[HISTORY: Adopted by the Municipal Council of the City of
Taunton 5-8-2001 (§§ 16-30 to 16-38 of the 2010 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the wetlands, water resources,
and adjoining land areas in the City of Taunton (the "City") by controlling
activities deemed by the Taunton Conservation Commission (TCC) likely
to have a significant or cumulative effect upon resource area values,
including but not limited to the following: public or private water
supply, groundwater, flood control, erosion and sedimentation control,
storm damage prevention, including coastal storm flowage, water quality,
water pollution control, fisheries, shellfish, wildlife habitat, rare
species habitat, including rare plant species, agriculture, aquaculture,
and recreation values, deemed important to the community (collectively,
the "resource area values protected by this chapter"). This chapter
is intended to utilize the home rule authority of this municipality
to protect additional resource areas, for additional values, with
additional standards and procedures stricter than those of the Wetlands
Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and regulations thereunder
(310 CMR 10.00) (the "Act"). The Taunton Conservation Commission is
empowered to protect the wetlands including specific interests following
and to enforce and remediate damages to said wetlands.
B.
The City of Taunton's location within the Taunton River watershed
requires this chapter to protect four specific concerns.
(1)
These
concerns, as they relate to the eight interests listed in the Act,
are as follows:
(a)
In keeping with protection of public, private and groundwater supplies, the TCC shall have concern with jurisdictional resources that are in aquifer protection zones, as listed in Chapter 440, Zoning.
(b)
In keeping with flood control and storm damage prevention, the TCC shall have concern with jurisdictional resources that are in floodplain districts, including those listed in Chapter 440, Zoning.
(c)
In keeping with prevention of pollution, the TCC shall have concern
with both point and nonpoint discharges, including all conservation
structures connected to jurisdictional resources.
(d)
In keeping with protection of land containing shellfish, fisheries,
and wildlife habitat, the TCC shall have concern with jurisdictional
resources found to contain commercially important shellfish, anadromous/catadramous
fish runs, and vernal pool species.
(2)
The
TCC's concern with the above shall be defined as minimizing impact
on said resources.
Except as permitted by the Conservation Commission pursuant
to the Act or as provided in this chapter, no person shall commence
to remove, fill, dredge, build upon, degrade, discharge into, or otherwise
alter the following protectable resource areas: any freshwater marshes;
wet meadows; bogs; swamps; vernal pools; banks; reservoirs; lakes;
ponds of any size; rivers; streams; creeks; beaches; dunes; estuaries;
lands under water bodies; lands subject to flooding or inundation
by groundwater or surface water; lands subject to tidal action, coastal
storm flowage, or flooding; and lands abutting any of the aforesaid
resource areas as set out in this section (collectively the "resource
areas protected by this chapter"). Said resource areas and their applicable
buffer zones under the Act, if any, shall be protected whether or
not they border surface waters.
A.
The application and permit required by this chapter shall not be
required for emergency projects necessary for the protection of the
health and safety of the public, provided that the work is to be performed
by or has been ordered to be performed by an agency of the commonwealth
or a political subdivision thereof; provided that advance notice,
oral or written, has been given to the Commission prior to commencement
of work; provided that the Commission or its agent certifies the work
as an emergency project; provided that the work is performed only
for the time and place certified by the Commission for the limited
purposes necessary to abate the emergency; and provided that within
21 days of commencement of an emergency project a notice of intent
(NOI) application shall be filed with the Commission for review as
provided by this chapter. Upon failure to meet these and other requirements
of the Commission, the Commission may, after notice and a public hearing,
revoke or modify an emergency project approval and order restoration
and mitigation measures.
B.
Other than stated in this section, the exceptions provided in the
Act shall not apply under this chapter.
A.
After public notice and public hearing, the Commission shall promulgate
rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this chapter effective
when voted and filed with the City Clerk. Failure by the Commission
to promulgate such rules and regulations or a legal declaration of
their invalidity by a court of law shall not act to suspect or invalidate
the effect of this chapter.[1]
B.
At a minimum these regulations shall define key terms in this chapter
not inconsistent with this chapter and procedures governing the amount
and filing of fees, costs and fines.
A.
No person shall alter jurisdictional areas protected by this chapter,
or cause, suffer, or allow such activity, or leave in place unauthorized
fill, or otherwise fail to restore illegally altered land to its original
condition, or fail to comply with a permit or an enforcement order
issued pursuant to this chapter.
B.
The Commission, its agents and the Director of the Planning and Conservation
Department shall have authority to enter upon any privately owned
land for the purpose of performing their duties under this chapter
and may make or cause to be made such examinations, surveys, or sampling
as the Commission deems necessary, subject to the Constitutions and
laws of the United States and the commonwealth.[1]
C.
The Commission shall have authority to enforce this chapter, its
regulations, and permits issued thereunder by violation notices, enforcement
orders in accordance with MGL c. 131, § 40, fines in accordance
with MGL c. 40, § 21D, as accepted by the City of Taunton,
and civil and criminal court actions. Any person who violates provisions
of this chapter and/or regulations may be ordered to restore the property
to its original condition and take such other action deemed necessary
to remedy such violations.[2]
D.
Upon request of the Commission, the Mayor and City Solicitor shall
take legal action for enforcement under civil law. Upon request of
the Commission, the Chief of Police shall take legal action for enforcement
under criminal law.
The applicant for a permit shall have the burden of proving
by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the work proposed
in the permit application will not have unacceptable significant or
cumulative effect upon the resource area values protected by this
chapter. Failure to provide adequate evidence to the Commission supporting
this burden shall be sufficient cause for the Commission to deny a
permit or grant a permit with conditions.
A decision of the Commission shall be reviewable in the Superior
Court in accordance with MGL c. 249, § 4.
This chapter is adopted under the Home Rule Amendment of the
Massachusetts Constitution and the home rule statutes, independent
of the Act thereunder.
