Subject to the provisions of Article
II and this article, regulated activities affecting inland wetlands and watercourses within the Town are prohibited except as they may be licensed by the Agency.
The Agency shall regulate only those activities
which include removing of material from, depositing material in, constructing,
obstructing or polluting a regulated area.
Copies of these regulations required for the
protection and preservation of inland wetlands and watercourses, and
erosion and sediment control of the Town of Wethersfield, Connecticut,
as well as permit applications, and the map of regulated areas entitled
"Official Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Map, Wethersfield, July
1986," shall be available for inspection in the offices of the Engineering
Division, Wethersfield Town Hall, Town of Wethersfield, Connecticut,
during normal business hours.
The Commissioner of Environmental Protection
shall regulate activities in or affecting wetlands or watercourses
subject to the following jurisdiction: any permit decision or order
issued by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall be binding
upon the Agency as to those matters within the jurisdiction of the
Commissioner of Environmental Protection. The Commissioner of Environmental
Protection shall have exclusive jurisdiction over regulated activities
and other activities in or affecting wetlands or watercourses undertaken
by any department, agency or instrumentality of the State of Connecticut,
except any local or regional board of education, pursuant to Section
22a-39 or 22a-45a of the Connecticut General Statutes.
A. Construction and modification of any dam, pursuant
to Sections 22a-401 and 22a-411 of the Connecticut General Statutes,
as amended.
B. Construction or placement of any obstruction within
stream channel encroachment lines, pursuant to Sections 22a-342 to
22a-349a of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
C. Construction or placement of any structure or obstruction
within tidal, coastal and navigable waters, pursuant to Sections 22a-359
to 22a-363 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
D. Diversion of water in excess of 50,000 gallons per
day or any surface waters of the state where the tributary watershed
area above the point of diversion is 100 acres larger pursuant to
Sections 22a-365 through 22a-378 of the Connecticut General Statutes,
as amended.
E. Discharges into waters of the state, pursuant to Section
22a-430 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
F. Discharges of fill or dredged materials into the wetlands
and watercourses of the state pursuant to Section 401 of the Federal
Clean Water Act, as amended, for activities regulated by the United
States Army Corps of Engineers under Section 404 of the Federal Clean
Water Act.
G. All regulated activities undertaken by any department,
agency or instrumentality of the State of Connecticut.
The Agency shall establish or amend area boundary
maps only in accordance with the procedures of Section 22a-42 of the
Connecticut General Statutes, as amended. Such maps are on file in
the office of the Engineering Division, and titled "Official Inland
Wetlands and Water Courses Map," dated July 1986.
Wetlands and watercourses are defined in §
A181-5 of these regulations:
A. If any person disputes the designation or failure
to designate any wetland or watercourse as a regulated area, such
person may be required to produce such information as the Agency deems
necessary to permit an informed decision.
B. To meet the burden of proof for wetlands exemption under Subsection
A, the petitioner may be directed to present documentation by a soil scientist that the wetland in question or a portion of it does not have a soil type classified by the National Cooperative Soils Survey as poorly drained, very poorly drained, alluvial, or floodplain.
C. To meet the burden of proof for exemption under Subsection
A of a swamp, bog or marsh, or regulated area, the petitioner may be directed to present documentation by a professional biologist, ecologist, hydrologist, or botanist, who is competent in plant identification or wetland ecology classification systems and/or geology and hydrology, that the area in question does not contain botanical species or hydrogeology or geologic condition as a swamp, bog or marsh.