A.
When the Commission allows work to be performed in any area subject
to its review, it shall require the work to meet certain performance
standards. Performance standards are intended to identify the standard
of care to which the applicant must adhere in order to reduce the
risk of harm to the interests protected under the Sherborn General
Wetlands Bylaw and these Regulations.
B.
The Commission, at its discretion, may conclude based on specifics
of the proposed alteration, the existing site conditions, etc., that
the project will not result in significant adverse effects to the
interests protected under the Sherborn General Wetlands Bylaw[1] and these Regulations, and that the thresholds for the
performance standards set out below have been met. Performance standards
vary according to the resource area affected. The Commission may employ
the performance standards contained in 310 CMR 10.00, with the following
amplifications.
Any proposed work subject to these Regulations must have no
significant adverse effect, immediate or cumulative, on the interests
defined in these Regulations or on the ability of resource areas and
buffer zones to function to protect those interests.
Because of its proximity to a resource area, any activity within 50 feet horizontally outward from the upland edge of a resource area ("inner buffer zone"), has a higher potential to cause adverse effects on the interests identified in § 410-1.2, particularly protection of water quality and quantity. Therefore, it is presumed that any alteration in the no-alteration zone will result in adverse effects to the interests protected by the Sherborn General Wetlands Bylaw and these Regulations. To overcome this presumption, the applicant must specifically demonstrate by a preponderance of credible evidence that the project activities will not significantly:
A.
Result in erosion and sedimentation into adjacent wetlands and water
bodies;
B.
Alter shading to adjacent wetlands and water bodies and water temperature
regimes;
C.
Reduce input of leaf litter and woody debris to adjacent wetlands
and water bodies;
D.
Reduce the capacity of the buffer zone to detain, filter and infiltrate
runoff;
E.
Reduce the capacity of adjacent wetlands and water bodies to support
wildlife (through the provision of essential upland habitat characteristics
required by wildlife utilizing the adjacent wetlands or water bodies);
or
F.
Create barriers to movement of wildlife through the buffer zone or
from one wetland to another;
G.
Alter vegetation, plant community structure, and/or plant species
composition unless as part of a permitted mitigation effort;
H.
Alter surface and subsurface hydrology as measured by alterations
to:
I.
Alter physical and/or chemical soil properties;
J.
Alter edge effects;
K.
Result in increased loading or runoff of contaminants (e.g., pesticides
and road runoff) or nutrients.
A.
All fill used in connection with any project under the jurisdiction
of the Commission will be clean fill, containing no garbage, refuse,
rubbish, industrial or commercial or municipal fill or waste, demolition
debris, or septic sludge, including, but not limited to, lumber, wood,
stumps, plaster, wire, rubbish, pipes, lathe, paper, cardboard, glass,
metal, tires, ashes, appliances, motor vehicles or parts of any of
the foregoing. No fill containing levels of oil or hazardous materials
above GW-1/S-1 Method 1 Standards, as described in the Massachusetts
Contingency Plan (MCP) environmental regulations, as revised, will
be used in connection with any project under the jurisdiction of the
Commission.
B.
The source of any fill will be made known in writing to a member
of the Commission at least one week prior to placement at the site.
All environmental reports and results of chemical testing of such
fill will be filed with the Commission at this time. The Commission
reserves the right to require specific additional chemical testing
of fill by a third party, at the applicant's expense, prior to placement
at the site.
C.
Every 18 inches of vertical fill thickness used on-site will be compacted
by at least five passes of a bulldozer or equivalently weighted machine.
No stumps, trees, or branches generated during land clearing
are to be buried on the site. The Commission may require that applicants
submit original transport bills of lading indicating off-site transport
of stumps, signed by the hauler and receiver of the material.
No discharge from swimming pools, water filtration systems,
water softening systems, or the pumping out of basements is permitted
into abandoned wells or cisterns, or any areas protected by these
Regulations without a negative determination or an order of conditions
specifically allowing such activity.
