Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 310 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Title 310 CMR 10.00 - Wetlands Protection › Additional Regulations for Inland Wetlands › Section 10.53 - General Provisions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) If the Issuing
				Authority determines that a Resource Area is significant to an interest
				identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40 for which no presumption is stated in
				the Preamble to the applicable section, the Issuing Authority shall impose such
				conditions as are necessary to contribute to the protection of such interests.
				For work in the Buffer Zone subject to review under
				310 CMR
				10.02(2)(b)3., the Issuing
				Authority shall impose conditions to protect the interests of the Act
				identified for the adjacent Resource Area. The potential for adverse impacts to
				Resource Areas from work in the Buffer Zone may increase with the extent of the
				work and the proximity to the Resource Area. The Issuing Authority may consider
				the characteristics of the Buffer Zone, such as the presence of steep slopes,
				that may increase the potential for adverse impacts on Resource Areas.
				Conditions may include limitations on the scope and location of work in the
				Buffer Zone as necessary to avoid alteration of Resource Areas. The Issuing
				Authority may require erosion and sedimentation controls during construction, a
				clear limit of work, and the preservation of natural vegetation adjacent to the
				Resource Area and/or other measures commensurate with the scope and location of
				the work within the Buffer Zone to protect the interests of M.G.L. c. 131,
				§ 40. Where a Buffer Zone has already been developed, the Issuing
				Authority may consider the extent of existing development in its review of
				subsequent proposed work and, where prior development is extensive, may
				consider measures such as the restoration of natural vegetation adjacent to a
				Resource Area to protect the interest of M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. The purpose
				of preconstruction review of work in the Buffer Zone is to ensure that adjacent
				Resource Areas are not adversely affected during or after completion of the
				work.
(2) When the site of a
				proposed project is subject to a Restriction Order which has been duly recorded
				under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, § 40A, such a project shall conform
				to both the provisions contained in that Order and
				310 CMR 10.51
				through
				10.60.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of
				310 CMR
				10.54 through
				10.58 and
				10.60,
				the Issuing Authority may issue an Order of Conditions and impose such
				conditions as will contribute to the interests identified in M.G.L. c. 131,
				§ 40 permitting the following limited projects (although no such project
				may be permitted which will have any adverse effect on specified habitat sites
				of Rare Species, as identified by procedures established under
				310 CMR
				10.59 ). In determining whether to exercise
				its discretion to approve the limited projects listed in 310 CMR 10.53(3), the
				Issuing Authority shall consider the following factors: the magnitude of the
				alteration and the significance of the project site to the interests identified
				in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, the availability of reasonable alternatives to the
				proposed activity, the extent to which adverse impacts are minimized, and the
				extent to which mitigation measures, including replication or restoration, are
				provided to contribute to the protection of the interests identified in M.G.L.
				c. 131, § 40.
(a) Work on land to be
				used primarily and directly in the raising of animals, including but not
				limited to dairy cattle, beef cattle, poultry, sheep, swine, horses, ponies,
				mules, goats, bees and fur-bearing animals or on land to be used in a related
				manner which is incidental thereto and represents a customary and necessary use
				in raising such animals; and work on land to be used primarily and directly in
				the raising of fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts and other foods for human
				consumption, feed for animals, tobacco, flowers, sod, trees, nursery or
				greenhouse products, and ornamental plants and shrubs; or on land to be used in
				a related manner which is incidental thereto and represents a customary and
				necessary use in raising such products, provided they are carried out in
				accordance with the following general conditions and any additional conditions
				deemed necessary by the issuing authority:
1.
				there shall occur no change in the existing topography or the existing soil and
				surface water levels of the area;
2. all fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides
				and other such materials shall be used in accordance with all applicable state
				and federal laws and regulations governing their use; and
3. all activities shall be undertaken in such
				a manner as to prevent erosion and siltation of adjacent water bodies and
				wetlands as specified by the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, Guidelines for
				Soil and Water Conservation. A plan prepared by the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation
				Service through a county conservation district for the improvement of land for
				agriculture shall be deemed adequate to prevent erosion and
				siltation.