A.
These rules and regulations are promulgated by the Town of South Hadley Conservation Commission (hereafter referred to as the "Commission") under the authority of Chapter 240, Wetlands, of the Town of South Hadley's General Bylaws (hereafter referred to as "the bylaw"), and shall have the force of law upon the effective date.
B.
The failure of these regulations to address all aspects of the bylaw,
or a legal declaration of their invalidity by a court of law, shall
not act to suspend or invalidate the effect of the bylaw. Moreover,
to the extent that any provision or section of these regulations are
deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining
provisions of said regulations shall remain in full force and effect
to the extent permitted by the law.
The purpose of these regulations is to complement and clarify
the provisions of the bylaw and to create a uniformity of process
for its administration.
The regulations may be revised as needed by the Commission after
public notice and hearing as required by the bylaw.
A.
Areas subject to protection under the bylaw include resource areas
not protected by the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c.
131, § 40 (hereafter referred to as the "WPA"). Wetland
resource areas protected by the bylaw include:
(1)
Freshwater wetlands, bordering or isolated, including marshes, wet
meadows, bogs, and swamps;
(2)
Vernal pools (certified or uncertified);
(3)
Banks;
(4)
The water columns of and the land under lakes, ponds, reservoirs,
creeks, rivers and streams;
(5)
Intermittent streams;
(6)
Land within 100 feet of the aforesaid resource areas (the buffer
zone);
(7)
Isolated land subject to flooding or inundation by groundwater or
surface water;
(8)
Bordering land subject to flooding or inundation by groundwater or
surface water;
(9)
The two-hundred-foot riverfront areas.
B.
Freshwater wetlands, ponds and vernal pools are protected whether
or not they border surface waters, are located within another resource
area, or meet state size requirements, as long as they meet definitions
in the bylaw and these regulations.
C.
The following streams in South Hadley have been identified by the
Commission as perennial streams having two-hundred-foot riverfront
areas, based on their designation on the USGS topographic maps: the
Connecticut River, Bachelor Brook, Buttery Brook, Dry Brook, Elmer
Brook, Judd Brook, Leaping Well Brook, Stony Brook and White Brook.
Streams not listed above may still have a riverfront area associated
with them if they meet the definition of "perennial stream" in 310
CMR 10.58, or alternative criteria the Commission may establish in
these regulations. Intermittent streams protected by the bylaw shall
include only those identified on the Streams and Rivers Map in Appendix
E.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix E is included as an attachment to this chapter.
