service of the United States 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.
The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall
have exclusive jurisdiction over:
A. Regulated activities in or affecting wetlands or watercourses undertaken
by any department, commission, or instrumentality of the State of
Connecticut, except any local or regional board of education, pursuant
to § 22a-39 or 22a-45a of the Connecticut General Statutes,
as amended.
B. Tidal wetlands designated and regulated pursuant to §§ 22a-28
through 22a-35 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
C. Activities authorized under a dam repair or removal order issued
by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection under § 22a-402
of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, or a permit issued
by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection under § 22a-403
of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended. Any person receiving
such dam repair or removal order or permit shall not be required to
obtain a permit from the Commission for any action necessary to comply
with said dam order or to carry out the activities authorized by said
permit.
D. The discharge of fill or dredged materials into the wetlands and
watercourses of the state pursuant to Section 401 of the Federal Clean
Water Act, as amended, for activities regulated by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers under Section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act.
Nothing in these regulations shall obviate the requirements
for the applicant to obtain any other assents, permits or licenses
required by law or regulation by the Town of Weston, State of Connecticut
and the government of the United States, including any approval required
by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Obtaining such assents, permits
or licenses is the sole responsibility of the applicant.
These regulations shall become effective upon filing in the
office of the Town Clerk and publication of a notice of such action
in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town of Weston.