Except as permitted by the Conservation Commission or as provided
in this bylaw, no person shall remove, fill, dredge, build upon, degrade,
discharge into, or otherwise alter the following wetland resource
areas: any freshwater wetland; marsh; wet meadow; bog; swamp; vernal
pool; bank; reservoir; lake; pond; river; creek; intermittent stream;
water within water bodies and land under water bodies; land subject
to flooding or inundation by groundwater, surface water, or storm
flowage; and the following lands abutting wetland resource areas:
land within 100 feet of any freshwater wetland, marsh, wet meadow,
bog, swamp, vernal pool, bank, reservoir, lake, pond or intermittent
stream (hereinafter, "buffer zone") subject to exceptions set forth
below; land within 200 feet of the mean annual high water line of
perennial rivers and streams (hereinafter, "riverfront area"); land
within 200 feet of any lake, pond, river or stream that is a public
water supply; and land within 200 feet of any lake or pond that is
a tributary to any public water supply (collectively, the "wetland
resource areas protected by this bylaw"). Said resource areas shall
be protected whether or not they border surface waters.
Upon receipt of a complete NOI, the Commission shall provide
a brief summary thereof, with information as to where the complete
NOI may be reviewed, to the Planning Board, Board of Health, and Building
Commissioner. If the NOI pertains to property within 300 feet of a
neighboring municipality, the Commission will also send a copy of
the same summary to the Conservation Commission of the neighboring
municipality.
After public notice and public hearing, the Commission may promulgate
rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this bylaw effective
when voted by the Commission and filed with the Town Clerk. The Commission
may amend the rules and regulations after public notice and public
hearing. Failure by the Commission to promulgate such rules and regulations
or a legal declaration of their invalidity by a court of law shall
not act to suspend or invalidate the effect of this bylaw.
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation
and implementation of this bylaw:
ALTER
Shall include, 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, clay,
minerals, or aggregate materials 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, erection or repair of buildings or structures
of any kind;
G.
Placing of obstructions or objects in water;
H.
Destruction of plant life, including cutting or clearing of
grasses, shrubs or trees;
I.
Changing temperature, biochemical oxygen demand, or other physical,
biological, or chemical characteristics of any waters;
J.
Any activities, changes, or work which may cause or tend to
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
Shall include the land area which normally abuts and confines
a water body; the lower boundary being the mean annual low flow level,
and the upper boundary being the first observable break in the slope
or the mean annual flood level, whichever is higher.
EXISTING
In the determination of buffer zone, shall mean existing
as of the date this bylaw becomes effective.
PERSON
Shall include any individual, group of individuals, association,
partnership, corporation, company, business organization, trust, estate,
the commonwealth or political subdivision thereof to the extent subject
to Town bylaws, administrative agency, public or quasi-public corporation
or body, Town of Dalton, and any other legal entity, its legal representatives,
agents, or assigns.
POND
Shall include any open body of fresh water with a surface
area observed or recorded within the last 10 years of at least 5,000
square feet. Ponds shall contain standing water except for periods
of extended drought. Not included are swimming pools, artificially
lined ponds or pools, or constructed wastewater lagoons. The buffer
zone for ponds shall extend 100 feet from mean annual high-water or
one-half the distance from existing house foundation, whichever is
smaller, but in no case shall the buffer zone include existing lawns,
gardens, landscaped or developed areas.
RARE SPECIES
Shall include, without limitation, all vertebrate and invertebrate
animal 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.
VERNAL POOL
Shall include, in addition to that already defined under
the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40, and Regulations
thereunder, 310 CMR 10.00, any confined basin or depression not occurring
in existing lawns, gardens, landscaped areas, or driveways which,
at least in most years, holds water for a minimum of two continuous
months during the spring and/or summer, contains at least 200 cubic
feet of water at some time during most years, is free of adult predatory
fish populations, and provides essential breeding and rearing habitat
functions for amphibian, reptile, or other vernal pool community species,
regardless of whether the site has been certified by the Massachusetts
Division of Wildlife and Fisheries. The presumption of essential habitat
value may be overcome by the presentation of credible evidence which
in the judgment of the Commission demonstrates that the basin or depression
does not provide the habitat functions as specified in the bylaw regulations.
The buffer zone for vernal pools shall extend 100 feet from the mean
annual high-water line defining the depression, or one-half of the
distance between the vernal pool and any existing house foundation,
whichever is smaller. In either case the buffer zone for vernal pools
shall not extend over existing lawns, gardens, landscaped or developed
areas.
The person who submits a NOI to the Commission shall have the
burden of proving by a preponderance of the credible evidence that
the work proposed in the NOI will not have unacceptable significant
or cumulative effect upon the resource area values protected by this
bylaw. Failure to provide adequate evidence to the Commission supporting
this burden shall be sufficient cause for the Commission to disapprove
proposed work or other activities or to approve proposed work or other
activities with strict conditions.
A decision of the Commission under this Wetlands Bylaw shall
be reviewable in the Superior Court in accordance with MGL c. 249,
§ 4.
This bylaw is adopted under the Home Rule Amendment of the Massachusetts
Constitution and the Home Rule statutes, independent of the Wetlands
Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and Regulations (310 CMR
10.00) thereunder. The provisions of this bylaw are intended to be
more stringent and more protective of the wetland resource areas and
associated values protected hereunder.