[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Groton 4-28-2014 ATM by Art. 19.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Flood damage prevention — See Ch. 141.
Forest lands — See Ch. 145.
Zoning — See Ch. 218.
Earth removal — See Ch. 239.
Underground storage of fuel and chemicals — See Ch. 280.
Subsurface sewage disposal — See Ch. 315.
Wells — See Ch. 330.
[1]
Editor's Note: This article also repealed former Ch. 215,
Wetlands, adopted 4-30-2001 by Art. 41, as amended.
Groton's extensive and complex wetland systems are fundamental
to its landscape, ecology, drinking water supplies and flood protection.
The protection of wetlands in Groton is critical to the well-being
and character of the community.
Groton's wetlands, natural landscape, and ecosystem are
largely by-products of an unusual concentration of glacial landforms,
including extensive areas of ice channel fillings, drumlins, ground
moraines and the remnants of Glacial Lake Nashua. In addition, deep
bedrock valleys filled with glacial sediments define the courses of
the Nashua and Squannacook Rivers. This concentrated and complex set
of landforms created intricate and varied topography, soils and hydrology,
resulting in an extraordinary array of wetlands, ponds, vernal pools,
and streams.
All of Groton's drinking water is derived from municipal
or private wells. The groundwater that supplies these wells is intimately
connected with these wetland systems, which filter, cleanse, and infiltrate
water. The protection of both the wetlands themselves and their surrounding
lands is essential to the protection of Groton's drinking water.
Groton's complex hydrological hydrologic systems and associated
upland areas are also central to its rich and diverse ecosystem, including
concentrations of rare and endangered species. Approximately 2/3 of
Groton lies within state-designated Estimated and Priority Habitats
for Rare and Endangered Species. The Massachusetts BioMap 2 project
designates 67% of Groton as Core Habitat or Critical Natural Landscape,
and approximately 88% of Groton has been designated as Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern. All of these speak to both the local and the
regional importance of Groton's wetlands.
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the wetlands, related
water resources, and adjoining land areas in the Town of Groton by
controlling activities determined by the Conservation Commission to
be likely to have a significant or cumulatively detrimental effect
upon any wetland resource area or value protected by this chapter,
including but not limited to the following interests and values: protection
of public or private water supply, groundwater, flood control, erosion
and sedimentation control, storm damage prevention, water quality,
water pollution control, fisheries, wildlife and wildlife habitat,
rare plant or animal species and habitat, agriculture and aquaculture,
recreation and aesthetic values. To that end, it is the intent of
this chapter to protect additional wetland resource areas and interests,
and to impose additional standards and procedures stricter than those
of the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL C. 131, § 40.
Except as permitted by the Conservation Commission or as provided
in this chapter, no person shall commence to remove, fill, dredge,
build upon, degrade, discharge into or otherwise alter any of the
following resource areas protected by this chapter (collectively,
"wetland resource areas"): any wetland, including, but not limited
to, any freshwater wetland, marsh, wet meadow, bog, swamp, vernal
pool, creek, beach or bank, reservoir, lake, pond of any size, land
under any water body or within 100 feet of any of the aforesaid resource
areas; any river or stream, including land within 200 feet of same;
or any land subject to flooding or inundation by stormwater, groundwater
or surface water.
A.
This chapter shall not apply to any emergency project or agricultural
emergency as defined in the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL C. 131, § 40,
or regulations thereunder. No application or permit shall be required
for maintaining, repairing or replacing, but not substantially changing
or enlarging, an existing and lawfully located structure or facility
used in the service of the public to provide electric, gas, sewer,
water, telephone, telegraph, or other telecommunications service,
provided that written notice has been given to the Commission prior
to commencement of work, and provided that all work conforms to performance
standards and design specifications in the regulations adopted pursuant
to this chapter.
B.
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the alteration of any existing residential, business or institutional building or customary physical appurtenance thereto (i.e., in an area that has already been altered) within an adjacent upland resource shall be regulated per the provisions of the presumptions and standards as defined in § 215-7A(3).
A.
Permit application (notice of intent, request for determination of
applicability, abbreviated notice of resource area delineation).
(1)
Written application shall be filed with the Commission to perform
activities in or affecting resource areas protected by this chapter.
The permit application shall include such information and plans as
are deemed necessary by the Commission to describe proposed activities
and their effects on the resource areas protected by this chapter.
No activities shall commence without receiving and complying with
a permit issued pursuant to this chapter.
(2)
The Commission may, where it deems it appropriate, accept as the
permit application and plans under this chapter the notice of intent,
request for determination of applicability, abbreviated notice of
resource area delineation and plans required to be filed under the
Wetlands Protection Act, MGL C. 131, § 40, and regulations
thereunder at 310 CMR 10.00 et seq.
B.
Request for determination of applicability (RDA). Any person desiring
to know whether or not a proposed activity or an area is subject to
this chapter may, in writing, request a determination of applicability
(RDA) from the Commission. Such a request for determination of applicability
shall be submitted in such form as is required by regulations adopted
hereunder, and may include such information and plans in addition
to that required under the Wetlands Protection Act as are deemed necessary
by the Commission.
C.
Coordination with other boards. Any person filing a permit application
with the Commission shall at the same time provide such copies of
same in the number and manner provided in the regulations to such
Town boards and/or officers as the regulations provide. The Conservation
Commission shall transmit notice of the application and plan to the
Select Board, Board of Health, Planning Board, Department of Public
Works, Groton Water Department and West Groton Water Supply District,
and the Earth Removal Stormwater Advisory Committee, for their written
recommendations. Failure to respond to the Conservation Commission
within 10 days shall indicate no concerns by said agencies.
[Amended 10-1-2018 ATM
by Art. 14]
D.
Fees.
(1)
Application fee. At the time of a permit application or RDA, or application
for certificate of compliance, the applicant shall pay a filing fee
specified in regulations hereunder. The fee is in addition to that
required by the Wetlands Protection Act. The fee shall be deposited
in a special account established pursuant to Chapter 64 of the Acts
of 2001, from which the Commission may withdraw funds without further
appropriation for use only for wetland protection activities.
(2)
Consultant fee. Upon receipt of a permit application or RDA, or at
any point during the hearing process, the Commission may require an
applicant to pay a fee for the reasonable costs and expenses borne
by the Commission for specific expert engineering and other consultant
services to assist the Commission in reaching a final decision on
the application. The specific consultant services may include, but
are not limited to, performing or verifying the accuracy of resource
area survey and delineation; analyzing resource area functions and
values, including wildlife habitat evaluations, hydrogeological and
drainage analysis; and researching environmental or land use law.
The Commission may adopt regulations providing for the deposit of
such funds in a special account established pursuant to Chapter 64
of the Acts of 2001, which provides for the administration of the
consultant fee funds in the same manner as provided in MGL C. 44,
§ 53G.
(3)
The Commission may waive the filing fee, consultant fee, and/or costs
and expenses for a permit application or RDA filed by a Town officer
or agency.
A.
If the Commission, after a public hearing, determines that the activities
which are subject to the permit application, or the land and water
use which will result therefrom, are likely to have a significant
individual or cumulative effect upon the wetland resource area values
and interests protected by this chapter, the Commission shall, within
21 days of the close of said hearing, issue or deny an order of conditions
for the activities requested.
B.
In any order of conditions it issues, the Commission shall impose
conditions which it deems necessary or desirable to protect such values
and interests, and all activities shall be done in compliance with
those conditions. In imposing conditions, the Commission shall take
into account the cumulative adverse effects of loss, degradation,
isolation, and replication of protected resource areas throughout
the community and the watershed, which have resulted from past activities,
permitted and exempt, or which may result from foreseeable future
activities.
C.
The Conservation Commission may grant an order of conditions for
projects within wetland resource areas if it determines that the granting
of such an order of conditions will result in a significant public
or environmental benefit and that, because of the characteristics
of the land, the proposed alterations, and/or proposed mitigation
measures, the interests of this chapter will be maintained.
D.
The Commission is empowered to deny a permit for the applicant's
failure to meet the requirements of this chapter; to submit necessary
information and plans requested by the Commission; to meet the design
specifications, performance standards, and other requirements in regulations
of the Commission; to avoid or prevent unacceptable significant or
cumulative effects upon the wetland resource areas or interests protected
by this chapter; or where it finds that no conditions are adequate
to protect such values and interests.
A.
Any person filing a permit application (notice of intent or abbreviated
notice of resource area delineation) with the Commission at the same
time shall give written notice thereof, by certified mail (return
receipt requested), by certificates of mailing, or hand-delivered,
to all abutters at their mailing addresses as shown on the most recent
applicable tax list of the Assessors, including owners of land directly
opposite on any public or private street or way, and abutters to the
abutters within 300 feet of the property line of the applicant, including
any in another municipality or across a body of water. The notice
to abutters shall have enclosed a copy of the permit application with
plans, or shall state where copies may be examined and obtained by
abutters. An affidavit of the person providing such notice, with a
copy of the notice mailed or delivered, shall be filed with the Commission.
A request for determination of applicability does not require a formal
public hearing; therefore, abutters notifications are not required
as part of an RDA filing. However, a legally noticed public meeting
is required to review a RDA. When a person requesting a determination
of applicability is other than the owner, the notice of the public
meeting and the determination itself shall be sent by the Commission
to the owner as well as to the person making the request.
B.
The Commission shall otherwise commence its public hearing or meeting
within 21 days of the receipt of a completed notice of intent, request
for determination of applicability or abbreviated notice of resource
area delineation, provided that written notice thereof has been provided,
at the expense of the person making the request, at least five business
days prior to said hearing or meeting by publication in a newspaper
of general circulation in the Town. Said time period may be extended
if authorized, in writing, by the applicant.
C.
The Commission may, in the exercise of its reasonable discretion, and with the permission of the applicant, continue the hearing from time to time to a date certain announced at said hearing for reasons stated, which reasons may include but are not limited to: curing any defect in notice; allowing additional testimony or documents as may be deemed necessary or appropriate by the Commission; and/or obtaining comment or recommendation of any municipal board or officer referred to in § 215-4 above. If permission for a continuance is not granted, the Commission may deny the permit if it believes that important information is not available.
D.
In all other respects, hearings shall be as provided in MGL C. 131,
§ 40, and regulations thereunder.
A.
Adjacent upland resource areas are presumed significant to the protection
of wetland resources and interests because activities undertaken in
close proximity to resource areas have a high likelihood of adverse
impact upon the wetland or other resources, either immediately, as
a consequence of construction, or over time, as a consequence of daily
operations or maintenance of such activities. Such adverse impacts
from construction and use include, without limitation, erosion, siltation,
loss of groundwater recharge, degradation of water quality and loss
of wildlife habitat.
(1)
Prohibited activity. For the aforementioned reasons, the adjacent
upland areas, within 200 feet of rivers and streams and 100 feet of
other wetland resource areas protected by this chapter, are deemed
valuable resources under this chapter. Therefore, this chapter strictly
limits any disturbance within adjacent upland areas by prohibiting
the following activities or uses unless approved and done in compliance
with the regulations and standards adopted under this chapter:
(a)
Disturbance of any existing vegetation within 50 feet of any
freshwater wetland, except for removal of invasive vegetation only.
(b)
Erection of permanent buildings, including, but not limited
to, barns, garages, or attached structures.
(c)
Construction of parking lots or use of land for parking of motor
vehicles.
(d)
Construction or installation of any portion of a new sanitary
waste disposal system, including the grading required for the primary
and reserve systems.
(e)
Placement or maintenance of dumpsters or refuse containers.
(f)
Construction of driveways or retaining walls.
(g)
Grading, except for minor grading as defined in the regulations
adopted under this chapter.
(2)
Order of conditions. The following activities may be allowed within
adjacent upland areas by an order of conditions and subject to such
conditions as the Commission deems necessary or appropriate to preserve
the wetland resource areas and interests protected by this chapter:
(a)
Planting of native vegetation or habitat management techniques
determined by the Conservation Commission to enhance the wetland values
protected by this chapter.
(b)
Construction and maintenance of unpaved access paths of not
more than four feet in width for nonmotorized usage.
(c)
Maintenance of existing structures, utilities, stormwater management
structures and paved roads.
(d)
Pruning for the purpose of vista maintenance, or for removal
of diseased or invasive vegetation, if done in compliance with standards
provided in the regulations.
(e)
Construction of new utility lines where the Commission determines
that the proposed route is the best environmental alternative.
(f)
Sanitary waste disposal system maintenance and, if a system
has failed, repair or replacement meeting local and state standards,
provided that the maximum feasible buffer is maintained.
(g)
Construction of an accessory structure associated with an existing
building where the Commission finds that no practicable alternative
site outside the adjacent upland area is available; the size and impact
of the proposed structure have been minimized; and the structure is
located so as to minimize impact on the resource area.
(h)
Limited project as defined in the Wetlands Protection Act.
(3)
Standards for altered areas. Within an adjacent vegetative upland
resource with existing residential, business, commercial or institutional
buildings or customary physical appurtenances, the Commission may
issue an order of conditions for a project, provided that it finds
that the proposed alterations will not have significant adverse impacts
on that specific portion of the adjacent upland area or associated
wetlands and that there is no reasonable construction alternative
that would reduce impacts to the resource area.
B.
Seasonal wetlands are presumed to provide essential breeding and
rearing habitat functions, which presumption, in the case of any seasonal
wetland which has not been certified as a vernal pool by the Massachusetts
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, may be overcome by demonstration
to the Commission by a preponderance of credible evidence that the
basin, depression or area does not provide the habitat functions specified
in the bylaw and regulations for identification of noncertified vernal
pools.
After public notice and public hearing, the Commission may promulgate
regulations to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, and to provide
for filing fees and procedures, and for consultant fees as the Commission
deems necessary or appropriate. Failure to promulgate such regulations,
or the invalidation by a court of law of one or more of such regulations,
shall not act to suspend or invalidate any provision of this chapter.
A.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or regulations of the
Commission, the definitions of terms in this chapter shall be as set
forth in the Wetlands Protection Act, which terms, as used herein,
shall include the provisions of MGL C. 131, § 40, and regulations
thereunder at 310 CMR 10.00 et seq (WPA).
B.
ABBREVIATED NOTICE OF RESOURCE AREA DELINEATION (ANRAD)
ADJACENT UPLAND RESOURCE AREA
ALTER
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
BANK
BUILDING
CUSTOMARY PHYSICAL APPURTENANCE
FRESHWATER WETLAND
NOTICE OF INTENT (NOI)
PERSON
RARE SPECIES
REQUEST FOR DETERMINATION OF APPLICABILITY (RDA)
SEASONAL WETLAND
STREAM
STRUCTURE
VERNAL POOL
(1)
(2)
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
This form (WPA Form 4A) provides a procedure for an applicant
to confirm the precise boundaries of bordering vegetated wetlands
(BVW) or other resource areas.
Shall include lands within 100 feet of any freshwater wetland;
marsh; flat; wet meadow; bog; swamp; vernal pool; bank; reservoir,
lake or pond of any size; creek, beach or land under water bodies,
and lands within 200 feet of rivers and streams.
Shall include, without limitation, the following activities
when undertaken to, upon, within or affecting wetland resource areas
protected by this chapter:
Removal, excavation, or dredging of soil, sand, gravel, or earth
materials of any kind;
Changing of preexisting drainage characteristics, flushing characteristics,
salinity concentration, sedimentation patterns, flow patterns, or
flow retention characteristics;
Drainage, or other disturbance of water level or water table;
Dumping, discharging, or filling with any material which may
degrade water quality;
Placing of fill, or removal of material, which would alter elevation;
Erecting or placing buildings or structures of any kind, including
driving of piles;
Placing of obstructions in water;
Cutting or destruction of vegetation, including cutting of trees;
Changing temperature, biochemical oxygen demand, or other physical,
biological, or chemical characteristics of any waters;
Any activities, changes, or work which may cause or tend to
contribute to pollution of any body of water or groundwater; and
Incremental activities that have, or may have, a cumulative
adverse impact on the resource areas protected by this chapter.
Shall include the land area which normally abuts and confines
a water body: the lower boundary being the mean annual low flow level,
and the upper boundary being the first observable break in the slope
or the mean annual flood level, whichever is higher.
A structure having a roof or cover and forming a shelter
for persons, animals or property.
Any structural adjunct to a residential, commercial, business
or institutional building, including but not limited to septic systems,
garages, sheds, decks, porches, driveways, sidewalks, wells and associated
piping and pumping equipment, stairways, retaining walls, docks, lawns,
gardens, and landscaped and other developed areas.
Shall include all wetlands whether or not they border on
a water body. For the purposes of this chapter, lakes or ponds of
any size, all bordering vegetated wetlands, as well as isolated vegetated
wetlands shall be protected.
This form (WPA Form 3) is filed by an applicant who proposes
to do work within 100 feet of a wetland resource area or 200 feet
of a stream protected by the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act
or the Groton Wetlands Protection Bylaw.
Shall include any individual, group of individuals, association,
partnership, corporation, company, business organization, trust, estate,
administrative agency, public or quasi-public corporation or body,
including the Town of Groton, and any other legal entity, its legal
representatives, agents, or assigns.
Shall include, without limitation, all vertebrate and invertebrate
animal and plant species listed as endangered, threatened, or of special
concern by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, regardless
of whether the site in which they occur has been previously identified
by the Division.
This form (WPA Form 1) is filed by a person desiring to know
whether or not a proposed activity, or an area, is subject to this
chapter. A request for determination of applicability can also be
filed by any concerned citizen of Groton who wishes to know if wetlands
exist within 100 feet of a site proposed for development. Minor projects
within the one-hundred-foot buffer zone are also considered under
this filing category.
Shall include any confined basin or depression subject to
flooding or inundation and which contains temporary bodies of water
during periods of high groundwater level, spring runoff, snowmelt,
or heavy precipitation, for a minimum of two continuous months during
spring or summer in most years and which are capable of supporting
populations of obligate vernal pool species, and are therefore presumed
to provide essential breeding and rearing habitat functions for amphibian,
reptile, or invertebrate species.
Shall include all rivers and streams shown on the current
U.S.G.S. map.
Any construction, erection, assemblage, or other combination
of materials upon the land made in such a manner as to indicate a
purpose that it remains in position indefinitely.
Shall include any confined basin or depression which, at least
in most years, holds water for a minimum of two continuous months
during spring and/or summer, and which is free of adult predatory
fish populations, as well as the area within 100 feet of the mean
annual boundary of such a depression, and presumptively includes seasonal
wetlands, regardless of whether the site has been certified as a vernal
pool by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
The adjacent upland resource area for vernal pools shall extend
100 feet from the mean annual high-water line defining the depression,
or 1/2 of the distance between the vernal pool and any existing house
foundation, whichever is smaller. In either case, the adjacent upland
resource area for vernal pools shall not extend over lawns, gardens,
and landscaped or developed areas existing as of the effective date
of this chapter.
A.
As part of a permit issued under this chapter, in addition to any
security required by any other municipal or state board, agency, or
official, the Commission may require that the performance and observance
of the conditions imposed thereunder, including conditions requiring
mitigation work, be secured wholly or in part by one or more of the
following methods:
(1)
By a proper bond or deposit of money or negotiable securities or
other undertaking of financial responsibility sufficient in the opinion
of the Commission to insure completion of proposed work or conditions
of any permit, said security to be released in whole or in part upon
issuance of a certificate of compliance for work performed pursuant
to the permit.
(2)
By conveyance, with consent of the applicant, of a conservation restriction,
easement, or other covenant enforceable in a court of law, executed
and duly recorded by the owner of record, running with the land to
the benefit of the Town of Groton, acting through the Conservation
Commission, and providing that the permit conditions shall be performed
and observed before any lot may be conveyed other than by mortgage
deed.
B.
It shall be a condition of every application for a permit or RDA
that the applicant assent to the entry by the Commission or its agent
to the subject property at reasonable times for the purpose of conducting
site inspections to determine wetland boundaries and the compliance
with or violation of this chapter or any permit or determination thereunder.
A.
No person shall remove, fill, dredge, build upon, degrade, or otherwise
alter resource 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, officers, and employees shall have authority
to enter upon 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 of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts. Permission to enter land of any applicant shall
be granted as a condition of any application and of any permit issued
hereunder.
C.
The Commission is authorized to enforce this chapter and its regulations,
and any orders or permits issued thereunder, by violation notices,
administrative orders, and/or civil and criminal court actions. Any
person who violates any provision of this chapter may be ordered to
restore the property to its original condition, to take such other
action as deemed necessary by the Commission to remedy such violation,
or may be fined, or any combination of the foregoing.
D.
In addition to any other remedy available in law or in equity, any
person who violates any provision of this chapter, regulations, permits,
or order of the Conservation Commission issued thereunder may, at
the option of the Conservation Commission, be subject to noncriminal
prosecution pursuant to MGL C. 40, § 21D, in which case
the following penalties shall apply, with each day constituting a
separate offense:
E.
The provisions of this chapter and regulations, or of any permit
or order issued thereunder, may be enforced by the Conservation Commission,
by its agents, by a Commissioner so authorized by vote of the Conservation
Commission, or by any police officer of the Town.
The applicant for a permit shall have the burden of proving
by a preponderance of 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 on the record
of proceedings in Superior Court in accordance with MGL C. 249, § 4.
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the Town of Groton's
Home Rule powers and is independent of the Wetlands Protection Act,
MGL C. 131, § 40, and/or regulations thereunder (WPA). It
is the intent of this chapter to create resource areas, interests,
definitions and performance standards that impose more stringent regulation
than that imposed by MGL C. 131, § 40.
The invalidity of any section or provision of this chapter shall
not invalidate any other section or provision thereof, nor shall it
invalidate any permit or determination issued hereunder.
