The purpose of this Groundwater Protection District
is to:
A. Promote the health, safety and general welfare of
this community by ensuring an adequate quality and quantity of drinking
water for the residents, institutions and businesses of the Town of
Georgetown.
B. Preserve and protect existing and potential sources
of drinking water supplies.
C. Conserve the natural resources of the Town.
D. Prevent temporary and permanent contamination of the
environment.
The Groundwater Protection District is an overlay
district superimposed on the zoning districts. This overlay district
shall apply to all new construction, reconstruction or expansion of
existing buildings and new or expanded uses. Applicable activities
or uses which fall within the Groundwater Protection District must
comply with the requirements of this district as well as with the
underlying zoning. Uses that are prohibited in the underlying zoning
districts shall not be permitted in the Groundwater Protection District.
For the purposes of this Article, the following
words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
AQUIFER
A geologic formation composed of rock, sand or gravel that
contains significant amounts of potentially recoverable water.
GROUNDWATER PROTECTION DISTRICT
The zoning district defined to overlay other zoning districts
in the Town of Georgetown. The "Groundwater Protection District" may
include specifically designated recharge areas.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
Material or structure on, above or below the ground that
does not allow precipitation or surface water to penetrate directly
into the soil.
MINING
The removal or relocation of geologic materials such as topsoil,
sand, gravel, metallic ores or bedrock.
RECHARGE AREAS
Areas that collect precipitation of surface water and carry
it to aquifers. Recharged areas may include areas designated as Zone
I, Zone II or Zone III.
TOXIC OR HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
Any substance or mixture of physical, chemical or infectious
characteristic, posing a significant, actual or potential hazard to
water supplies or other hazards to human health if such substance
or mixture were discharged to land or water of the Town of Georgetown.
"Toxic or hazardous materials" include, without limitation, synthetic
organic chemicals, petroleum products, heavy metals, radioactive or
infectious wastes, acids and alkalis and all substances defined as
toxic or hazardous under MGL C. 21C and 21E and 310 CMR 30.00, and
also include such products as solvents and thinners in quantities
greater than normal household use.
[Amended 11-14-2016 STM, Art. 7 (Amdt. No. 185)]
For the purposes of this district, there are hereby established
within the Town certain groundwater protection areas, consisting of
aquifers or recharge areas which are delineated on a map, entitled,
"Groundwater Protection Districts" dated June 2016, drawn at a scale
of one inch to 1,000 feet. This map is hereby made a part of this
chapter and is on file in the offices of the Town Clerk and the Planning
Board.
In the Groundwater Protection District the following
use regulations shall apply:
A. Permitted uses. The following uses are permitted within
the Groundwater Protection District, provided that all necessary permits,
orders or approvals required by local, state or federal law are also
obtained:
(1) Conservation of soil, water, plants and wildlife.
(2) Outdoor recreation, nature study, boating, fishing
and hunting where otherwise legally permitted.
(3) Foot, bicycle and/or horse paths and bridges.
(4) Normal operation and maintenance of existing water
bodies and dams, splash boards and other water control supply and
conservation devices.
(5) Maintenance, repair and enlargement of any existing structure subject to Subsection
B (prohibited uses) and Subsection
C (special permitted uses).
(6) Residential development subject to Subsection
B (prohibited uses) and Subsection
C (special permitted uses).
(7) Farming, gardening, nursery, conservation, forestry, harvesting and grazing subject to Subsection
B (prohibited uses) and Subsection
C (special permitted uses).
(8) Construction, maintenance, repair and enlargement
of drinking water supply related facilities, such as but not limited
to wells, pipelines, aqueducts and tunnels. Underground storage tanks
related to these activities are not categorically permitted.
B. Prohibited uses. The following uses are prohibited:
(1) Landfills and open dumps as defined in 310 CMR 19.006.
(2) Storage of liquid petroleum products, except the following:
(a)
Normal household use, outdoor maintenance and
heating of a structure;
(b)
Waste oil retention facilities required by statute,
rule or regulation;
(c)
Emergency generators required by statute, rule
or regulation;
(d)
Treatment works approved under 314 CMR 5.00 for treatment of groundwater or surface waters; provided that storage, listed in Subsection
B(2)(a) through
(d) above, is in freestanding containers within buildings or aboveground with secondary containment adequate to contain a spill the size of the container's total storage capacity.
(3) Landfilling of sludge or septage as defined in 310
CMR 32.05.
(4) Storage of sludge and septage, unless such storage
is in compliance with 310 CMR 32.30 and 310 CMR 32.31.
(5) Individual sewage disposal systems that are designed in accordance with 310 CMR 15.00 to receive more than 110 gallons of sewage per quarter acre under one ownership per day or 440 gallons of sewage on any one acre under one ownership per day, whichever is greater, except the replacement or repair of an existing system that will not result in an increase in design capacity above the original design. The required area shall consist of continuous buildable area (CBA) as defined in §
165-7 of this chapter.
[Amended 11-13-1995 STM, Art. 8 (Amdt. No. 97)]
(6) Storage of deicing chemicals unless such storage,
including loading areas, is within a structure designed to prevent
the generation and escape of contaminated runoff or leachate.
(7) Storage of animal manure unless covered or contained.
(8) Earth removal consisting of the removal of soil, loam,
sand, gravel or any other earth material (including mining activities)
to within six feet of historical high groundwater as determined from
monitoring wells and historical water table fluctuation data compiled
by the United States Geological Survey, except for excavations for
building foundations, roads or utility works.
(9) Facilities that generate, treat, store or dispose
of hazardous waste subject to MGL C. 21C and 310 CMR 30.00, except
the following:
(a)
Very small quantity generators as defined under
310 CMR 30.00.
(b)
Household hazardous waste collection centers
and events under 310 CMR 30. 390.
(c)
Waste oil retention facilities required by MGL
C. 21, § 52A.
(d)
Water remediation treatment works approved under
314 CMR 5.00.
(10)
Automobile graveyards and junkyards as defined
in MGL C. 14DB, § 1.
(11)
Treatment works that are subject to 314 CMR
5.00, including privately owned sewage treatment facilities, except
the following:
(a)
The replacement or repair of an existing treatment
works that will not result in a design capacity greater than the design
capacity of the existing works.
(b)
The replacement of existing subsurface sewage
disposal system(s) with wastewater treatment works that will not result
in a design capacity greater than the design capacity of the existing
system(s).
(c)
Treatment works approved by the Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection designed for the treatment
of contaminated groundwater.
(12)
Storage of liquid hazardous materials, as defined
in MGL C. 21E, unless in a freestanding container within a building
or aboveground with secondary containment adequate to contain a spill
the size of the container's total storage capacity.
(13)
Industrial and commercial uses which discharge
process wastewater on site.
(14)
Stockpiling and disposal of snow and ice containing
deicing chemicals if brought in from outside the district.
(15)
Storage of commercial fertilizers and soil conditioners,
as defined in MGL C. 128, § 64, unless such storage is within
a structure designated to prevent the generation and escape of contaminated
runoff or leachate.
(16)
The use of septic system cleaners which contain
toxic or hazardous chemicals.
C. Uses and activities requiring a special permit. The
following uses and activities are permitted only upon the issuance
of a special permit by the special permit granting authority (SPGA)
under such conditions as they may require:
(1) Enlargement or alteration of existing uses that do
not conform to the Groundwater Protection District.
(2) The application of pesticides, including herbicide,
insecticides, fungicides and rodenticides, for nondomestic or nonagricultural
uses in accordance with state and federal standards. The special permit
shall be granted if such standards are met. If applicable, the applicant
should provide documentation of compliance with a Yearly Operating
Plan (YOP) for vegetation management operations under 333 CMR 11.00
or a Department of Food and Agriculture approved Pesticide Management
Plan or Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program under 333 CMR 12.00.
(3) Application of fertilizers for nondomestic or nonagricultural
uses. Such applications shall be made in a manner so as to minimize
adverse impacts on groundwater due to nutrient transport, deposition
and sedimentation.
(4) Those activities that involve the handling of toxic or hazardous materials in quantities greater than those associated with normal household use, permitted in the underlying zoning (except as prohibited under Subsection
B). Such activities shall require a special permit to prevent contamination of groundwater.
(5) The construction of dams or other water control devices,
ponds, pools or other changes in water bodies or watercourses, created
for swimming, fishing or other recreational uses, agricultural uses
or drainage improvements. Such activities shall not adversely affect
water quality or quantity.
(6) Any use that will render impervious more than 15%
or 2,500 square feet of any lot, whichever is greater. A system for
groundwater recharge must be provided which does not degrade groundwater
quality. For nonresidential uses, recharge shall be by stormwater
infiltration basins or similar system covered with natural vegetation,
and dry wells shall be used only where other methods are infeasible.
For all nonresidential uses, all such basins and wells shall be preceded
by oil, grease and sediment traps to facilitate removal of contamination.
Any and all recharge areas shall be permanently maintained in full
working order by the owner.
A determination that any portion or provision
of this overlay protection district is invalid shall not invalidate
any other portion or provision thereof, nor shall it invalidate any
special permit previously issued thereunder.