Source: https://ecode360.com/9050902
Timestamp: 2019-02-18 18:39:06
Document Index: 180437243

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 139', 'Art. 17', '§ 40', '§ 40', '§ 40', '§ 40', '§ 139', '§ 139', '§ 40', '§ 40', '§ 21', '§ 40']

Town of Belchertown, MA Wetlands Protection
§ 139-2 Jurisdiction.
§ 139-3 Exceptions.
§ 139-4 Request for determination; application for permit.
§ 139-5 Public notice and hearings.
§ 139-6 Coordination with other boards.
§ 139-7 Determinations, permits and conditions.
§ 139-8 Regulations of the Conservation Commission.
§ 139-9 Definitions.
§ 139-10 Security.
§ 139-11 Right of entry; enforcement; violations and penalties.
§ 139-12 Burden of proof.
§ 139-13 Authority; relation to Wetlands Protection Act.
Chapter 139 Wetlands Protection
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting of the Town of Belchertown 5-13-1989 by Art. 17. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Wetlands (Conservation Commission regulations) — See Ch. 290.
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the wetlands, related water resources and adjoining land areas in the Town of Belchertown by controlling activities deemed by the Conservation Commission likely to have a significant or cumulative effect upon wetland values, including but not limited to the following:
Groundwater and groundwater quality.
Surface water and surface water quality.
Prevention of water pollution.
These values are to be known collectively as the "wetland values protected by this chapter."
Except as permitted by the Conservation Commission or as provided for in this chapter, no person shall remove, fill, dredge, build upon or alter the following resource areas or within 100 feet of these resource areas, an area known as the "buffer zone to the resource areas":
Any freshwater wetland as determined by vegetational community, soil composition and/or hydrologic regime, including isolated wetlands, any marsh, wet meadow, bog or swamp.
Any pond, lake, river and any perennial or intermittent stream.
Any land under such waters.
Any land subject to flooding or inundation by groundwater, water or storm flowage, including ephemeral ponds, vernal pools and kettle holes.
Where natural vegetation is absent as a result of mowing, grazing or disturbance, the hydric soil type indicated on United States Soil Conservation Service maps, supplemented by field investigation of hydric soil profiles and application of the Soil Conservation Service's definitions and criteria for hydric soils, shall provide positive determination of jurisdiction.
Existing public service structures or facilities.
The application and permit required by this chapter shall not be required for maintaining, repairing or replacing, but not substantially changing or enlarging, an existing or lawfully located structure or facility used in the service of the public to provide electric, gas, water, telephone, telegraph or other telecommunication services, sanitary sewers and storm sewers, provided that:
The structure or facility is not substantially changed or enlarged;
Written notice has been given to the Commission at least two working days prior to commencement of work; and
The work conforms to performance standards and design specifications in regulations adopted by the Commission.
This exception does not apply to septic systems, new or otherwise.
Emergency projects for protection of the public.
The application and permit required by this chapter shall not apply to emergency projects necessary for the protection of the health or safety of the public, provided that:
The work is to be performed by or has been ordered to be performed by an agency of the commonwealth or a political subdivision thereof;
Advance written notice, or oral followed by written, has been given to the Commission prior to commencement of work or within 24 hours after commencement;
The Conservation Commission or its agent certifies the work as an emergency project;
The work is performed only for the time and place certified by the Conservation Commission for the limited purposes necessary to abate the emergency; and
Within 21 days of commencement of an emergency project, either a permit application shall be filed with the Commission for review as provided in this chapter or an as-built plan shall be filed with the Commission, whereupon the Commission may, after notice and public hearing, require restoration, project modification and mitigation measures to protect the values stated in this chapter.
Normal and continuing agricultural projects. The application and permit required by this chapter shall not be required for work performed for the normal maintenance or improvement of lands in lawful, active agricultural use, provided that no further encroachment into areas subject to this chapter occurs without prior review and permission by the Commission.
Requests. Any person desiring to know whether or not a proposed activity or an area is subject to this chapter may request, in writing, a determination from the Commission. Such a request for determination shall contain data and plans specified by the regulations of the Commission. The rendering of determinations may be deferred, at the discretion of the Commission, during periods of snow cover. The Commission, in an appropriate case, may accept as the request under this chapter the request for determination of applicability filed under the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40.
Applications. Written application shall be filed with the Commission to perform activities regulated by this chapter and which affect resource areas protected by this chapter. The application shall include such information and plans as are deemed necessary by the Commission to describe proposed activities and their effects on the environment. The application shall include a complete and accurate description of the site, including the type and boundaries of resource areas, the proposed work and the potential for cumulative effects. No activities shall commence without receiving and complying with a permit issued pursuant to this chapter.
For any proposed construction, including but not limited to subdivisions, that will require the regrading or excavation of land, other than that required for the construction of one single-family residence or an accessory structure thereto, the applicant shall submit a mapped and written description of measures to be taken to manage stormwater and control erosion and sedimentation both during and after construction.
The Commission, in an appropriate case, may accept as the application and plans required under this chapter the notice of intent and plans filed under the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40.
Fees and costs. At the time of a request or application, the applicant shall pay a filing fee specified in regulations of the Commission. This fee is in addition to that required by the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40.
Failure to pay the filing fee shall be sufficient grounds to deny the application or request.
The Commission may waive the filing fee and costs and expenses for an application or request filed by the Town of Belchertown or by a government agency and may waive the filing fee for a request for determination filed by a person having no financial connection with the property which is the subject of the request.
A request or an application with the required filing fee shall be hand delivered or sent by certified mail to the Commission. When a person requesting a determination is other than the owner, the request shall also be sent to the owner by the applicant. The notice of the hearing and the determination itself shall be sent by the Commission to the owner as well as to the person making the request. The notice shall state where the request or application, including any accompanying documents, may be examined.
The Commission shall conduct a public hearing on any request for determination or application for a permit, with written legal notice given at the expense of the applicant five days prior to the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Belchertown. The Commission, in an appropriate case, may combine its hearing under this chapter with the hearing conducted under the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40.
The Commission shall commence the public hearing within 21 days from receipt of a completed application or request for determination, unless the applicant extends the twenty-one-day period by a signed written waiver.
The Commission shall have authority to continue the hearing to a date certain announced at the hearing or to an unspecified date, for reasons stated at the hearing, which may include the receipt of additional information offered by the applicant or others, information and plans required of the applicant, deemed necessary by the Commission in its discretion, or comments and recommendations of boards and officials listed in § 139-6. If a date for continuation is not specified, the hearing shall reconvene within 21 days after the submission of a specified piece of information or the occurrence of a specified action. The date, time and place of said continued hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Belchertown, and written notice shall be sent to any person at the hearing who so requests in writing.
The Commission, its agent, officers and employees, may enter upon the land for which a request or application has been made, upon which the proposed work is to be done, for the purpose of carrying out its duties under this chapter and may make or cause to be made such examination, sampling or survey as is deemed necessary.
The Commission shall issue its determination or permit, in writing, within 21 days of the close of the public hearing thereon.
Any person filing a request for determination or an application for a permit with the Commission shall provide a copy thereof at the same time to the Planning Board, Board of Health and Building Inspector. The Commission shall not take final action until such boards and officials have had 14 days from receipt of notice of the filing to submit written comments and recommendations to the Commission, which the Commission shall take into account but which shall not be binding on the Commission. Any notice which has not been responded to within 14 days of proper filing shall be deemed to have been satisfactory with respect to the concerns of that board.
The applicant shall have the right to receive any such comments and recommendations and to respond to them at a hearing of the Commission prior to final action.
The Commission shall have the authority, after a public hearing, to determine whether a specific parcel of land contains or does not contain resource areas protected under this chapter and shall have the authority to determine whether proposed activities will adversely affect those resource areas or the buffer zone. If the Commission finds that no such resource areas are present, it shall issue a negative determination. If the Commission finds that the proposed activities will not adversely affect any area under jurisdiction, the Commission may issue a negative determination.
If the Commission, after a public hearing on the permit application, determines that the activities which are the subject of the application are likely to have a significant or cumulative effect upon the wetland values protected by this chapter, the Commission, within 21 days of the close of the hearing, shall issue a permit or denial for the activities requested. If it issues a permit, the Commission shall impose conditions which the Commission deems necessary or desirable to protect those values, and all activities thus permitted shall be done in accordance with those conditions.
Failure to meet the requirements of this chapter;
Failure to avoid or prevent unacceptable significant or cumulative effects upon the wetland values protected by this chapter;
Failure to submit necessary information and plans requested by the Commission;
Failure to meet the design specifications, performance standards and other requirements in regulations of the Commission; and
Where no conditions are adequate to protect those values.
A permit shall expire three years from the date of issuance. Notwithstanding the above, the Commission, in its discretion, may issue a permit expiring five years from the date of issuance for recurring or continuous maintenance work, provided that annual notification of time and location of work is given to the Commission. Any permit may be renewed once for an additional one-year period, provided that a request for a renewal is received, in writing, by the Commission prior to expiration.
For good cause, the Commission may revoke or amend a permit issued under this chapter after public notice and public hearing and notice to the holder of the permit.
The Commission, in an appropriate case, may combine the permit or other action on an application issued under this chapter with the order of conditions issued under the Wetlands Protection Act.
§ 139-8 Regulations of the Conservation Commission. [1]
After public notice and public hearing, the Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. Where these regulations define key terms in this chapter, such definitions must not be inconsistent with this chapter. The Commission may amend the rules and regulations after public notice and public hearing about the intention to alter said rules and regulations.
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 chapter.
Unless otherwise stated in this chapter or in the rules and regulations promulgated under this chapter, the definitions, procedures and performance standards of the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40 and associated regulations, 310 CMR 10.00, shall apply.
Editor's Note: See Ch. 290, Wetlands.
Removal, excavation or dredging of soil, sand, gravel, clay, minerals or aggregate materials of any kind.
Changing of preexisting drainage characteristics, flushing characteristics, salinity distribution, sedimentation patterns, flow patterns or flood-retention characteristics.
Drainage or other disturbance of water level or water table.
Driving of piles, erection or repair of buildings or structures of any kind.
Changing water temperature, biochemical oxygen demand or other physical, chemical or biological characteristics of surface and ground water.
Excavation for the purpose of percolation or deep hole testing or the crossing of a resource area with heavy equipment for this purpose.
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, this municipality and any other legal entity, its legal representatives, agents or assigns.
As part of a permit issued under this chapter, in addition to any security required by any other municipal or state board, agency or official, the Commission may require that the performance and observance of the conditions imposed hereunder be secured wholly or in part by a proper bond or deposit of money or negotiable securities or other undertaking of financial responsibility sufficient in the opinion of the Commission.
In addition or in the alternative, the Commission may accept as security a conservation restriction, easement or other covenant enforceable in a court of law, executed and duly recorded by the owner of record, running with the land to the benefit of this municipality and observed before any lot may be conveyed other than by mortgage deed.
The Commission, its agents, officers and employees shall have the authority to enter upon privately owned land for the purpose of performing their duties under this chapter and may make or cause to be made such examinations, surveys or sampling as the Commission deems necessary.
The Commission shall have authority to enforce this chapter, its regulations and permits issued thereunder by violation notices, administrative orders and civil and criminal court actions. Upon request of the Commission, the Board of Selectmen and the Town Counsel shall take legal action for enforcement of this chapter under civil law. The Conservation Commission shall take legal action for enforcement under criminal law. Municipal boards and officers, including any police officer or other officer having police powers, shall have authority to assist the Commission enforcement.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, including any causing, suffering or allowing of illegal work, any failure or refusal to comply with an enforcement order, violation notice or administrative order and any failure or refusal to remove illegal fill, restore property or obtain necessary Commission approval, or any person who violates the permits issued thereunder, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $300. Each day or portion thereof during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense, and each provision of the chapter, regulations or permit violated shall constitute a separate offense. This fine may be in addition to any levied under the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40.
In the alternative the criminal prosecution, the Commission may elect to utilize the noncriminal disposition procedure set forth in MGL c. 40, § 21D. The fine for any violation disposed of through this procedure shall be $50 for a first offense and $100 for a second offense or failure to recognize a ticket. Each day or portion thereof during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. This fine may be in addition to any levied under the Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40. For purposes of noncriminal disposition, the Conservation Commissioners or staff shall be the enforcing persons.[1]
The applicant for a permit shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the work proposed in the application will not have unacceptable significant or cumulative effect upon the wetland values protected by this chapter. Failure to provide adequate evidence to the Commission supporting this burden shall be sufficient cause for the Commission to deny a permit or grant a permit with conditions.