[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Newington as
indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-23-1973 (§§ 6-16 to
6-23 of the 1974 Code)]
The Town Council does hereby authorize the Conservation Commission of
the Town to act as the agency responsible for regulating activities that affect
the inland wetlands and watercourses of the Town, pursuant to the provisions
of Public Act No. 155 of the 1972 Session of the Connecticut General Assembly,
C.G.S. § 22a-37 et seq.
The Conservation Commission shall develop and adopt, subject to the
approval of the Town Council, regulations protecting and preserving inland
wetlands and watercourses within the Town in accordance with Public Act No.
155.
The Conservation Commission shall hold a public hearing prior to the
adoption or subsequent amendment of such regulations. Notice of the time and
place of such hearing shall be published in a newspaper having a substantial
circulation in the Town not more than 15 days and not less than five days
prior to the date of such hearing, and a copy of the proposed regulations
or amendments shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk not less than
35 days prior to the date of such hearing. The Conservation Commission shall
not adopt any regulations or amendments thereto unless such regulations or
amendments have first been approved by a majority vote of the Town Council.
Following approval by the Town Council, the regulations or any amendment thereto
shall become effective at such time as is fixed by the Conservation Commission,
provided that a copy of the regulations and any amendments shall be filed
in the office of the Town Clerk and notice of the adoption of the regulations
and amendments shall have been published in a newspaper having a substantial
circulation in the Town.
Not less than 35 days prior to the public hearing, a copy of the regulations
or amendments thereto shall be referred to the Town Council, the Plan and
Zoning Commission and the State Department of Environmental Protection for
review and comment.
The Conservation Commission shall administer the regulations under authority
provided by Public Act No. 155, provided that no area shall be designated
as a wetland or a watercourse to be regulated under said public act until
such designation has been approved by a majority vote of the Town Plan and
Zoning Commission.
[Added 4-28-1987[1]]
The seven members of the Conservation Commission shall have staggered
terms of four years. Four members shall have terms expiring November 30 in
an odd-numbered year and three members shall have terms expiring November
30 in an odd-numbered year occurring two years thereafter.
[Added 4-28-1987[1]]
The three alternate members of the Conservation Commission shall have
staggered terms of four years. Two alternates shall have terms expiring November
30 in an odd-numbered year, and one member shall have a term expiring November
30 in an odd-numbered year occurring two years thereafter.
[Added 11-15-1994]
The Town Council shall act as the Municipal Flood and Erosion Control
Board and shall have all the powers and duties as enumerated in Title 25,
Chapter 477, Part II, §§ 25-84 through 25-94 of the Connecticut
General Statutes, as amended from time to time.
[Adopted 9-24-2002 by Ord. No. 0103-2]
A.
Pursuant to C.G.S. § 22a-42g, as amended by
Public Act No. 96-269, the Town of Newington adopts this article for the purpose
of establishing penalties for violations of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses
Regulations of the Town of Newington, which were adopted under C.G.S. § 22a-42
et seq., as amended.
B.
The inland wetlands and watercourses of the State of
Connecticut are an indispensable and irreplaceable but fragile natural resource
with which the citizens of the state have been endowed. The preservation and
protection of wetlands and watercourses from random, unnecessary, undesirable
and unregulated uses, disturbance or destruction is in the public interest
and is essential to the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of the
state.
A.
The Administrative Officer of the Newington Conservation
Commission, or his agent, shall issue a written notice to any person who violates
any provision of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Regulations of the Town
of Newington. No written notice may be issued against the state or any state
official or employee acting within the scope of his employment. Such written
notice shall explain the nature of the violation and the steps required for
compliance and shall allow a seventy-two-hour period within which to correct
the violation or within which a written plan for correction shall be submitted
to the Administrative Officer of the Newington Conservation Commission, or
his agent, setting forth a reasonable time period for correction of the violation
as agreed upon by the Administrative Officer of the Newington Conservation
Commission, or his agent. A written notice issued pursuant to this subsection
shall be served: 1) by hand delivery, at which time the seventy-two-hour period
shall begin; or 2) by certified mail, return receipt requested, and by regular
first class mail. Three business days shall be allowed for mail delivery of
the notice prior to the commencement of the seventy-two-hour period.
B.
Within two business days after the period for correction established in Subsection A expires, the Administrative Officer of the Newington Conservation Commission or his agent shall reinspect the subject property to determine compliance.
C.
If the violations set forth in the written notice have
not been corrected at the time of reinspection, such person as authorized
by the Town Manager in his capacity as chief executive officer shall issue
a citation and fine for each violation by hand; by certified mail, return
receipt requested; or by the Town Manager or his designee leaving a true and
attested copy of the citation at the usual place of abode or residence of
the person in violation; or in the case of a corporate or business entity,
delivery to the business address or the address of the statutory agent of
said entity. No such fine shall be levied against the state or any state official
or employee acting within the scope of his employment. All citations issued
pursuant to this section shall state the violation for which the citation
is being issued, the fine imposed for the violation, the time period within
which the fine must be paid, and an address for remittance of the fine. The
Newington Town Council shall periodically update the schedule of fines for
violations by way of resolution. The current fine for each violation shall
be as follows:
|
Nature of Violation
|
Amount of Civil Fine
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Carrying on activities without a permit, or carrying on activities not
authorized by a permit, in the upland review area, which do not pose an immediate
danger to a wetland or watercourse
|
$75
| |
|
Carrying on activities without a permit, or carrying on activities not
authorized by a permit, in the upland review area, which may pose an immediate
danger to a wetland or watercourse
|
$150
| |
|
Carrying on activities without a permit, or carrying on activities not
authorized by a permit, in a wetland or watercourse, which cause limited and/or
correctable damage to the wetland or watercourse
|
$200
| |
|
Excavating in, filling or draining of any portion of a wetland or watercourse,
without a permit
|
$750
| |
|
Carrying on activities without a permit, or carrying on activities not
authorized by a permit, which cause sediment to flow into any wetland or watercourse
or otherwise cause the pollution of any portion of a wetland or watercourse
|
$750
| |
|
Carrying on without a permit, or outside the authorization of a permit,
any regulated activities in a regulated area not listed above
|
$250
|
A.
Any violation for which a citation is issued and which is not corrected within the time period specified in § 427-10A shall be a new violation of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Regulations of the Town of Newington, and every twenty-four-hour period thereafter in which the violation is not corrected shall constitute a new violation. For repeated violations of the same provision of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Regulations by the same person, the agent authorized by the Town Manager to issue citations shall not be required to provide the violator with another written notice or correction period, and may immediately issue the citations and fines permitted by this article.
B.
The Administrative Officer of the Newington Conservation
Commission, or his agent, shall not be responsible for a daily reinspection.
Rather the person to whom the citation has been issued shall be responsible
for reporting subsequent compliance by way of written report to the Administrative
Officer of the Newington Conservation Commission or his agent. The Administrative
Officer of the Newington Conservation Commission, or his agent, shall reinspect
to confirm compliance within one business day of receipt of such report.
A.
All fines imposed under this article which are uncontested
shall be made payable to the Town of Newington and shall be received by the
Administrative Officer of the Newington Conservation Commission, or his agent,
within 10 business days from receipt of the citation. All fines collected
by the Administrative Officer of the Newington Conservation Commission, or
his agent, shall be directed to the Town Treasurer to be deposited into the
Town of Newington general fund.
The penalties established by this article shall not be exclusive of
any other enforcement remedy which may be imposed by the Newington Conservation
Commission, or its agent, for violations of the Inland Wetlands
and Watercourses Regulations of the Town of Newington, as authorized by any
state statute, Town ordinance, or the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Regulations
of the Town of Newington or any other penalty that may be imposed by any local,
state or federal agency.
