Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 310 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Title 310 CMR 10.00 - Wetlands Protection › Regulations for All Wetlands › Section 10.04 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Abutter
means the same as owner of
				  land abutting the activity.
Act
means the Wetlands Protection
				  Act, M.G.L. c. 131, § 40.
Activity
means any form of draining,
				  dumping, dredging, damming, discharging, excavating, filling or grading; the
				  erection, reconstruction or expansion of any buildings or structures; the
				  driving of pilings; the construction or improvement of roads and other ways;
				  the changing of run-off characteristics; the intercepting or diverging of
				  ground or surface water; the installation of drainage, sewage and water
				  systems; the discharging of pollutants; the destruction of plant life; and any
				  other changing of the physical characteristics of land.
Aggrieved
means the same as person
				  aggrieved.
Agriculture
. For the purposes of 310
				  CMR 10.04 the following words and phrases have the following meanings:
(a)
Land in Agricultural Use
means
				  land within resource areas or the Buffer Zone presently and primarily used in
				  producing or raising one or more of the following agricultural commodities for
				  commercial purposes:
1. animals, including but not limited to livestock, poultry,
				  and bees;
2. fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts, maple sap, and other
				  foods for human consumption;
3. feed, seed, forage, tobacco, flowers, sod, nursery or
				  greenhouse products, and ornamental plants or shrubs; and
4. forest products on land maintained in forest use,
				  including but not limited to biomass, sawlogs, and cordwood, but not including
				  the agricultural commodities described in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(a)1. through 3.
Additionally, land in agricultural use means land within
				  resource areas or the Buffer Zone presently and primarily used in a manner
				  related to, and customarily and necessarily used in, producing or raising such
				  commodities, including but not limited to: existing access roads and livestock
				  crossings; windbreaks; hedgerows; field edges; bee yards; sand pits; landings
				  for forest products; fence lines; water management projects such as reservoirs,
				  farm ponds, irrigation systems, field ditches, cross ditches, canals/channels,
				  grass waterways, dikes, sub-surface drainage systems, watering facilities,
				  water transport systems, and water storage systems; agricultural composting
				  sites; agricultural storage and work areas; and land under farm
				  structures.
Land in agricultural use may lie inactive for up to five
				  consecutive years unless it is under a United States Department of Agriculture
				  (USDA) contract for a longer term pursuant to the Conservation Reserves Program
				  (the Food Securities Act of 1985, as amended by the Food, Agriculture,
				  Conservation and Trade Act of 1990; and 7 CFR 1410) , or it is used for the
				  forestry purposes described in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(b)14. through 17. The issuing authority
				  may require appropriate documentation, such as a USDA Farm Plan or aerial
				  photography, to demonstrate agricultural use.
(b)
Normal Maintenance of Land in Agricultural
				  Use
, which in all cases does not include placing substantial
				  amounts of fill in Bordering Land Subject to Flooding or filling or dredging a
				  Salt Marsh, means the following activities, without enlargement as to
				  geographical extent, that are occurring on land in agricultural use, when
				  directly related to production or raising of the agricultural commodities
				  referenced in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(a), when
				  undertaken in such a manner as to prevent erosion and siltation of adjacent
				  water bodies and wetlands, and when conducted in accordance with federal and
				  state laws:
1. all crop management practices, not to include drainage in
				  a Bordering Vegetated Wetland, customarily employed to enhance existing growing
				  conditions, including but not limited to: tillage, trellising, pruning,
				  mulching, shading, and irrigating; and all customary harvesting practices such
				  as digging, picking, combining, threshing, windrowing, baling, curing, and
				  drying;
2. the use of fertilizers, manures, compost materials, and
				  other soil amendments; pesticides and herbicides; traps; and other such
				  materials;
3. the repair or replacement of existing access roads and
				  livestock crossings;
4. the maintenance of:
a. existing forest boundary lines up to five feet wide
				  limited to cutting vegetation within the existing boundary lines;
b. windbreaks;
c. hedgerows; and d. fire breaks on land maintained in forest
				  use and owned by the Metropolitan District Commission, the Department of
				  Environmental Management, or the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and
				  Environmental Law Enforcement;
5. the management of existing field edges, limited to within
				  100 feet from the land in production, including the following practices:
a. mowing;
b. burning;
c. brush cutting; and d. removing trees.
The management of any field edge that falls within a
				  Bordering Vegetated Wetland is not intended to allow the conversion of
				  Bordering Vegetated Wetland into cropland. Therefore, the field management
				  practices described in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(b)(5)a. through d. may occur in a Bordering Vegetated Wetland provided
				  that:
i. the cutting or removal of trees and understory vegetation
				  shall not occur within 25 feet of the bank of a water body that is not managed
				  within the land in production (field ditches, cross ditches, grass waterways,
				  irrigation systems, and farm ponds are examples of managed water bodies) unless
				  the trees or understory vegetation are removed to control alternative hosts but
				  no more than 50% of the canopy may be removed, or except to maintain existing
				  dikes;
ii. slash, branches, and limbs resulting from the cutting and
				  removal operations shall not be placed within 25 feet of the bank of a water
				  body that is not managed within the land in production; and iii. no tilling,
				  filling, excavation, or other change in the existing topography shall occur
				  within the field edge;
6. the maintenance and repair of existing fences and the
				  management of temporary fence lines;
7. the cleaning, clearing, grading, repairing, dredging, or
				  restoring of existing man-made or natural water management systems such as
				  reservoirs, farm ponds, irrigation systems,
field ditches, cross ditches, canals/channels, grass
				  waterways, dikes, sub-surface drainage systems, watering facilities, water
				  transport systems, vents, and water storage systems, all in order to provide
				  drainage, prevent erosion, provide more effective use of water, or provide for
				  efficient use of equipment, and all for the purpose of maintaining favorable
				  conditions for ongoing growing or raising of agricultural commodities;
8. the maintenance and repair of ongoing agricultural
				  composting sites, storage areas, and work areas and the storage of fertilizers,
				  pesticides, manures, compost materials, and other soil amendments, provided
				  that such storage occurs only in the Buffer Zone or Bordering Land Subject to
				  Flooding;
9. the repair and maintenance of existing farm
				  structures;
10. the seeding of eroded or disturbed areas;
11. maintaining the flow of existing natural
				  waterways;
12. the keeping of livestock and poultry and the management
				  of beehives;
13. the cultivation of cranberries, including the following
				  practices:
a. the activities described in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(b)1. through 11.;
b. the application of sand to existing bogs and the
				  excavation of sand from sand pits; c. the repair and reconstruction of water
				  control structures including flumes, pumps, dikes, and piping above and below
				  the ground;
d. the regrading, including modification of drainage, and
				  replanting of existing cranberry bogs;
e. the repair and replacement of dikes;
f. water harvesting activities; and g. flooding and flood
				  release;
14. the cutting and removal of trees for the purpose of
				  selling the trees or any products derived therefrom, when carried out in
				  accordance with a Forest Cutting Plan approved by the Department of
				  Environmental Management (DEM) under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 132,
				  §§ 40 through 46, and subject to the following:
a. the cutting and removal of trees within Bordering
				  Vegetated Wetland shall be limited to no more than 50% of the basal area of the
				  area to be cut and the work shall be conducted when the soil is frozen, dry or
				  otherwise stable to support the equipment used;
b. except for the construction or maintenance of access
				  described in 310 CMR 10.04(b)16., there shall be no filling, excavation, or
				  other change in topography or hydrology of resource areas;
c. all soils that are exposed during or after any work
				  described in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(b)14. shall
				  be stabilized to prevent the soils from eroding into Bordering Vegetated
				  Wetlands beyond the work area or into open water bodies, in accordance with the
				  Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices Manual;
d. the person claiming the exemption shall submit by
				  certified mail or hand delivery at the same time to the conservation commission
				  and the appropriate DEM Regional Office not less than ten days prior to the
				  commencement of the activity, a copy of the Forest Cutting Plan that describes
				  the proposed cutting and removal of trees and any activity within resource
				  areas or the Buffer Zone. The conservation commission shall have the
				  opportunity to comment to DEM on the plan;
e. landings for forest products shall not be located in
				  Bordering Vegetated Wetland or Bank; and f. any Forest Cutting Plan that is not
				  affirmatively approved by DEM under M.G.L. c. 132, §§ 40 through 46
				  but instead is deemed approved due to the expiration of some period of time
				  following the submittal of the plan to DEM for approval shall not be considered
				  "approved" by DEM for the purposes of 310 CMR 10.04.
15. notwithstanding the use of the words "for commercial
				  purposes" in the first sentence of 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(a), the cutting of trees within resource
				  areas and the Buffer Zone by owners for their own use, not to exceed 5,000
				  board feet or ten cords of wood during any 12 month period without an approved
				  Forest Cutting Plan or the cutting of trees within resources areas of greater
				  than 5,000 board feet or ten cords but less than 10,000 board feet or 20 cords
				  of wood during any 12 month period with an approved Forest Cutting Plan,
				  provided that:
a. after the cutting, the remaining trees in the resource
				  area (and the Buffer Zone,
if the activity is being conducted without an approved Forest
				  Cutting Plan) shall be evenly distributed throughout the area where cutting
				  occurred and the crown cover shall not be less than 50%. Crown cover is
				  determined as the percent of the ground's surface that would be covered by a
				  vertical projection of foliage from trees with a diameter at breast height of
				  five inches or greater, where minor gaps between branches are disregarded and
				  areas of overlapping foliage are counted only once;
b. the cutting and removal of trees shall occur only during
				  those periods when the ground is sufficiently frozen, dry, or otherwise stable
				  to support the equipment used;
c. the cutting, removal, or other destruction of trees and
				  understory vegetation without a Forest Cutting Plan shall not occur within 25
				  feet of the Bank, except for the purpose of providing access for the activities
				  described in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(b)15.;
d. the placement of slash, branches, and limbs resulting from
				  the cutting and removal operations shall not occur within 25 feet of
				  Bank;
e. no filling, excavation, or other change shall occur in the
				  existing topography or hydrology of a resource area;
f. landings for forest products shall not be located in
				  Bordering Vegetated Wetland or Bank; and g. any Forest Cutting Plan that is not
				  affirmatively approved by DEM under M.G.L. c. 132, §§ 40 through 46,
				  but instead is deemed approved due to the expiration of some period of time
				  following the submittal of the plan to DEM for approval shall not be considered
				  "approved" by DEM for the purposes of 310 CMR 10.04.
16. the construction of new temporary access or the
				  maintenance of existing legally constructed access for forestry activities
				  described in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(b)14. or 15.
				  provided that:
a. every practicable effort shall be made to avoid access,
				  including stream crossings, and the construction of landings through and in
				  resource areas;
b. where access, including stream crossings, through resource
				  areas cannot be avoided, every practicable effort shall be made to minimize
				  impacts resulting from construction of new access including, but not limited
				  to, maintaining and improving (but not enlarging) existing access. Activities
				  shall be conducted when the soil is frozen, dry, or otherwise stable to support
				  the equipment used;
c. where DEM has determined through its review and approval
				  of the Forest Cutting Plan that access is impracticable without constructing
				  new access or stream crossings:
i. access shall be designed, constructed, and maintained in
				  accordance with the Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices
				  Manual;
ii. stream crossings shall be stabilized to prevent erosion
				  using methods described in the Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices
				  Manual. When crossings involve fill, culverts or other structures that will
				  obstruct flow, they shall be designed, constructed, and maintained in
				  accordance with the Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices Manual to
				  allow the unobstructed passage of existing flows for at least the 25 year
				  storm;
iii. access or stream crossings shall be removed within one
				  year of completion of the work described in the approved Forest Cutting
				  Plan;
iv. following removal of access, the topography and site
				  conditions shall be substantially restored to allow pre-existing vegetation to
				  be reestablished; and v. activities shall be conducted when the soil is frozen,
				  dry, or otherwise stable to support the equipment used.
17. non-harvest management practices for forest products on
				  land maintained in forest use limited to pruning, pre-commercial thinning or
				  planting of tree seedlings.
(c)
Normal Improvement of Land in Agricultural
				  Use
, which in all cases does not include filling or dredging a
				  Salt Marsh, includes but is not limited to:
1. the following activities when they occur on land in
				  agricultural use or when they occur within the Buffer Zone or Bordering Land
				  Subject to Flooding that is not land in agricultural use, when they are
				  directly related to production or raising of the agricultural commodities
				  referenced in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(a), and when
				  they are undertaken in such a manner as to prevent erosion and siltation of
				  adjacent water bodies and wetlands and the activity is conducted in accordance
				  with federal and state laws:
a. the installation of permanent fencing, windbreaks,
				  hedgerows, or the cutting of vegetation to create forest boundaries up to five
				  feet wide;
b. the installation of dikes within a cranberry bog;
c. the construction of farm structures, not including
				  habitable dwellings, provided that the footprint of the farm structure does not
				  exceed 4,000 square feet and no filling of Bordering Land Subject to Flooding
				  occurs beyond the footprint of the building;
d. the squaring-off of fields and bogs, provided that the
				  activity does not alter a Bordering Vegetated Wetland, there is no increase in
				  the amount of land in production beyond the minimum increase necessarily
				  resulting from making the boundary of any field or bog more regular, and no
				  fill is placed within Bordering Land Subject to Flooding;
e. the construction of by-pass canals/channels and tail water
				  recovery systems;
f. a change in commodity other than from maple sap production
				  or forest products to any other commodity, provided that there is no filling of
				  Bordering Vegetated Wetland and drainage ditches or the subsurface drainage
				  system are not increased or enlarged;
g. the construction of a water management system such as a
				  reservoir, farm pond, irrigation system, field ditch, cross ditch,
				  canal/channel, grass waterway, dike, sub-surface drainage system, watering
				  facility, water transport system, vent, or water storage system, or of a
				  livestock access; and h. the construction of composting and storage areas.
For the activities described in 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(c)(1)d. through h. there shall be no net
				  loss of flood storage capacity; and
2. the reconstruction of existing dikes, the reconstruction
				  and expansion of existing ponds and reservoirs, and the construction of
				  tailwater recovery ponds and by-pass canals/channels occurring partly or
				  entirely within a Bordering Vegetated Wetland, when directly related to
				  production or raising of the agricultural commodities referenced in 310 CMR
				  10.04:
Agriculture
(a), in accordance with the
				  following:
a. Prior to performing the work, the person claiming the
				  exemption shall submit to the conservation commission for its review at a
				  public meeting that portion of a certified farm Conservation Plan (CP) which
				  relates to the work to be conducted in a Bordering Vegetated Wetland. The CP
				  must be prepared in cooperation with the U.S.D.A. Natural Resource Conservation
				  Service (NRCS), Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department and
				  NRCS concerning CPs;
b. The conservation commission may, within 21 days of
				  receiving the CP, provide the person claiming the exemption with written
				  notification containing specific comments detailing the manner in which the CP
				  has not been prepared in compliance with the terms of the MOU;
c. The person claiming the exemption shall provide SCS with a
				  complete copy of the notification;
d. All revisions to the CP that relate to the delineation of
				  Bordering Vegetated Wetlands shall be submitted to the conservation commission
				  in accordance with 310 CMR 10.04:
Agriculture
(c)2.;
e. All work shall be done in accordance with the CP; and f.
				  The maximum amount of Bordering Vegetated Wetland which may be altered by the
				  above activities is:
i. 5,000 square feet for reconstruction of an existing
				  dike;
ii. 10,000 square feet for expansion of an existing pond or
				  reservoir;
iii. 10,000 square feet for construction of a tailwater
				  recovery pond; and iv. 5,000 square feet for construction of a by-pass
				  canal/channel.
Alter
means to change the condition
				  of any Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. Examples of
				  alterations include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) the changing of pre-existing drainage characteristics,
				  flushing characteristics, salinity distribution, sedimentation patterns, flow
				  patterns and flood retention areas;
(b) the lowering of the water level or water table;
(c) the destruction of vegetation;
(d) the changing of water temperature, biochemical oxygen
				  demand (BOD), and other physical, biological or chemical characteristics of the
				  receiving water.
Provided, that when the provisions of
				  310 CMR 10.03(6)
				   and
				  10.05(3)
				   or
				  333 CMR 11.03(9)
				   have been met, the application of herbicides
				  in the Buffer Zone in accordance with such plans as are required by the
				  Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to
				  333 CMR
				  11.00:
Right of Way Management
,
				  effective July 10, 1987, is not an alteration of any Area Subject to Protection
				  under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40.
Applicant
means any person who files
				  a Notice of Intent, or on whose behalf such a notice is filed.
Aquaculture
.
(a)
Land in Aquacultural Use
means
				  land presently and primarily used in the growing of aquatic organisms under
				  controlled conditions, including one or more of the following uses: raising,
				  breeding or producing a specified type of animal or vegetable life including,
				  but not limited to, municipal shellfish propagation, finfish such as carp,
				  catfish, black bass, flatfishes, herring, salmon, shad, smelt, sturgeon,
				  striped bass, sunfishes, trout, whitefish, eel, tilapia; shellfish such as
				  shrimp, crabs, lobster, crayfish, oysters, clams, periwinkles, scallops,
				  mussels, squid; amphibians such as frogs; reptiles such as turtles; seaweeds
				  such as irish moss and dulse; and edible freshwater plants.
(b)
Normal Maintenance or
				  Improvement
of land in aquacultural use means the following
				  activities, when done in connection with the production of aquatic organisms as
				  defined above: draining, flooding, heating, cooling, removing, filling,
				  grading, compacting, raking, tilling, fertilizing, seeding, harvesting,
				  filtering, rafting, culverting or applying chemicals in conformance with all
				  state and federal laws; provided, however, that such activities are clearly
				  intended to improve and maintain land in aquacultural use and that best
				  available measures are utilized to ensure that there will be no adverse effect
				  on wetlands outside the area in aquacultural use, and further provided that
				  removing, filling, dredging or altering of a salt marsh is not to be considered
				  normal maintenance or improvement of land in aquacultural use.
Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131,
				  § 40
means any area specified in
				  310 CMR
				  10.02(1). It is used
				  synonymously with Resource Area, each one of which is defined in greater detail
				  in
				  310 CMR 10.21
				  through 10.66.
Bank (Coastal)
is defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.30(2).
Bank (Inland)
is defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.54(2).
Beach (Barrier)
is defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.29(2).
Beach (Coastal)
is defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.27(2).
Beach (Inland)
, a naturally
				  occurring inland beach, means an unvegetated bank as defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.54(2).
Best Available Measures
means the
				  most up-to-date technology or the best designs, measures or engineering
				  practices that have been developed and that are commercially available.
Best Practical Measures
means
				  technologies, designs, measures or engineering practices that are in general
				  use to protect similar interests.
Bordering
means touching. An area
				  listed in
				  310 CMR 10.02(1)(a)
				   is bordering on a water body listed in
				  310 CMR 10.02(1)(a)
				   if some portion of the area is touching the
				  water body or if some portion of the area is touching another area listed in
				  310 CMR 10.02(1)(a)
				   some portion of which is in turn touching
				  the water body.
Bordering Vegetated Wetland
is
				  defined in
				  310
				  CMR 10.55(2).
Boundary
means the boundary of an
				  Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. A description of the
				  boundary of each area is found in the appropriate section of
				  310 CMR
				  10.00. For coastal areas,
see
310 CMR 10.21
				  through
				  10.37;
				  for inland areas,
see
310 CMR 10.51
				  through
				  10.60.
Breeding Areas
mean areas used by
				  wildlife for courtship, mating, nesting or other reproductive activity, and
				  rearing of young.
Buffer Zone
means that area of land
				  extending 100 feet horizontally outward from the boundary of any area specified
				  in
				  310 CMR
				  10.02(1)(a).
Certificate of Compliance
means a
				  written determination by the issuing authority that work or a portion thereof
				  has been completed in accordance with an Order. It shall be made on Form
				  8.
Coastal Wetlands
are defined in
				  M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, para. 6.
Cold-water Fishery
means waters in
				  which the mean of the maximum daily temperature over a seven day period
				  generally does not exceed 68ºF (20ºC) and, when other ecological
				  factors are favorable (such as habitat) are capable of supporting a year round
				  population of cold-water stenothermal aquatic life such as trout. Waters
				  designated as cold-water fisheries by the Department in
				  314 CMR 4.00:
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
and waters
				  designated as cold-water fishery resources by the Division of Fisheries and
				  Wildlife are coldwater fisheries. Waters where there is evidence based on a
				  fish survey that a cold-water fish population and habitat exist are also
				  cold-water fisheries. Cold-water fish include but are not limited to brook
				  trout (
Salvelinus fontanilis
), rainbow trout
				  (
Oncorhynchus mykiss
), brown trout (Salmo trutta), creek
				  chubsucker (
Erimyzon oblongus
) and fallfish (
semotilus
				  corporalis
).
Combined Application
means an
				  application that may serve as a Notice of Intent pursuant to
				  310 CMR
				  10.00, an application for a 401 Water Quality
				  Certification pursuant to
				  314 CMR 9.00:
401
				  Water Quality Certification for Discharge of Dredged or Fill Material,
				  Dredging, and Dredged Material Disposal in Waters of the United States Within
				  the Commonwealth
, and/or an application for a Chapter 91 license,
				  permit or other written approval for a water-dependent use, pursuant to
				  310 CMR
				  9.00:
Waterways
. Notwithstanding the
				  foregoing, a Combined Application may not serve as an application for an annual
				  permit for a mooring, float, raft or small structure accessory to a residence
				  in accordance with
				  310 CMR
				  9.07:
Activities Subject to Annual
				  Permit
, an application for a Chapter 91 license for a small structure
				  accessory to a residence in accordance with the simplified process set forth in
				  310
				  CMR 9.10:
Simplified Procedures for
				  Small Structures Accessory to Residences
or the certification
				  submitted as an application for a General License in accordance with
				  310 CMR
				  9.29:
Permitting of Test
				  Projects
.
Combined Permit
means a decision
				  issued in response to a Combined Application that serves as two or more of the
				  following: a Superseding Order of Conditions issued pursuant to
				  310 CMR
				  10.00; a 401 Water Quality Certification issued
				  pursuant to
				  314 CMR 9.00:
401
				  Water Quality Certification for Discharge of Dredged or Fill Material,
				  Dredging, and Dredged Material Disposal in Waters of the United States Within
				  the Commonwealth
; and/or a Chapter 91 permit, license or other written
				  approval issued pursuant to
				  310 CMR
				  9.00:
Waterways
.
Commissioner
means the Commissioner
				  of the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to St. 1989, c. 240,
				  § 101.
Conditions
means those requirements
				  set forth in a written Order issued by a conservation commission or the
				  Department for the purpose of permitting, regulating or prohibiting any
				  activity that removes, fills, dredges or alters an Area Subject to Protection
				  under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. (
See
also
				  310 CMR
				  10.05(6).)
Confined Disposal Facility
means a
				  facility created in open water or wetlands consisting of confinement walls or
				  berms built up or extending into existing land and is a "confined disposal
				  facility" as defined in
				  314 CMR 9.02:
Definitions
.
Conservation Commission
means that
				  body comprised of members lawfully appointed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 40, §
				  8C. For the purposes of M.G.L. c. 131, § 40 and
				  310 CMR
				  10.00, it shall also mean a mayor or board of
				  selectmen, where no conservation commission has been established under M.G.L.
				  c. 40, § 8C.
Creek
means the same as a stream, as
				  defined in 310 CMR 10.04
Critical Areas
mean
Outstanding Resource Waters
as designated in
				  314 CMR 4.00, Special Resource
				  Waters as designated in
				  314 CMR 4.00:
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
recharge areas
				  for public water supplies as defined in
				  310 CMR 22.02:
Definitions
(Zone Is, Zone IIs, and Interim Wellhead
				  Protection Areas for ground water sources and Zone As for surface water
				  sources), bathing beaches as defined in
				  105 CMR 445.000:
Minimum Standards for Bathing Beaches (State Sanitary Code: Chapter
				  VII
), cold-water fisheries and shellfish growing areas.
Dam
means for the purposes of
				  310
				  CMR 10.11 through
				  310 CMR
				  10.14,
				  310 CMR
				  10.24(8), and
				  10.53(4)
				   any artificial barrier placed across a
				  watercourse that raises or has the potential to raise the level of water or
				  which impounds and/or diverts water.
Date of Issuance
means the date an
				  Order is mailed, as evidenced by a postmark, or the date it is hand
				  delivered.
Date of Receipt
means the date of
				  delivery to an office, home or usual place of business by mail or hand
				  delivery.
Densely Developed Area
means a
				  riverfront area that has been designated by the Secretary of the Executive
				  Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs at the request of a city or town,
				  limited to an area of ten acres or more that is being utilized, or includes
				  existing vacant structures or vacant lots formerly utilized as of January 1,
				  1944 or sooner, for intensive industrial, commercial, institutional, or
				  residential activities or combinations of such activities, including, but not
				  limited to the following: manufacturing, fabricating, wholesaling, warehousing,
				  or other commercial or industrial activities; retail trade and service
				  activities; medical and educational institutions; residential dwelling
				  structures at a density of three or more per two acres; and mixed or combined
				  patterns of the above. Land which is zoned for intensive use but is not
				  utilized for such use as of January 1, 1997 shall not be designated as a
				  densely developed area. Rivers within the municipalities identified in
				  310 CMR
				  10.58(2)(a)3.a. also have 25
				  foot riverfront areas.
Department
means the Department of
				  Environmental Protection, and shall include the Commissioner and any other
				  person employed by said Department, pursuant to St. 1989, c. 240, §
				  101.
Designated Port
is defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.26(2).
Determination
.
(a) a
Determination of Applicability
means a written finding by a conservation commission or the Department as to
				  whether a site or the work proposed thereon is subject to the jurisdiction of
				  M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It shall be made on Form 2.
(b) a
Determination of Significance
means a written finding by a conservation commission, after a public hearing,
				  or by the Department, that the area on which the proposed work is to be done,
				  or which the proposed work will alter, is significant to one or more of the
				  interests identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It shall be made as part of
				  the Order, on Form 5.
(c) a
Notification of
				  Non-significance
means a written finding by a conservation
				  commission, after a public hearing, or by the Department, that the area on
				  which the proposed work is to be done, or which the proposed work will alter,
				  is not significant to any of the interests of M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It
				  shall be made on Form 6.
Direct Case
means the evidence that
				  a party seeks to introduce in support of its position, as well as any legal
				  argument the party wishes to provide. The Direct Case may include, but is not
				  limited to, statements under oath by lay witnesses and expert witnesses,
				  technical reports, studies, memoranda, maps, plans, and other information that
				  a party seeks to have the Presiding Officer review as part of the adjudicatory
				  proceeding.
Disposal Site
means a structure,
				  well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, landfill, or other place or area,
				  excluding ambient air or surface water, where uncontrolled oil or hazardous
				  material has come to be located as a result of any spilling, leaking, pouring,
				  ponding, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching,
				  dumping, discarding or otherwise disposing of such oil or hazardous material
				  and is a "disposal site" as defined in M.G.L. c. 21E.
Dredge
means to deepen, widen or
				  excavate, either temporarily or permanently, land below the mean high tide line
				  in coastal waters and below the high water mark for inland waters. The term
				  dredge shall not include activities in Bordering or isolated vegetated
				  wetlands.
Dune
means coastal dune, as defined
				  in
				  310 CMR
				  10.28(2).
Ecological Restoration Project
means
				  a project whose primary purpose is to restore or otherwise improve the natural
				  capacity of a Resource Area(s) to protect and sustain the interests identified
				  in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, when such interests have been degraded or
				  destroyed by anthropogenic influences. The term Ecological Restoration Project
				  shall not include projects specifically intended to provide mitigation for the
				  alteration of a Resource Area authorized by a Final Order or Variance issued
				  pursuant to
				  310 CMR
				  10.00 or a 401 Water Quality Certification issued
				  pursuant to
				  314 CMR 9.00:
401
				  Water Quality Certification for Discharge of Dredged or Fill Material,
				  Dredging, and Dredged Material Disposal in Waters of the United States Within
				  the Commonwealth
other than projects implemented pursuant to a US Army
				  Corps of Engineers-approved in-lien fee program.
Ecological Restoration Limited
				  Project
means an Ecological Restoration Project that meets the
				  eligibility criteria set forth in
				  310 CMR 10.24(8)
				   or
				  10.53(4).
Estimated Habitat Map of State-listed Rare
				  Wetlands Wildlife
means the map of the estimated habitats of
				  state-listed rare wetlands wildlife published by the Natural Heritage and
				  Endangered Species Program (the Program or NHESP) in accordance with
				  321 CMR
				  10.12:
Delineation of Priority
				  Habitat of State-listed Species
.
Environmentally Sensitive Site
				  Design
means design that incorporates low impact development
				  techniques to prevent the generation of stormwater and non-point source
				  pollution by reducing impervious surfaces, disconnecting stormwater sheet flow
				  paths and treating stormwater at its source, maximizing open space, minimizing
				  disturbance, protecting natural features and processes, and/or enhancing
				  wildlife habitat.
Estuary
means:
(a) any area where fresh and salt water mix and tidal effects
				  are evident; or
(b) any partially enclosed coastal body of water where the
				  tide meets the current of any stream or river.
Extension Permit
means a written
				  extension of time within which the authorized work shall be completed. It shall
				  be made on Form 7.
Fill
means to deposit any material
				  so as to raise an elevation, either temporarily or permanently.
Final Order
means the Order issued
				  by the Commissioner after an adjudicatory hearing or, if no request for hearing
				  has been filed, the Superseding Order or, if no request for a Superseding Order
				  has been filed, the Order of Conditions.
Flat (Tidal)
is defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.27(2)(b).
Flood Control
means the prevention
				  or reduction of flooding and flood damage.
Formerly or Presently Owned
means
				  owned by the same owner at any time on or after August 1, 1996.
Freshwater Wetlands
are defined in
				  M.G.L. c. 131, § 7, para. 7.
General Performance Standards
means
				  those requirements established by
				  310 CMR
				  10.00 for activities in or affecting each of the Areas
				  Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. They are found in
				  310 CMR
				  10.25 through
				  10.35,
				  10.37,
				  and
				  10.54
				  through
				  10.60.
Ground Water Supply
means water
				  below the earth's surface in the zone of saturation.
Historic Mill Complex
means the mill
				  complexes in, but not limited to, Holyoke, Taunton, Fitchburg, Haverhill,
				  Methuen, and Medford in existence prior to 1946 and situated landward of the
				  waterside facade of a retaining wall, building, sluiceway, or other structure
				  existing on August 7, 1996. An historic mill complex also means any historic
				  mill included on the
Massachusetts Register of Historic
				  Places
. An historic mill complex includes only the footprint of the
				  area that is or was occupied by interrelated buildings (manufacturing
				  buildings, housing, utilities, parking areas, and driveways) constructed before
				  and existing after 1946, used for any type of manufacturing or mechanical
				  processing and including associated structures to provide water for processing,
				  to generate water power, or for water transportation.
Illicit Discharge
means a discharge
				  that is not entirely comprised of stormwater. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an
				  illicit discharge does not include discharges from the following activities or
				  facilities: firefighting, water line flushing, landscape irrigation,
				  uncontaminated ground water, potable water sources, foundation drains, air
				  conditioning condensation, footing drains, individual resident car washing,
				  flows from riparian habitats and wetlands, dechlorinated water from swimming
				  pools, water used for street washing and water used to clean residential
				  buildings without detergents.
Important Wildlife Habitat Functions
mean important food, shelter, migratory or overwintering areas, or breeding
				  areas for wildlife.
Innovative Technology
means
				  technology that has not been commercially deployed or is in limited deployment
				  in Massachusetts, and includes, but is not limited to, energy technology that
				  obtains energy from the ocean, waterway, or conditions associated with the
				  ocean or waterway, or other forms of renewable energy technology.
Interests Identified in M.G.L. c. 131, §
				  40
means public or private water supply, ground water supply,
				  flood control, storm damage prevention, prevention of pollution, protection of
				  land containing shellfish, protection of fisheries, and protection of wildlife
				  habitat.
Issuing Authority
means a
				  conservation commission, mayor, the selectmen or the Department, whichever is
				  applicable.
Lake
means any open body of fresh
				  water with a surface area of ten acres or more, and shall include great
				  ponds.
Land Containing Shellfish
is defined
				  in
				  310 CMR
				  10.34(2).
Land Subject to Coastal Storm
				  Flowage
means land subject to any inundation caused by coastal
				  storms up to and including that caused by the 100-year storm, surge of record
				  or storm of record, whichever is greater.
Land Subject to Flooding
is defined
				  in
				  310 CMR
				  10.57(2).
Land Subject to Tidal Action
means
				  land subject to the periodic rise and fall of a coastal water body, including
				  spring tides.
Land under Salt Ponds
is defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.33(2).
Land under Water Bodies and
				  Waterways
means the bottom of, or land under, the surface of the
				  ocean or any estuary, creek, river, stream, pond, or lake. Land under the ocean
				  and estuaries is further defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.25(2); land under inland
				  water bodies is further defined in
				  310
				  CMR 10.56(2).
Land Uses with Higher Potential Pollutant
				  Loads
mean the following land uses: land uses identified in
				  310 CMR
				  22.20B(2),
				  22.20C(2)(a)
				  through (k) and (m),
				  22.21(2)(a)1.
				  through 8., and (b)1. through 6.; areas within a site that are the location of
				  activities that are subject to an individual National Pollutant Discharge
				  Elimination System (NPDES) permit or the NPDES Multi-sector General Permit;
				  auto fueling facilities (gas stations); exterior fleet storage areas; exterior
				  vehicle service and equipment cleaning areas; marinas and boatyards; parking
				  lots with high intensity use; confined disposal facilities and disposal
				  sites.
Landowner
means the owner of record
				  of land or an interest in land that is subject of a Reviewable Decision.
Linear-shaped Project
, for purposes
				  of
				  310 CMR
				  10.05(4), means a project
				  that is substantially longer than it is wide and is a project for the
				  construction, reconstruction, or substantial enlargement of facilities that
				  will be used in the service of the public to provide electric, gas, sewer,
				  water, telephone, telegraph and other communication services, a project by a
				  public agency or authority for the construction, reconstruction, expansion,
				  repair or maintenance of public roads, bike paths or other paths for
				  pedestrians, or public railways.
Lot
means an area of land in one
				  ownership, with definite boundaries.
Low Impact Development Techniques
mean innovative stormwater management systems that are modeled after natural
				  hydrologic features. Low impact development techniques manage rainfall at the
				  source using uniformly distributed decentralized micro-scale controls. Low
				  impact development techniques use small cost-effective landscape features
				  located at the lot level.
Maintenance of a Stormwater Management
				  System
means the work to keep a stormwater management system
				  functional and in good repair so that it may continue to operate as originally
				  designed. Maintenance of a stormwater management system does not include work
				  that:
(a) reduces the capacity of the system to treat stormwater,
				  provide recharge or attenuate peak flow;
(b) increases the total and peak volume of the stormwater
				  managed by the system;
(c) directs additional stormwater discharges to the system;
				  or
(d) results in reduced use of above ground stormwater best
				  management practices.
Major or Complex
means an appeal of
				  a Reviewable Decision issued for work in a resource area that will be so
				  designated due to the complexity or novelty of the issues, the magnitude of the
				  project, the potential for environmental harm or benefit, significant public
				  interest or public financing or other relevant consideration, as determined by
				  the Commissioner or a Presiding Officer.
Majority
means more than half of the
				  members of the conservation commission then in office.
Marsh
is defined in M.G.L. c. 131,
				  § 40, para. 10.
Massachusetts Erosion and Sediment Control
				  Guidelines
means the
Massachusetts Erosion and Sediment
				  Control Guidelines for Urban and Suburban Areas
originally prepared by
				  the Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire Conservation Districts in 1997, for the
				  Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs State Commission for
				  Conservation of Soil, Water and Related Resources, the Massachusetts Department
				  of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region
				  I, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of
				  Agriculture and reprinted in May 2003.
Massachusetts River and Stream Crossing Standards
				  or the Stream Crossing Standards
means the standards developed by
				  the River and Stream Continuity Partnership as corrected on March 8,
				  2012.
Meadow (or Wet Meadow)
is defined in
				  M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, para. 9.
Mean Annual High-water Line
is
				  defined at
				  310 CMR
				  10.58(2).
MEPA
means the Massachusetts
				  Environmental Policy Act, M.G.L. c. 30, §§ 6 through 62H, and
				  301 CMR
				  11.00:
General Application and Administration
				  Environmental Code, Title 1
.
Migratory Areas
mean those areas
				  used by wildlife moving from one habitat to another, whether seasonally or
				  otherwise.
Mitigation
means rectifying an
				  adverse impact by repairing, rehabilitating or restoring the affected resource
				  area or compensating for an adverse impact by enhancing or providing
				  replacement resource areas.
Notice of Intent
means the written
				  notice filed by any person intending to remove, fill, dredge or alter an Area
				  Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It shall be made on Form
				  3 or 4.
Ocean
means the Atlantic Ocean and
				  all contiguous waters subject to tidal action.
Openness Ratio
means the
				  cross-sectional area of a structure opening divided by crossing length when
				  measured in consistent units. For a box culvert, the openness ratio equals
				  (height x width)/length. For crossing structures with multiple cells or barrels
				  openness is calculated separately for each cell or barrel. The embedded portion
				  of a culvert is not included in the calculation of the cross-sectional
				  area.
Order
means an Order of Conditions,
				  Order of Resource Area Delineation, Superseding, Order or Final Order,
				  whichever is applicable.
Order of Conditions
means the
				  document issued by a conservation commission containing conditions which
				  regulate or prohibit an activity. It shall be made on Form 5.
Outstanding Resource Water
means a
				  surface water of the Commonwealth so designated in the Massachusetts Surface
				  Water Quality Standards at
				  314 CMR 4.00:
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
.
Owner of Land Abutting the Activity
means the owner of land sharing a common boundary or corner with the site of
				  the proposed activity in any direction, including land located directly across
				  a street, way, creek, river, stream, brook or canal.
Party
to any proceeding before the
				  Department means the applicant, the conservation commission and the Department,
				  and pursuant to
				  310 CMR 10.05(7)(a)
				   may include the owner of the site, any
				  abutter, any person aggrieved, any ten residents of the city or town where the
				  land is located and any ten persons pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, §
				  10A.
Person Aggrieved
means any person
				  who, because of an act or failure to act by the issuing authority, may suffer
				  an injury in fact which is different either in kind or magnitude from that
				  suffered by the general public and which is within the scope of the interests
				  identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. Such person must specify in writing
				  sufficient facts to allow the Department to determine whether or not the person
				  is in fact aggrieved.
Plans
means such data, maps,
				  engineering drawings, calculations, specifications, schedules and other
				  materials, if any, deemed necessary by the issuing authority to describe the
				  site and/or the work, to determine the applicability of M.G.L. c. 131, §
				  40 or to determine the impact of the proposed work upon the interests
				  identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. (
See
also General
				  Instructions for Completing Notice of Intent (Form 3) and Abbreviated Notice of
				  Intent (Form 4).)
Pond (Coastal)
means Salt Pond as
				  defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.33(2).
Pond (Inland)
means any open body of
				  fresh water with a surface area observed or recorded within the last ten years
				  of at least 10,000 square feet. Ponds may be either naturally occurring or
				  human-made by impoundment, excavation, or otherwise. Ponds shall contain
				  standing water except for periods of extended drought. Periods of extended
				  drought for purposes of
				  310 CMR
				  10.00 shall be those periods, in those specifically
				  identified geographic locations, determined to be at the "Advisory" or more
				  severe drought level by the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force, as
				  established by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the
				  Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency in 2001, in accordance with the
				  Massachusetts Drought Management Plan (MDMP).
Notwithstanding the above, the following human-made bodies of
				  open water shall not be considered ponds:
(a) basins or lagoons which are part of wastewater treatment
				  plants;
(b) swimming pools or other impervious human-made basins;
				  and
(c) individual gravel pits or quarries excavated from upland
				  areas unless inactive for five or more consecutive years.
Practicable
means available and
				  capable of being done after taking into consideration costs, existing
				  technology, proposed use, logistics and potential adverse consequences
				  (
e.g
., degradation of Rare Species habitat, increased flood
				  impacts to the built environment) in light of the overall project purposes and
				  is permittable under existing federal and state statutes and
				  regulations.
Prevention of Pollution
means the
				  prevention or reduction of contamination of surface or ground water.
Primary Frontal Dune or Primary Dune
means a continuous or nearly continuous mound or ridge of sediment with
				  relatively steep seaward and landward slopes immediately landward and adjacent
				  to the beach and subject to erosion and overtopping from high tides and waves
				  during coastal storms. The Primary Frontal Dune is the dune closest to the
				  beach. The inland limit of the Primary Frontal Dune occurs at the point where
				  there is a distinct change from a relatively steep slope to a relatively mild
				  slope.
Private Water Supply
means any
				  source or volume of surface or ground water demonstrated to be in any private
				  use or demonstrated to have a potential for private use.
Project Locus
means the lot on which
				  an applicant proposes to perform an activity subject to regulation under M.G.L.
				  c. 131, § 40.
Project Purpose
means the general,
				  functional description of an activity proposed within the riverfront area
				  (
e.g
., construction of a single family house, expansion of a
				  commercial development).
Project Site
means the area within
				  the Project Locus that comprises the limit of work for activities, including
				  but not limited to, the dredging, excavating, filling, grading, the erection,
				  reconstruction or expansion of a building or structure, the driving of pilings,
				  the construction or improvement of roads or other ways, and the installation of
				  drainage, stormwater treatment, environmentally sensitive site design
				  practices, sewage and water systems.
Protection of Fisheries
means
				  protection of the capacity of an Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c.
				  131, § 40:
(a) to prevent or reduce contamination or damage to fish;
				  and
(b) to serve as their habitat and nutrient source. Fish
				  includes all species of fresh and salt water finfish and shellfish.
See
also the definition of Marine Fisheries
				  contained in
				  310 CMR
				  10.23(15).
Protection of Land Containing
				  Shellfish
means protection of the capacity of an Area Subject to
				  Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40:
(a) to prevent or reduce contamination or damage to
				  shellfish; and
(b) to serve as their habitat and nutrient source.
See
also the definitions of Shellfish and
				  Land Containing Shellfish in
				  310 CMR
				  10.34(2).
Public Water Supply
means any source
				  or volume of surface or ground water demonstrated to be in public use or
				  approved for water supply pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111, § 160 by the Division
				  of Water Supply of the Department, or demonstrated to have a potential for
				  public use.
Rare Species
mean those vertebrate
				  and invertebrate animal species officially listed as endangered, threatened, or
				  of special concern by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
				  under
				  321 CMR
				  10.60.
Redevelopment
means replacement,
				  rehabilitation, or expansion of existing structures, improvement of existing
				  roads or reuse of degraded or previously developed areas for purposes of
				  310 CMR 10.58,
				  governing work in the riverfront area. For purpose of the Stormwater Management
				  Standards as provided in
				  310 CMR 10.05(6)(k) through
				  (q), redevelopment is defined to include the
				  following projects:
(a) maintenance and improvement of existing roadways
				  including widening less than a single lane, adding shoulders, correcting
				  substandard intersections, improving existing drainage systems and
				  repaving;
(b) development, rehabilitation, expansion and phased
				  projects on previously developed sites provided the redevelopment results in no
				  net increase in impervious area; and
(c) remedial projects specifically designed to provide
				  improved stormwater management such as projects to separate storm drains and
				  sanitary sewers and stormwater retrofit projects.
Remove
means to take away any type
				  of material, thereby changing an elevation, either temporarily or
				  permanently.
Request for Determination of
				  Applicability
means a written request made by any person to a
				  conservation commission or the Department for a determination as to whether a
				  site or work thereon is subject to M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It shall be
				  submitted on Form 1.
Resource Area
means any of the areas
				  specified in
				  310 CMR
				  10.25 through
				  10.35
				  and
				  10.54
				  through
				  10.58. It is used
				  synonymously with Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40,
				  each one of which is enumerated in
				  310 CMR
				  10.02(1).
Restoration Order of Conditions
means an Order of Conditions issued pursuant to
				  310 CMR 10.05(6)
				   and
				  10.14
				  for a project that meets the eligibility criteria set forth in
				  310 CMR
				  10.13.
Reviewable Decision
means a MassDEP
				  decision that is a superseding order of condition or superseding denial of an
				  order of conditions, a superseding determination of applicability, and/or a
				  superseding order of resource area delineation, or a variance.
River
means any natural flowing body
				  of water that empties to any ocean, lake, pond, or other river and which flows
				  throughout the year. River is defined further at
				  310 CMR
				  10.58(2).
Riverfront Area
is defined at
				  310 CMR
				  10.58(2).
Rocky Intertidal Shore
is defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.31(2).
Salt Marsh
is defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.32(2).
Severe Weather Emergency Declaration
is a declaration issued by the Commissioner, following a destructive weather
				  event, which authorizes widespread emergency recovery, debris cleanup, or
				  roadway or utility repair, necessary for the protection of the health or safety
				  of the residents of the Commonwealth, without filing a Notice of Intent or
				  requesting an emergency certification or authorization pursuant to
				  310 CMR 10.06(1) through
				  (7).
Sediment
, for the purpose of
				  dredging, means all inorganic or organic matter including detritus situated
				  under tidal waters below the mean high water line as defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.23, and for inland waters, below the upper
				  boundary of a bank, as defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.54(2).
Shellfish Growing Area
means land
				  under the ocean, tidal flats, rocky intertidal shores and marshes and land
				  under salt ponds when any such land contains shellfish. Shellfish growing areas
				  include land that has been identified and shown on a map published by the
				  Division of Marine Fisheries as a shellfish growing area including any area
				  identified on such map as an area where shellfishing is prohibited. Shellfish
				  growing areas shall also include land designated by the Department in
				  314 CMR 4.00:
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
as suitable for
				  shellfish harvesting with or without depuration. In addition, shellfish growing
				  areas shall include shellfish growing areas designated by the local shellfish
				  constable as suitable for shellfishing based on the density of shellfish, the
				  size of the area and the historical and current importance of the area for
				  recreational and commercial shellfishing.
Shellfish Suitability Area
means an
				  area located within land containing shellfish and identified on maps prepared
				  in May 2011 by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries with input from
				  local Shellfish Constables and commercial fishermen as suitable for shellfish.
				  The areas covered include sites where shellfish have been observed since the
				  mid 1970s but may not currently support shellfish and thus represent both
				  existing and potential shellfish habitat areas.
Shelter
means protection from the
				  elements or predators.
Significant
means plays a role. A
				  resource area is significant to an interest identified in M.G.L. c. 131, §
				  40 when it plays a role in the provision or protection, as appropriate, of that
				  interest. Within the context of the protection of the riverfront area, no
				  significant adverse impact means the level of protection of the performance
				  standards provided under
				  310 CMR
				  10.58.
Special Flood Hazard Area
means the
				  area of land in the flood plain that is subject to a 1% chance of flooding in
				  any given year as determined by the best available information, including, but
				  not limited to, the currently effective or preliminary Federal Emergency
				  Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Study or Rate Map (except for any
				  portion of a preliminary map that is the subject of an appeal to FEMA) for Land
				  Subject to Coastal Storm Flowage, the Velocity Zone as defined in 310 CMR
				  10.04, and the Flood Insurance Study for Bordering Land Subject to Flooding as
				  defined in
				  310 CMR
				  10.57.
Spring Tides
means those tides which
				  occur with the new and full moons, and which are perceptibly higher and lower
				  than other tides.
State-listed Species
mean the same
				  as rare species, as defined in 310 CMR 10.04.
Storm Damage Prevention
means the
				  prevention of damage caused by water from storms, including, but not limited
				  to, erosion and sedimentation, damage to vegetation, property or buildings, or
				  damage caused by flooding, water-borne debris or water-borne ice.
Stormwater Best Management Practice
means a structural or nonstructural technique for managing stormwater to
				  prevent or reduce non-point source pollutants from entering surface waters or
				  ground waters. A structural stormwater best management practice includes a
				  basin, discharge outlet, swale, rain garden, filter or other stormwater
				  treatment practice or measure either alone or in combination including without
				  limitation any overflow pipe, conduit, weir control structure that:
(a) is not naturally occurring;
(b) is not designed as a wetland replication area; and
(c) has been designed, constructed, and installed for the
				  purpose of conveying, collecting, storing, discharging, recharging or treating
				  stormwater.
Nonstructural stormwater best management practices include
				  source control and pollution prevention measures.
Stormwater Management System
means a
				  system for conveying, collecting, storing, discharging, recharging or treating
				  stormwater on-site including stormwater best management practices and any pipes
				  and outlets intended to transport and discharge stormwater to the ground water,
				  a surface water or a municipal separate storm sewer system.
Stormwater Management System
				  Improvement
means:
(a) expansion of a stormwater management system beyond its
				  existing geographic footprint to provide treatment for additional stormwater
				  volume, provide additional groundwater recharge or enhance groundwater recharge
				  or pollutant removal capability such as the addition of treatment train
				  components; or
(b) modification to, or addition of, features within the
				  existing geographic footprint of a stormwater management system to enhance
				  groundwater recharge or pollutant removal capability, such as modifying outlet
				  control structures.
Stream
means a body of running
				  water, including brooks and creeks, which moves in a definite channel in the
				  ground due to a hydraulic gradient, and which flows within, into or out of an
				  Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. A portion of a
				  stream may flow through a culvert or beneath a bridge. Such a body of running
				  water which does not flow throughout the year (
i.e.
, which is
				  intermittent) is a stream except for that portion upgradient of all bogs,
				  swamps, wet meadows and marshes.
Superseding Determination
means a
				  determination of applicability, of significance or of non-significance, as the
				  case may be, issued by the Department. It shall be made on Form 2.
Superseding Order
means a document
				  issued by the Department containing conditions which regulate or prohibit an
				  activity. It shall be made on Form 5.
Surface Waters
means all waters
				  other than ground water within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth including,
				  without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments,
				  estuaries, wetlands, and coastal waters.
Swamp
is defined in M.G.L. c. 131,
				  § 40, para. 8.
Test Project
means the installation
				  or deployment of water dependent Innovative Technology in situ for purposes of
				  evaluating its performance and environmental effects.
Velocity Zone or V-zone
also known
				  as the
Coastal High Hazard Area
means an area within
				  the Special Flood Hazard Area that is subject to high velocity wave action from
				  storms or seismic sources. The Velocity Zone Boundaries are determined by
				  reference to the currently effective or preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map
				  (FIRM) prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), whichever is
				  more recent (except for any portion of a preliminary map that is the subject of
				  an appeal to FEMA), or at a minimum to the inland limit of the Primary Frontal
				  Dune, whichever is farther landward.
Vernal Pool Habitat
means confined
				  basin depressions which, at least in most years, hold water for a minimum of
				  two continuous months during the spring and/or summer, and which are free of
				  adult fish populations, as well as the area within 100 feet of the mean annual
				  boundaries of such depressions, to the extent that such habitat is within an
				  Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40 as specified in
				  310 CMR
				  10.02(1). These areas are
				  essential breeding habitat, and provide other extremely important wildlife
				  habitat functions during non breeding season as well, for a variety of
				  amphibian species such as wood frog (
Rana sylvatica
) and the
				  spotted salamander (
Ambystoma macultum
), and are important
				  habitat for other wildlife species.
Vista Pruning
means the selective
				  thinning of tree branches or understory shrubs to establish a specific "window"
				  to improve visibility. Vista pruning does not include the cutting of trees
				  which would reduce the leaf canopy to less than 90% of the existing crown cover
				  and does not include the mowing or removal of understory brush.
Wastewater Residuals Landfill
means
				  a facility or part of a facility approved by the Department for the disposal of
				  wastewater residuals into or on land, but not including a site where wastewater
				  residuals are land applied in accordance with
				  310 CMR 32.00:
Land
				  Application of Sludge and Septage
.
Water-dependent Uses
mean those uses
				  and facilities which require direct access to, or location in, marine, tidal or
				  inland waters and which therefore cannot be located away from said waters,
				  including but not limited to: marinas, public recreational uses, navigational
				  and commerical fishing and boating facilities, water-based recreational uses,
				  navigation aids, basins, and channels, industrial uses dependent upon
				  waterborne transportation or requiring large volumes of cooling or process
				  water which cannot reasonably be located or operated at an upland site,
				  crossings over or under water bodies or waterways (but limited to railroad and
				  public roadway bridges, tunnels, culverts, as well as railroad tracks and
				  public roadways connecting thereto which are generally perpendicular to the
				  water body or waterway), and any other uses and facilities as may further
				  hereafter be defined as water-dependent in
				  310 CMR
				  9.00:
Waterways
.
Waters of the Commonwealth
means all
				  waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, including without
				  limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries,
				  wetlands, coastal waters and ground waters.
Wildlife
means all mammals, birds,
				  reptiles and amphibians and, for the purposes of
				  310 CMR
				  10.37 and
				  10.59,
				  all vertebrate and invertebrate animal species which are officially listed in
				  321 CMR
				  8.00:
Endangered Wildlife and Wild
				  Plants
as endangered, threatened, or of special concern.
Wildlife Habitat
means an Area
				  Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, which due to its plant
				  community, composition and structure, hydrologic regime or other
				  characteristics provides important food, shelter, migratory or overwintering
				  areas or breeding areas for wildlife.
Wildlife Specialist
means an
				  individual with at least a masters degree in wildlife biology or ecological
				  science from an accredited college or university, or other competent
				  professional with at least two years experience in wildlife habitat
				  evaluation.
Work
means the same as
				  activity.