As used in these regulations, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
ACT
The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act, §§ 22a-36
through 22a-45, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, as
amended.
AGENCY
The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency which is in Lyme,
Connecticut, the Conservation Commission acting as the Inland Wetlands
and Watercourses Agency.
BOGS
Watercourses distinguished by evergreen trees and shrubs
underlain by peat deposits, poor or very poor drainage, and highly
acidic conditions.
CLEAR-CUTTING
The harvest of timber in a fashion which removes all trees
down to two inches in diameter at breast height.
COMMISSION MEMBER
A member, or alternate member serving as member, of the Inland
Wetlands and Watercourses Agency of the Town of Lyme.
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.
DESIGNATED AGENT
An individual(s) designated by the Conservation Commission
and Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency of the Town of Lyme to
carry out its functions and purposes.
DISCHARGE
Emission of any water, substance, or material into wetlands
or watercourses whether or not such substance causes pollution.
DISTURBING THE NATURAL AND INDIGENOUS CHARACTER OF THE LAND
The activity will or may alter the inland wetlands and watercourses
by reason of removal or deposition of material or cutting in or near
regulated areas, or alteration or obstruction of water flow, or which
may or will result in the pollution of a wetland or watercourse.
FARM POND
A pond that is accessory to a farm. A farm pond shall be
defined as the minimum size and number of impoundment(s) which is
or are reasonably required for the watering of livestock, the irrigation
of crops, or other agricultural activities currently taking place
on the subject property, as opposed to merely contemplated. This definition
shall be construed so as to exclude from the meaning of "farm pond"
impoundments which are essentially ornamental, or which are of such
size, number, character, or location that their primary function is
not the support of commercial agricultural operations.
FARMING
Shall be consistent with the definition included in the Connecticut
General Statutes § 1-1(q) as may be amended.
FEASIBLE
Able to be constructed or implemented consistent with sound
engineering principles.
INCREASED USAGE
Extension of any activity, including but not limited to occupancy
of a structure for greater than 180 days annually when the same has
heretofore been occupied less than 180 days annually, when such extension
may or will result in increased utilization of a subsurface waste
disposal system.
LICENSE
The whole or any part of any permit, certificate of approval
or similar form of permission that may be required of any person by
the provisions of §§ 22a-36 through 22a-45 of the Connecticut
General Statutes, inclusive.
MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
A practice, procedure, activity, structure or facility designed
to prevent or minimize pollution or other 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;
procedures for maintaining continuous stream flows; and confining
construction that must take place in watercourses to times when water
flows are low and fish and wildlife will not be adversely affected.
MARSHES
Watercourses that are distinguished by the absence of trees
and shrubs and the dominance of soft-stemmed herbaceous plants. The
water table in marshes is at or above the ground surface throughout
the year and areas of open water six inches or more in depth are common,
but seasonal water table fluctuations are encountered.
MATERIAL
Any substance, solid or liquid, organic or inorganic, including
but not limited to soil, sediment, aggregate, land, gravel, clay,
bog, peat, mud, debris, sand, refuse or waste.
NURSERIES
Land used for propagating trees, shrubs or other plants for
transplanting, sale, or for use as stock for grafting or experimentation.
PERMIT
The whole or any part of any license, certificate of approval
or similar form of permission that may be required of any person by
the provisions of these regulations and the Act or other municipal,
state and federal law.
PERMITTEE
The person to whom a permit has been issued.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company, limited liability 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 the state 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, runoff, land clearing,
or excavation activity.
PRUDENT
Economically and otherwise reasonable in light of the social
benefits to be derived from the proposed regulated activity, 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 watercourse or of a wetland or within a regulated area involving removal or deposit of material, or any obstruction, construction, alteration, artificial illumination, pollution or compaction of such watercourses, wetlands or regulated areas, excluding, however, the specified activities in §
300-4A hereof. The location of any portion of any subsurface waste disposal system within 200 feet of Uncas Lake, Norwich Pond, Rogers Lake, Cedar Lake, Cedar Pond Brook, Eight Mile River, Eight Mile River East Branch, Beaver Brook, Roaring Brook, Grassy Hill Brook, Hemlock Valley Brook, or Whalebone Creek or within 150 feet of such waterline of all other watercourses and within 150 feet of all wetlands is deemed a regulated activity.
REGULATED AREA
All watercourses and all tributaries thereof; areas within
100 feet of all wetlands and watercourses and tributaries thereof.
REMOVE
Includes, but shall not be limited to, drain, excavate, mine,
dig, dredge, suck, bulldoze, dragline or blast.
RENDERING UNCLEAN OR IMPURE
Any alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties
of any waters of the state, including, but not limited to, change
in odor, color, turbidity or taste.
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ACTIVITY
Any activity, including, but not limited to, the following
activities, which may have a major effect:
A.
Any activity involving deposition or removal of material, which
will or may have a substantial effect on the wetland or watercourse
or on wetlands or watercourses outside the area for which the 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 substantially diminishes the natural capacity
of an inland wetland or watercourse to support aquatic, plant or animal
life and habitats; prevent flooding; supply water; assimilate waste;
facilitate drainage; provide recreation or open space; or perform
other functions.
D.
Any activity which is likely to cause or has the potential to
cause substantial 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 is likely to cause or has the potential to
cause pollution of a wetland or watercourse.
G.
Any activity which damages or destroys unique wetland or watercourse
areas or such areas having demonstrable scientific or educational
value.
SOIL SCIENTIST
An individual duly qualified in accordance with standards
set by the United States Office of Personnel Management.
SUBMERGED LANDS
Those lands that are inundated by water on a seasonal or
more frequent basis.
SWAMP
An area with soils that exhibit aquic moisture regimes and
are dominated by wetland trees and shrubs. Typical examples of swamp
species are listed in a booklet titled "Inland Wetland Plants of Connecticut"
by William A. Niering and Richard H. Goodwin, prepared by the Connecticut
Arboretum (Bulletin No. 19, May 19, 1973), p. 24, republished by the
State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
TOWN
Town of Lyme, New London County, State of Connecticut.
WASTE
Sewage or any substance, liquid, gaseous, solid or radioactive,
which may pollute or tend to pollute any of the wetlands or watercourses
of the Town.
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. Intermittent watercourses shall
be delineated by a defined permanent channel and bank and the occurrence
of two or more of the following characteristics: evidence of scour
or deposits of recent alluvium or detritus, the presence of standing
or flowing water for a duration longer than a particular storm incident,
and the presence of hydrophytic vegetation. "Watercourses" includes
aquatic, plant or animal life and habitats in wetlands or watercourses;
"habitats" means areas or environments in which an organism or biological
population normally lives or recurs.
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, which consists of
any of the soil types designated as poorly drained, very poorly drained,
alluvial and floodplain by the National Cooperative Soils Survey,
as it may be amended from time to time, of the Natural Resources Conservation
Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Such
areas may include filled, graded, or excavated sites that possess
an aquic (saturated) soil moisture regime as defined by the USDA Cooperative
Soil Survey. "Wetlands" includes aquatic, plant or animal life and
habitats in wetlands or watercourses; "habitats" means areas or environments
in which an organism or biological population normally lives or recurs.
Typical examples of swamp, marsh and bog species are listed in the
booklet titled "Inland Wetland Plants of Connecticut," Wm. A. Neiring
and R.H. Goodwin, for the Connecticut Department of Protection, May
1973.
In reviewing subdivision applications which are before the Lyme Planning and Zoning Commission and in making recommendations as to the same, the Agency may require many or all of the information items addressed in §
300-7E and
F of these regulations hereto and consider the provisions made in the application for open space, unique resources, or other access areas and such other environmental considerations as the Agency may deem relevant to mitigate the wetlands impact created by such proposal.
These regulations are effective upon filing in the office of
the Town Clerk and publication of a notice of such filing in a newspaper
having general circulation in the Town of Lyme.