[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Sturbridge 6-7-2021 ATM by Art. 34. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The purpose of this bylaw is to protect the wetlands, related water resources and adjoining land areas in Sturbridge by controlling, via prior review and approval, activities deemed by the Sturbridge Conservation Commission (hereinafter referred to as "Conservation Commission") as 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, water quality, water pollution control, fisheries, wildlife habitat, rare species habitat including rare plant species, recreation values, agriculture and aquaculture, deemed important by the community (collectively, the "resource area values protected by this bylaw").
B. 
This bylaw 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 Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and its associated regulations (310 CMR 10).
Except as permitted by the Conservation Commission or as provided in this bylaw, no person shall commence to remove, fill, dredge, build upon, degrade, discharge into or otherwise alter the following resource areas: any freshwater wetlands, marshes, wet meadows, bogs, swamps; seasonal wetlands; vernal pools; banks; reservoirs; lakes; ponds of any size; rivers; streams; creeks; land under water bodies; land subject to flooding or inundation by surface water or groundwater; and lands within 200 feet of any of the aforesaid resource areas (collectively the "resource areas protected by this bylaw"). Said resources shall be protected whether or not they border surface waters.
A. 
The permit and application required by this bylaw shall not apply to 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 the Town of Sturbridge, provided that notice, oral or written, is provided to the Conservation Commission prior to commencement of work or within 24 hours after commencement, provided that the Conservation Commission certifies the work as an emergency project, and provided that the work is performed only for the time and place certified by the Conservation Commission for the limited purposes necessary to abate the emergency, and provided that protective measures required by the Conservation Commission are complied with, and provided that, within 21 days of the commencement of an emergency project, a permit application shall be filed with the Commission for review as provided by this bylaw.
B. 
Other than stated in this section, the exceptions provided in the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act shall not apply.
A. 
Written application shall be filed with the Conservation Commission to perform activities affecting resource areas protected by this bylaw. The permit application shall include such information and plans as are deemed necessary by the Conservation Commission to describe the proposed activities and their effects on the resource areas protected by this bylaw. No activities shall commence without receiving and complying with a permit issued pursuant to this bylaw. The Conservation Commission will accept applications with a level of detail consistent with that required by the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, but reserves the right to require additional information as required to adequately review the proposed activity and determine its effect on the protected areas.
B. 
When the Conservation Commission deems it appropriate, it will accept a combined application under this bylaw and the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act. If a combined application is accepted, the additional filing fee will be waived.
C. 
Any person desiring to know whether or not a proposed activity or an area is subject to this bylaw may, in writing, request a determination from the Conservation Commission. Such a request for determination of applicability (RDA) shall contain data and plans as are deemed necessary by the Conservation Commission.
D. 
At the time of a permit application or RDA, the applicant shall pay a filing fee specified in the regulations adopted by the Conservation Commission.[1] This fee is in addition to any fee required by the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 265, Wetlands Regulations.
E. 
Upon receipt of a permit application or RDA, or at any time during the hearing process, the Conservation Commission is authorized to require the applicant to pay for the reasonable costs and expenses of any consultant(s) deemed necessary by the Conservation Commission to review the application or RDA. These costs and expenses shall be paid directly to the consultant by the applicant. The exercise of discretion by the Conservation Commission in making a determination that outside consultant expertise is required shall be based on its reasonable finding that additional information acquirable only through outside consultants would be necessary for the making of an objective decision. The specific consultant services may include, but are not limited to, performing area survey and delineation; analyzing wildlife habitat evaluations, hydrogeologic and drainage analysis; and researching environmental or land use law.
F. 
The Conservation Commission may waive the filing fee for an application or request filed by a government agency and shall waive the filing fee for a request for determination of applicability filed by a person with no financial connection with property which is the subject of the request.
A. 
Any person filing a permit application or an RDA with the Conservation Commission shall, at the same time, give written notice thereof, by certified mail, with return receipt, to all abutters according to the most recent records of the Assessors, including those across a traveled way or body of water. The notice to abutters shall include a copy of the application or request, with plans, or shall state where plans can be examined and obtained by abutters free of charge. When a person requesting a determination of applicability is other than the owner, the request, the notice of hearing and the determination of applicability itself shall be sent by the Conservation Commission to the owner as well as the person making the request.
B. 
The Conservation Commission shall conduct a public hearing on any permit application or RDA. Written notice of the date and time shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality at least five working days prior to the hearing. The cost of the publication shall be paid by the applicant.
C. 
The Conservation Commission shall conduct a hearing within 21 days of receiving a complete permit application or request for determination of applicability unless an extension is authorized by the applicant.
D. 
The Conservation Commission, in an appropriate case, may combine the hearing under this bylaw and the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act.
E. 
The Conservation Commission shall have the authority, with the consent of the applicant, to continue the hearing to a date and time certain announced at the hearing, for reasons stated at the hearing, such as conducting a site visit or obtaining additional information. If the applicant does not consent to a continuation of the hearing, the hearing shall be closed and a decision rendered based on the information available to the Conservation Commission.
Any person filing a permit application or RDA with the Conservation Commission shall provide, at the same time, a copy to the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board, Board of Health, Building Inspector and Town Engineer. The Conservation Commission shall not take final action for at least 14 days to allow the above to submit written comments and recommendations with the Conservation Commission, which the Conservation Commission shall take into account but shall not be binding on the Conservation Commission. The applicant shall have the right to receive any such comments and recommendations, and respond to them at a hearing of the Conservation Commission, prior to final action.
A. 
The Conservation Commission, within 21 days of closing a public hearing, shall issue or deny a permit for the activities requested. If it issues a permit, the Conservation Commission shall impose conditions it deems necessary or desirable to protect the resource area values protected by this bylaw. The applicant shall conduct all permitted activities in accordance with those conditions. The Conservation 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, resulting from past activities, permitted and exempt, and foreseeable future activities. Lands within 200 feet of rivers, ponds, lakes and other resource areas are presumed important to the protection of these resources because activities undertaken in close proximity to resource areas have a high likelihood of adverse impact upon the wetland or other resource, either immediately, as a consequence of construction or over time as a consequence of daily operation or existence of activities. These adverse impacts from construction and use can include, without limitation, erosion, siltation, loss of groundwater recharge, poor water quality and loss of wildlife habitat. The Conservation Commission therefor may require that the applicant maintain a strip of continuous, undisturbed vegetative cover within the 200-foot area unless the applicant convinces the Conservation Commission that the area or part of it may be disturbed without harm to the values protected by this bylaw.
B. 
In the review of areas within 200 feet of rivers and streams, no permit issued hereunder shall permit activities unless the applicant, in addition to meeting the otherwise applicable requirements of this bylaw, has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that:
(1) 
There is no practicable alternative to the proposed project with less adverse effects;
(2) 
Such activities, including mitigation measures, will have no significant adverse impact on the areas or values protected by this bylaw.
C. 
The Conservation Commission shall regard as practicable an alternative which is reasonably available and capable of being done after taking into consideration the proposed property use, overall project purpose (e.g., residential, institutional, commercial or industrial purpose), logistics, existing technology, costs of the alternatives and overall project costs.
D. 
To prevent wetlands loss, the Conservation Commission shall require applicants to avoid wetlands alterations wherever feasible; shall minimize wetlands alteration; and where alteration is unavoidable, shall require full mitigation. The Conservation Commission may authorize or require replication of wetlands as a form of mitigation.
E. 
The Conservation Commission is empowered to deny a permit for failure to meet the requirements of this bylaw; for failure to submit necessary information and plans requested by the Conservation Commission; for failure to meet the performance standards of the bylaw; or when the Conservation Commission determines that it is not possible to conduct the requested activity without unacceptable wetlands alterations; or for any other grounds consistent with this bylaw and the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, and within the Conservation Commission's authority under MGL c. 40, § 8C. A permit shall expire three years from the date of issuance. The Conservation Commission, at its discretion, may renew a permit for a period of time deemed appropriate by the Conservation Commission, providing written request for renewal is received by the Conservation Commission at least one month prior to the date of expiration.
F. 
The Conservation Commission may, for good cause, revoke or modify a permit issued under this bylaw after public notice and public hearing, and notice to the permit holder.
G. 
The Conservation Commission, in an appropriate case, may combine the permit or other action on the permit application issued under this bylaw with the order of conditions or denial issued under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act.
H. 
No work proposed in any permit application shall be undertaken until the permit issued by the Conservation Commission with respect to such work has been recorded in the Registry of Deeds or, if the land affected is registered land, in the Registry Section of the Land Court for the district wherein the land lies, and until the holder of the permit certifies in writing to the Conservation Commission that the permit has been recorded.
A. 
After public notice and public hearing, the Conservation Commission may promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this bylaw. Failure by the Conservation Commission to promulgate such rules and regulations or a legal declaration of their validity by a court of law shall not act to suspend or invalidate the effect of this bylaw.
B. 
Until such rules and regulations are issued by the Conservation Commission, the rules and regulations of the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (310 CMR 10) shall be considered to apply to any permit applications or requests for determination filed under this bylaw.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 365, Wetlands Regulations.
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and implementation of this bylaw:
ALTER
Includes, without limitation, the following activities when undertaken to, upon, within or affecting resource areas protected by this bylaw:
A. 
Removal, excavation or dredging of soil, sand, gravel or aggregate material of any kind;
B. 
Changing of preexisting drainage characteristics, flushing characteristics, sedimentation patterns, flow patterns or flood retention characteristics;
C. 
Drainage or other disturbance of water level or water table;
D. 
Dumping, discharging or filling with any material which may degrade water quality;
E. 
Placing of fill, or removal of material, which would alter elevation;
F. 
Driving of piles, or construction or repair of buildings, or structures of any kind;
G. 
Placing of obstructions or objects in water;
H. 
Destruction of plant life, including cutting of trees. Compliance with the Massachusetts Forest Cutting Practices Act (MGL c. 132, §§ 40-46) does not relieve any person from compliance with this bylaw. For purposes of this bylaw, "destruction" shall mean uprooting, or cutting down below the leaf or needle region of the plant. It shall not be interpreted to mean periodic mowing or pruning. This provision of the bylaw shall apply to plant life greater than two inches in diameter at a distance of four feet above the ground;
I. 
Changing water temperature, biochemical oxygen demand or other physical, biological or chemical characteristics of water;
J. 
Any activities that may cause or contribute to pollution of any body of water or groundwater;
K. 
Incremental activities which have, or may have, a cumulative adverse impact on the resource areas protected by this bylaw.
BANK
Includes the land area which normally abuts and confines a water body.
PERSON
Includes any individual, group of individuals, business or social organization, association, partnership, corporation, company, business organization, trust, estate, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or political subdivision thereof, administrative agency, public or quasi-public corporation or body and any other legal entity, its legal representatives, agents or assigns.
RARE SPECIES
Includes, without limitation, all vertebrate and invertebrate animals 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.
SEASONAL WETLAND
Shall define areas subject to flooding which form temporary confined bodies of water during periods of high water table and high input from spring runoff or snow melt or heavy precipitation, and support populations of nontransient macro-organisms or serve as breeding habitat for select species of amphibians.
SELECT SPECIES OF AMPHIBIANS
Shall define species of amphibians which depend on seasonal wetlands for breeding habitat, including: mole salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum, A. jeffersonianum, A. laterale, and A. opacum); four-toed salamanders (Hemidactylium scutatum); eastern spadefoot toads (Scaphiopus holbrookii); American and Fowler's toads (Bufo a. americanus and B. woodhousii fowleri), spring peepers (Hyla c. crucifer); gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor), and wood frogs (Rana sylvatica).
VERNAL POOL
Includes a confined basin depression which, at least in most years, holds water for a minimum of two continuous months during the spring and/or summer, and which is free of adult fish populations, regardless of whether the site has been certified by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
As part of a permit issued under this bylaw, in addition to any security required by any other municipal or state board, agency or official, the Conservation Commission may require that the performance and observance of the conditions impose hereunder be secured wholly or in part by one or more of the methods described below:
A. 
By a proper bond or deposit of money or negotiable securities or other undertaking of financial responsibility sufficient in the opinion of the Conservation Commission;
B. 
By 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 Sturbridge, whereby the permit conditions shall be performed and observed before any lot may be conveyed other than by mortgage deed.
A. 
The Conservation Commission shall have the authority to enforce this bylaw, its rules and regulations and permits issued thereunder by violation notices, administrative orders and civil and criminal court actions.
B. 
Upon request of the Conservation Commission, the Board of Selectmen and the Town Counsel shall take legal action for enforcement under civil law.
C. 
Any person who violates any provisions of this bylaw, rules and regulations thereunder, or permits issued thereunder, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $300. Each day or portion thereof during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense, and each provision of the bylaw, rules and regulations and permit violated shall constitute a separate offense.
D. 
In the alternate to criminal prosecution, the Conservation Commission may elect to utilize the noncriminal disposition procedure set forth in MGL c. 40, § 21D and as set forth in Chapter 1, Article I of the Town bylaws.
The applicant for a permit shall have the burden of proof by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the work proposed in the application will not unacceptably alter the resource area values protected by this bylaw. Failure to provide adequate evidence to the Conservation Commission supporting this burden shall be sufficient cause for the Conservation Commission to deny a permit or grant a permit with conditions.
Any projects possessing a valid order of conditions issued under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act at the time of adoption of this bylaw shall not be subject to re-review under this bylaw. Any revisions to the projects after adoption of this bylaw that require an amended order of conditions will be subject to review under this bylaw.
The invalidity of any section or provision of this bylaw shall not invalidate any other section or provision thereof, nor shall it invalidate any permit or determination which previously has been issued.