around water in Massachu-

setts . It will also serve as guide

for those twisting morning-

after-the-hearing briefings.

As always, your comments and

opinions are welcome. Please

email them to

NECE@caspianassociates.com

to enter the discussion.

Massachusetts takes its

rivers, vernal pools, wet-

lands and coastal banks

seriously. Unless one if

familiar with the conserva-

tion definitions and knows

what words not to utter

(“fill” comes to mind..) one

is all but guaranteed to end

up with an unpleasant let-

ter DEP or the Conserva-

tion Commission.

This stuff is not easy and

seems to change every day.

Plus, let’s face it, you have

better things to do than

remember the difference

between a stream and a

river, a certified vernal

pool vs. a functioning ver-

nal pool and what can be

done in what area of what

buffer zone on a Tuesday.

Ok, that last part was

made up, but not by much.

This issue of NECE will

discuss what you need to

know about working

Vernal pools are large pud-

dles that appear with the

spring or fall rains. Vernal

pools appear insignificant,

yet for the site developer

carry a great risk for land

loss, have almost no per-

formance standards, impact

site design and push pro-

ject budget. Vernal pools

are also a top buzz word

tossed flippantly to stall

public hearing proceedings

and force environmental

studies.

So what are these pools? In

short:

1. They are temporary by

having water at least 2

months of the year.

2. They are without adult

fish populations.

3. They are an enclosed

basin within another

the boundaries of a

defined wetland re-

source area.

In the real world interpreta-

tion is more loose. Vernal

pools are increasingly al-

lowed to have an inlet or

outlet, are no longer re-

quired to run dry and must

be proven free of predatory

fish populations.

To complicate the require-

ments, most municipalities

have wetland bylaws that

independently define ver-

nal pools. The definitions

range from the clearly de-

fined to the assumption

every wet area is a vernal

pool until proven other-

Comprehending Mass. Wetlands

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Vernal Pools 2

Wetlands 2

Coastal

Wetlands

2

Natural

Heritage

3

Home Rule 3

About NECE 4

Set back

Cheat Sheet

4

Vernal Pools. Continued next page...

New England Construction

Construction and the Environment M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 0 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F I N -

T E R E S T :

Vernal Pools must

be free of fish.

Land Subject to

Flooding is deter-

mined through sur-

vey and engineering

calculations.

Salt Marsh is deter-

mined by the height

of the Spring Tide

Event

Buffer zone, no-

disturb zones and no

- build zones are not

the same.

P A G E 2

“Following

these five points

can make the

difference..”

Wild Calla

Wetlands

wise.

So how does a site devel-

oper plan for this?

1. Be proactive. Find

out early if there is a

possible vernal pool

on the site. Spring is

the best time to make

and get signoff on

vernal pool determi-

nations. Have deter-

minations be con-

ducted by a private

sector consultant.

2. Require that a formal

findings document be

prepared by someone

with extensive exper-

tise in vernal pool

ecology. These find-

ings must be able to

withstand scientific

peer review.

3. Gain a working

knowledge of State

and Municipal regu-

lations, policies and

real– world practices.

4. Formulate a strategy

before the design

phase.

5. Keep the lines of

communication open.

Ask questions.

Following these five

points can make the dif-

ference in reducing pro-

ject expenditures, speed-

ing up permitting times

and providing a permit

for the desired project.

Land Subject to

Flooding:

Isolated (ILSF): An en-

closed basin that tempo-

rarily stores high ground-

water or runoff. It may

function as, but is not

necessarily a vernal pool.

Breaking the threshold

for this determination is

made through specific

survey and engineering

calculations.

Isolated Land subject to

flooding does not have a

100 foot buffer zone.

Bordering:( BLSF): Tempo-

rary water storage from

an overtopping of a

pond, lake or water-

course. Though it may

overlap FEMA Flood-

In Massachusetts, there

are different categories

of wetland:

Bordering Vegetated

Wetland:

Bordering Vegetated

Wetlands (or BVW) are

determined through indi-

cators of wetland vegeta-

tion, hydric soils and hy-

drology. They have a

100 foot buffer zone un-

der the State regulations.

This is not a No– Dis-

turb zone, but an area

where proposed activi-

ties require formal re-

view and a permit. Mu-

nicipalities often have

more stringent rules.

plain, it is not the same

as floodplain.

None of the Above

Sometimes wetlands pre-

sent as isolated features,

but do not meet the ILSF

threshold. They are

wetlands, but do not fit

current regulatory cate-

gory. In these situations,

one must assess how

much fight/cost is avail-

able to be put into the

process (in terms of Pro-

cedural risk vs. Violation

risk.) While Local and

State regulators will fight

arguments of non-

jurisdictional status, the

site developers have

been known to win on

point of law.

N E W E N G L A N D C O N S T R U C T I O N

Erosion Control and Drainage

Common Coastal Wetlands

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

Coastal wetland resources

are different from their

freshwater cousins.

Salt Marsh: is a wetland

area that is delineated up

to the highest tide line (of

the 14 day Spring Tide cy-

cle) .

Coastal Bank: is the sea-

ward edge of a landform

and is determined by a cu-

rious DEP guidance involv-

ing changes in bank incline

relative to flood zones and

Mean High Water.

Barrier Beaches: are strips of

land indicated by the pres-

ence of coastal beach and

coastal dunes that run paral-

lel to the coast. There is a

body of water that separates

the land from the mainland

at one or two terminal

points.

vernal pool and/or other

wetlands.

2. No -disturb zones.

These areas are off limits

for any work (unless a

waiver is requested).

3. No build zones. These

areas are for projects

like landscaping or septic

While trying to architect a

project that meets the re-

quirements of both the State

and municipal regulations can

be a challenge, certain mu-

nicipal conservation require-

ments can be expected:

1. The provision of an inde-

pendent definition of

repairs. Structures such

as additions or decks are

not permitted (unless a

waiver is requested).

4. Local application forms

and separate filing fees.

The Natural Heritage and

Endangered Species Program

(NHESP) is determined

through pre-existing mapped

polygons of habitat known as

Priority Habitat and Esti-

mated Habitat.

While many polygons are

within wetland areas and

coincide with a Conservation

permit application, many do

not. Projects that are pro-

posed within mapped areas

(wetland or not) must un-

dergo a NHESP review,

unless the project meets one

of the NHESP listed exemp-

tions (such as septic repair in

lawn.)

Though not a wetland type

this application process is

worthy of inclusion.

Coastal wetlands are different.

Natural Heritage Program: NHESP

Home Rule: Local Bylaws, Regulations and Policies

Coastal Bank

is determined

by a curious

DEP guidance

involving

changes in

bank incline

relative to

flood zones .

Coastal Dunes

Coastal Dune: is a forma-

tion of sediment land-

ward of a coastal beach.

The designation of a dune

as a Primary Dune is

often contested.

5. Policies. Most munici-

palities have policies (in

addition to bylaws and

regulations). Some poli-

cies are written, some

are not.

Keeping these things in

mind when considering a

project can avoid head-

aches.

Contact

Phone: 508. 792. 1121

Fax: 508. 757.0384

E-mail:

General:

Info@Caspianassociates.com

Newsletter:

NECE@Caspianassociates.com

Shrewsbury, MA

North Andover, MA

Harrison, ME

Conservation Buffer Zone Cheat Sheet:

Plan Wisely.

About Us:

DEP Wetland Type 100’ Buffer Zone 200’ Riverfront Other: Notes

Bordering wetland X

Flooded: Isolated No Buffer Zone

Flooded: Bordering X

Vernal Pool 100’ or at the limit of

the enclosing resource

area.

Rivers X

Intermittent Stream X

Salt Marsh X

Coastal Bank X

FEMA Floodplain No Buffer Zone

New England Construction and The Environment (NECE) focuses on the issues that impact site de-velopment Blog subscriptions may be found at: www.caspianassociates.com

Caspian Associates is a construction services firm supplying engineering (civil and geotechnical), en-vironmental consulting, permit acquisition and con-struction management services to New England.

Comments and opinions are welcome. Send to:

NECE@caspianassociates.com