The Aquifer Protection District shall include all land designated
as such and shown and delineated on a map entitled "Watershed/Aquifer
Protection District, Town of Norwell, 2006." The Aquifer Protection
District shall be considered to be superimposed over any other district
established by this Zoning Bylaw. All land in this district is subject
to the regulations set forth in this article and such regulations
shall be in addition to, rather than in place of, the requirements
for the underlying district.
The purposes of this article, in addition to the purposes enumerated in §
201-1.1 of this Zoning Bylaw, are:
A. To preserve and maintain the quality of the surface and ground water
within the Town of Norwell, so as to preserve the present and potential
water supplies for the public health and safety of the inhabitants
of the Town.
B. To protect such groundwater from the danger of accidental spills
and discharge of petroleum products and other toxic and hazardous
materials, and from sewage discharge, all of which pose potential
public health and safety hazards and threaten economic losses to the
Town.
C. To enhance groundwater recharge in aquifer recharge areas.
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE
As defined in the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection (MA DEP) and Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
(MA CZM) Stormwater Management Technical Handbook of March 1997.
NON-SANITARY TREATMENT OR DISPOSAL WORKS
Wastewater discharge from industrial and commercial facilities
containing wastes from any activity other than the collection of sanitary
sewage, including, but not limited to, activities specified in the
Standard Industrial Classification Codes set forth in 310 CMR 15.004(5).
[Amended 5-6-2019 ATM,
Art. 30]
REDEVELOPMENT
Shall be defined as any proposal that triggers the requirements of §
201-3.4, Site plan review.
TOXIC OR HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
Any substance or mixture of such physical, chemical or infectious
characteristics as to pose a significant, actual or potential hazard
to water supplies, or other hazard to human health, if such substance
or mixture were discharged to land or waters of this Town. Toxic or
hazardous materials include, without limitation, organic chemicals,
petroleum products, heavy metals, radioactive or infectious wastes,
acids and alkalis, and include products such as pesticides, herbicides,
solvents and thinners. Wastes generated by the following activities,
without limitation, are presumed to be toxic or hazardous unless and
except to the extent that anyone engaging in such an activity can
demonstrate the contrary to the satisfaction of the Board of Health:
B.
Electronic circuit assembly.
C.
Motor and machinery service and assembly.
D.
Painting, wood preserving and furniture stripping.
E.
Pesticide and herbicide application.
Whenever an application is made for a building or use permit
which the Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer believes may
involve the use of land in the district, he shall determine, by any
means at his disposal, whether the parcel identified in the application
lies within the Aquifer Protection District.
Uses not requiring a special permit under §
201-19.6 or prohibited under §
201-19.7 are permitted in the Aquifer Protection District, subject to the applicable provisions of this bylaw, other provisions of the Zoning Bylaw applicable to the underlying zoning districts in which said Aquifer Protection District is located and to any other applicable overlay district regulations.
The following uses are specifically prohibited in the Aquifer
Protection District:
A. Sanitary landfills, landfills receiving only wastewater residuals
and/or septic residuals or other disposal of solid waste.
B. Motor vehicle salvage operations and junkyards.
C. Municipal sewage treatment facilities with on-site disposal of primary
or secondary treated effluent.
E. Road salt or other de-icing chemical stockpiles.
F. Dumping of snow from outside the district.
G. Self-service laundries, unless connected to public sewerage.
H. Dry-cleaning establishments.
I. Airplane, boat and motor vehicle service and repair, including auto
body shops.
J. Metal plating, finishing or polishing.
K. Chemical and bacteriological laboratories.
L. Storage and/or sale of petroleum or other refined petroleum products,
except within the building it will be used to heat.
M. Commercial photographic processing, with discharge to the ground.
N. Commercial printing, other than xerographic reproduction.
O. The rendering impervious of more than 15% of any lot or 2,500 square
feet of any lot, whichever is greater, unless a system of groundwater
recharge of precipitation is provided that will not result in degradation
of groundwater, and with the determination, as to whether the recharge
system is sufficient, to be made by the Planning Board following an
administrative review (at a public meeting, but with no public hearing
required), and with peer review at the applicant's expense to be provided,
as necessary at the discretion of the Planning Board.
[Amended 5-8-2023 ATM by Art. 40]
(1)
Any such system of groundwater recharge, for vacant land, shall,
at a minimum, recharge 85% of any resulting post-development increase
in the volume of stormwater, for up to a one-hundred-year storm event.
(2)
Any such system of groundwater recharge, for land with existing
impervious surface conditions of 15% or 2,500 square feet or more,
shall recharge 100% of the volume of stormwater, for up to a one-hundred-year
storm event, for any increase in impervious surface conditions beyond
said 15% or 2,500 square feet of the land, whichever is greater.
(3)
Under no circumstances shall any land in the Aquifer Protection
District be used to create conditions resulting in more than 50% impervious
surface coverage of the land.
(4)
No redevelopment of land, which already exceeds 50% impervious
surface coverage, due to lawfully preexisting conditions, shall be
allowed if the proposed development would increase the existing impervious
surface coverage of the land. Furthermore, no such redevelopment shall
be allowed, even if there is no such increase, unless the redevelopment
provides a system of recharge that shall control 100% of all existing
and proposed roof runoff generated on the land.
(5)
Pervious pavers shall not be used in the Aquifer Protection
District for any portion of land that would be used for either vehicular
traffic or parking, but they may be used for other purposes, including
sidewalks and terraces and similar uses that are not subject to traffic
or spills of gasoline and oil and other contaminants, and, when used
for such other purposes, they shall not be considered impervious surfaces.
(6)
Pre-development and post-development drainage calculations shall
be provided and undergo peer engineering review, at the applicant's
expense, before any relief is granted hereunder.
P. Hotel or motel, unless connected to public sewerage.
Q. Any commercial/industrial facility or use which involves as a principal or secondary activity the manufacture, storage, use, transportation or disposal of toxic or hazardous materials, wastes or animal manure except as allowed by special permit in §
201-19.6.
R. Non-sanitary treatment or disposal works that are subject to 314
CMR 4.00 and 5.00 except the following:
(1)
The replacement or repair of an existing system that will not
result in a design capacity greater than the design capacity of the
existing system; and
(2)
Treatment works approved by the MA DEP designed for the treatment
of contaminated groundwater.
S. The removal of soil, loam, sand and gravel within four feet of the
historic high groundwater elevation, with the following exceptions:
removal of soil for road excavations, building foundations and utility
works.
The following design and operation guidelines shall be observed
within the Aquifer Protection District:
A. Safeguards. Provision shall be made to protect against toxic or hazardous
materials discharge or loss resulting from corrosion, accidental damage,
spillage or vandalism through measures such as: prohibition of underground
fuel storage tanks; spill control provisions in the vicinity of chemical
or fuel delivery points; secured storage areas for toxic or hazardous
materials; and indoor storage provisions for corrodible or dissolvable
materials. Storage of toxic or hazardous materials must meet the requirements
of 310 CMR 22.21(2)(b)5. For operations which allow the evaporation
of toxic or hazardous materials into the interior of any structures,
a closed vapor recovery system shall be provided for each such structure
to prevent discharge of contaminated condensate into the groundwater.
B. Location. Where the premises are partially outside of the Aquifer
Protection District, potential pollution sources such as on-site waste
disposal systems shall be located outside the district to the extent
feasible.
C. For any toxic or hazardous materials to be produced in quantities
greater than those associated with normal household use, the applicant
must demonstrate the availability and feasibility of disposal methods
which are in conformance with MGL c. 21C.
D. Drainage. All runoff from impervious surfaces shall be recharged
on the site and recharge from pervious surfaces to the extent possible.
Dry wells shall be used only where other methods are not feasible,
and shall be preceded by oil, grease and sediment traps to facilitate
removal of contaminants. If dry wells are utilized, the property owner
shall be required to have oil, grease and sediment traps cleaned annually
and to provide the Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer,
on an annual basis, with proof of such cleaning.
Written notice of any violation of this bylaw shall be provided
by the Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer to the owner
of the premises, specifying the nature of the violations and a schedule
of compliance, including cleanup of any spilled materials. This compliance
schedule must be reasonable in relation to the public health hazard
involved and the difficulty of compliance. In no event shall more
than 30 days be allowed for either compliance or finalization of a
plan for longer-term compliance.