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Vernal Pool, Warwick State Forest - Photo by B. Compton

Warwick Conservation Commission

The Warwick Conservation Commission administers the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and related regulations. The Commission has the authority to regulate activities in the "buffer zone" of upland that is within 100 feet of a wetland or stream, and the "riverfront area" within 200 feet of perennial rivers or streams. If you are planning any landscaping, clearing, filling, excavation, demolition, or construction within a wetland or floodplain, within the 100' buffer zone, or within 200' of any river or other perennial stream -- whether or not the wetland resource is on your property -- or if you are unsure if your project lies within a wetland resource area, please contact the Conservation Commission before you begin your project to determine if you will need a permit.

Building permits will not be issued by the building inspector until first signed off by two members of the Conservation Commission.

The Commission will be pleased to help you determine the procedures that are applicable to your proposed activities and to work with you in order to best protect the wetland resource areas. Work done without a permit is subject to an Enforcement Order, which may include fines.

Prohibited or Regulated Activities in Wetlands and Buffer Zones

The general rule for wetlands is "no alteration." This sounds fairly straightforward when we think of activities that obviously change the nature of wetlands, such as dredging or filling or building directly in the wetland. However other activities that we may not immediately perceive as "alteration" can be detrimental to the health and function of wetland resources and, therefore, are prohibited in wetlands. Activities in the 100 foot Buffer Zone and 200 foot Riverfront Areas also fall under Conservation Commission jurisdiction, enabling the Commission to require that steps be taken to minimize the threat of adverse wetland impacts when construction and other work in the upland occurs.

In Warwick, prohibited or regulated activities include:

• Filling
• Dredging
• Dumping - including brush, leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, yard waste
• Excavating
• Grading
• Removing vegetation - including natural vegetation such as live or dead trees, shrubs, or groundcover
• Landscaping - from planting a tree to creating a new lawn or garden
• Construction or expansion of new or existing buildings - including additions such as garages, decks, porches, stairs
• Erection of structures - including sheds, dock, piers
• Construction of tennis courts, sport courts, swimming pools
• Demolition of existing buildings and structures
• Installation or widening of paved driveways
• Installation of drainage, septic, or irrigation systems
• Discharging pollutants
• Changing drainage characteristics, flow patterns, the water table, or water quality

The Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and Regulations are administered by the Warwick Conservation Commission in order to ensure that no harm is done to the wetlands or to their ability to protect public and private water supply, protect groundwater, protect water quality, prevent flooding and storm damage, and protect wildlife, wildlife habitat, and fisheries (the "public interests"). If you are planning any work within a wetland resource area or buffer zone, you will need to apply for and obtain a permit. If the buffer zone activity you plan is relatively minor, it may not require a permit, and you may request a determination of applicability.

Types of Applications:

Request for Determination of Applicability (RDA): a request that the Conservation Commission determine if the work proposed requires a permit (some minor activities, such as small alterations of the buffer zone more than 50 feet from a wetland may not require a permit) or that the Commission determine if the work is within a Resource Area.

Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation (ANRAD): an application to request that the Commission formally review and approve the delineation of resource areas at a site. This form also includes simplified review of work in the Buffer Zone on relatively level properties (not the typical situation in Warwick, but there are some).

Notice of Intent (NOI): an application to request that the Commission approve work within the buffer zone or another resource area.

Request for Certificate of Compliance: A Certificate of Compliance is issued upon full or partial completion of work authorized in an Order of Conditions, or if the work never commenced and a new Notice of Intent and Order of Conditions are required.

Extension Permit for an Order of Conditions. An Order of Conditions is valid for three years from the date of issuance. If an extension is needed, the applicant must submit a written request for the extension to the Conservation Commission at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of the Order of Conditions.

Wetland Resource Areas include:

• "Buffer zone" - Any land within 100 feet of a wetland or bank of a stream, this is protected because of its importance to the wetland and to wildlife habitat
• Floodplains - areas along streams or rivers that are flooded in major storms
• Vegetated wetlands - areas where soils are wet and where wetland plants, such as red maple, skunk cabbage, cattails, cinnamon and sensitive fern occur
• Wet meadows
• Man-made ponds or ditches
• Riverfront Area - All land within 200 feet of a river or perennially-flowing stream, measured horizontally from the top of the bank of the river or stream (not at an angle up a hill) - the "riverfront area" is protected by The Rivers Act
• Bordering land subject to flooding - The area flooded by 100-year (or less) storm events
• Isolated land subject to flooding - Isolated areas that flood and hold at least 1/4 acre foot, 6 inches deep at least once a year

A good regulatory definition of the term "wetland" may be found in the Federal Clean Water Act:

Hodge Brook Beaver Meadow, Arthur Iversen Conservation Area - Photo by B. Compton

Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.

As such, wetlands are defined -- or delineated -- according to three criteria:

• Hydrophytic vegetation: water-tolerant plants that have adapted to wetland conditions
• Hydric soils: water-saturated soils that have become oxygen deficient. Indicators of hydric Soils form after being inundated for a week or more during the growing season
• Other indicators of the hydrologic regime: dominated by the presence of water through flooding or saturated ground, including intermittent stream channels, shallow rooting, etc.