Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 310 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Title 310 CMR 10.00 - Wetlands Protection › Additional Regulations for Coastal Wetlands › Section 10.27 - Coastal Beaches

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Preamble
. Coastal beaches, which are defined to
				include tidal flats, are significant to storm damage prevention, flood control
				and the protection of wildlife habitat. In addition, tidal flats are likely to
				be significant to the protection of marine fisheries and where there are
				shellfish, to land containing shellfish.2
Coastal beaches dissipate wave energy by their gentle slope,
				  their permeability and their granular nature, which permit changes in beach
				  form in response to changes in wave conditions.
Coastal beaches serve as a sediment source for dunes and
				  subtidal areas. Steep storm waves cause beach sediment to move offshore,
				  resulting in a gentler beach slope and greater energy dissipation. Less steep
				  waves cause an onshore return of beach sediment, where it will be available to
				  provide protection against future storm waves.
A coastal beach at any point serves as a sediment source for
				  coastal areas downdrift from that point. The oblique approach of waves moves
				  beach sediment alongshore in the general direction of wave action. Thus, the
				  coastal beach is a body of sediment which is moving along the shore.
2 For regulations concerning land
				  containing shellfish
see
310 CMR
				  10.34.
Coastal beaches serve the purposes of storm damage prevention
				  and flood control by dissipating wave energy, by reducing the height of storm
				  waves, and by providing sediment to supply other coastal features, including
				  coastal dunes, land under the ocean and other coastal beaches. Interruptions of
				  these natural processes by human-made structures reduce the ability of the
				  coastal beach to perform these functions.
A number of birds also nest in the coastal berm, between the
				  toe of a dune and the high tide line. In addition, isolated coastal beaches on
				  small islands are important as haul out areas for harbor seals.
Tidal flats are likely to be significant to the protection of
				  marine fisheries and wildlife habitat because they provide habitats for marine
				  organisms such as polychaete worms and mollusks, which in turn are food sources
				  for fisheries and migratory and wintering birds. Coastal beaches are extremely
				  important in recycling of nutrients derived from storm drift and tidal action.
				  Vegetative debris along the drift line is vital for resident and migratory
				  shorebirds, which feed largely on invertebrates which eat the vegetation. Below
				  the drift line in the lower intertidal zone are infauna (invertebrates such as
				  mollusks and crustacea) which are also eaten by shore birds.
Tidal flats are also sites where organic and inorganic
				  materials may become entrapped and then returned to the photosynthetic zone of
				  the water column to support algae and other primary producers of the marine
				  food web.
When a proposed project involves the dredging, filling,
				  removing, or altering of a coastal beach, the issuing authority shall presume
				  that the coastal beach is significant to the interests specified above. This
				  presumption may be overcome only upon a clear showing that a coastal beach does
				  not play a role in storm damage prevention, flood control, or protection of
				  wildlife habitat, or that tidal flats do not play a role in the protection of
				  marine fisheries or land containing shellfish, and if the issuing authority
				  makes a written determination to such effect.
When coastal beaches are determined to be significant to
				  storm damage prevention or flood control, the following characteristics are
				  critical to the protection of those interests:
(a) volume (quantity of sediments) and form;
				and
(b) the ability to respond to
				wave action.
When coastal beaches are significant to the protection of
				  marine fisheries or wildlife habitat, the following characteristics are
				  critical to the protection of those interests:
(a) distribution of sediment grain
				size;
(b) water
				circulation;
(c) water quality;
				and
(d) relief and elevation.
When tidal flats are in a designated port area,
				  310 CMR 10.26(1) through
				  (4) shall apply. When tidal flats are
				  significant to land containing shellfish,
				  310 CMR 10.34(1) through
				  (8) shall apply.