Connecticut Seal

General Assembly

 

Raised Bill No. 205

February Session, 2010

 

LCO No. 335

 

*00335_______ENV*

Referred to Committee on Environment

 

Introduced by:

 

(ENV)

 

AN ACT CONCERNING ENHANCEMENTS TO THE INLAND WETLANDS AND WATERCOURSES ACT.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 22a-36 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):

The inland wetlands and watercourses of the state of Connecticut are an indispensable and irreplaceable but fragile natural resource with which the citizens of the state have been endowed. The wetlands and watercourses are an interrelated web of nature essential to an adequate supply of surface and underground water; to hydrological stability and control of flooding and erosion; to the recharging and purification of groundwater; and to the existence of many forms of animal, aquatic and plant life. Many inland wetlands and watercourses have been destroyed or are in danger of destruction because of unregulated use by reason of the deposition, filling or removal of material, the diversion or obstruction of water flow, the erection of structures and other uses, all of which have despoiled, polluted and eliminated wetlands and watercourses. Such unregulated activity has had, and will continue to have, a significant, adverse impact on the environment and ecology of the state of Connecticut and has and will continue to imperil the quality of the environment thus adversely affecting the ecological, scenic, historic and recreational values and benefits of the state for its citizens now and forever more. The preservation and protection of the wetlands and watercourses from random, unnecessary, undesirable and unregulated uses, disturbance or destruction is in the public interest and is essential to the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of the state. It is [, therefore,] the purpose of sections 22a-36 to 22a-45, inclusive, as amended by this act, to protect the citizens of the state by making provisions for the protection, preservation, maintenance and use of the inland wetlands and watercourses by minimizing their disturbance and pollution; maintaining and improving water quality in accordance with the highest standards set by federal, state or local authority; preventing damage from erosion, turbidity or siltation; preventing loss of fish and other beneficial aquatic organisms, wildlife and vegetation and the destruction of the natural habitats thereof; deterring and inhibiting the danger of flood and pollution; protecting the quality of wetlands and watercourses for their conservation, economic, aesthetic, recreational and other public and private uses and values; and protecting the state's potable fresh water supplies from the dangers of drought, overdraft, pollution, misuse and mismanagement by providing an orderly process to balance the need for the economic growth of the state and the use of its land with the need to protect its environment and ecology in order to forever guarantee to the people of the state, the safety of such natural resources for their benefit and enjoyment and for the benefit and enjoyment of generations yet unborn. It is the public policy of the state to preserve and to prevent the despoliation and destruction of the inland wetlands and watercourses of the state.

Sec. 2. Section 22a-42 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):

(a) To carry out and effectuate the purposes and policies of sections 22a-36 to 22a-45a, inclusive, as amended by this act, it is hereby declared to be the public policy of the state to require municipal regulation of activities affecting the wetlands and watercourses within the territorial limits of the various municipalities or districts, to preserve and to prevent the despoliation and destruction of such wetlands and watercourses.

(b) Any municipality may acquire wetlands and watercourses within its territorial limits by gift or purchase, in fee or lesser interest including, but not limited to, lease, easement or covenant, subject to such reservations and exceptions as it deems advisable.

(c) On or before July 1, 1988, each municipality shall establish an inland wetlands agency or authorize an existing board or commission to carry out the provisions of sections 22a-36 to 22a-45, inclusive, as amended by this act. Each municipality, acting through its legislative body, may authorize any board or commission, as may be by law authorized to act, or may establish a new board or commission to promulgate such regulations, in conformity with the regulations adopted by the commissioner pursuant to section 22a-39, as are necessary to protect the wetlands and watercourses within its territorial limits. The ordinance establishing the new board or commission shall determine the number of members and alternate members, the length of their terms, the method of selection and removal and the manner for filling vacancies in the new board or commission. No member or alternate member of such board or commission shall participate in the hearing or decision of such board or commission of which he is a member upon any matter in which he is directly or indirectly interested in a personal or financial sense. In the event of such disqualification, such fact shall be entered on the records of such board or commission and replacement shall be made from alternate members of an alternate to act as a member of such commission in the hearing and determination of the particular matter or matters in which the disqualification arose. For the purposes of this section, the board or commission authorized by the municipality or district, as the case may be, shall serve as the sole agent for the licensing of regulated activities.

(d) At least one member of the inland wetlands agency or staff of the agency shall be a person who has completed the comprehensive training program developed by the commissioner pursuant to section 22a-39. Failure to have a member of the agency or staff with training shall not affect the validity of any action of the agency. The commissioner shall annually make such program available to one person from each town without cost to that person or the town. Each inland wetlands agency shall hold a meeting at least once annually at which information is presented to the members of the agency which summarizes the provisions of the training program. The commissioner shall develop such information in consultation with interested persons affected by the regulation of inland wetlands and shall provide for distribution of video presentations and related written materials which convey such information to inland wetlands agencies. In addition to such materials, the commissioner, in consultation with such persons, shall prepare materials which provide guidance to municipalities in carrying out the provisions of subsection (f) of section 22a-42a, as amended by this act.

(e) Any municipality, pursuant to ordinance, may act through the board or commission authorized in subsection (c) of this section to join with any other municipalities in the formation of a district for the regulation of activities affecting the wetlands and watercourses within such district. Any city or borough may delegate its authority to regulate inland wetlands under this section to the town in which it is located.

(f) Municipal or district ordinances or regulations may embody any regulations promulgated hereunder, in whole or in part, or may consist of other ordinances or regulations in conformity with regulations promulgated hereunder. Any ordinances or regulations shall be for the purpose of effectuating the purposes of sections 22a-36 to 22a-45, inclusive, as amended by this act, and [,] a municipality or district, in acting upon ordinances and regulations, shall incorporate the factors set forth in section 22a-41.

(g) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit the existing authority of a municipality or any boards or commissions of the municipality, provided the commissioner shall retain authority to act on any application filed with said commissioner prior to the establishment or designation of an inland wetlands agency by a municipality.

Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 22a-42a of the 2010 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):

(c) (1) On and after the effective date of the municipal regulations promulgated pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, no regulated activity shall be conducted upon any inland wetland or watercourse without a permit. Any person proposing to conduct or cause to be conducted a regulated activity upon an inland wetland or watercourse shall file an application with the inland wetlands agency of the town or towns wherein the wetland or watercourse in question is located. The application shall be in such form and contain such information as the inland wetlands agency may prescribe. The date of receipt of an application shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section 8-7d. The inland wetlands agency shall not hold a public hearing on such application unless the inland wetlands agency determines that the proposed activity may have a significant impact on wetlands or watercourses, a petition signed by at least twenty-five persons who are eighteen years of age or older and who reside in the municipality in which the regulated activity is proposed, requesting a hearing is filed with the agency not later than fourteen days after the date of receipt of such application, or the agency finds that a public hearing regarding such application would be in the public interest. An inland wetlands agency may issue a permit without a public hearing provided no petition provided for in this subsection is filed with the agency on or before the fourteenth day after the date of receipt of the application. Such hearing shall be held in accordance with the provisions of section 8-7d. The inland wetlands agency shall consider all evidence brought before such agency or its agent by any person or entity, including, but not limited to, scientific evidence, expert opinion, direct observations made regarding the proposed regulated activity, environmental reviews, policy letters or guidance documents provided by or on behalf of an environmental review team or by the Department of Environmental Protection and written comments or oral testimony submitted by the Commissioner of Public Health or by or on behalf of a water company in response to written notice provided to such water company pursuant to section 22a-42f. If the inland wetlands agency, or its agent, fails to act on any application within thirty-five days after the completion of a public hearing or in the absence of a public hearing within sixty-five days from the date of receipt of the application, or within any extension of any such period as provided in section 8-7d, the applicant may file such application with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection who shall review and act on such application in accordance with this section. Any costs incurred by the commissioner in reviewing such application for such inland wetlands agency shall be paid by the municipality that established or authorized the agency. Any fees that would have been paid to such municipality if such application had not been filed with the commissioner shall be paid to the state. The failure of the inland wetlands agency or the commissioner to act within any time period specified in this subsection, or any extension thereof, shall not be deemed to constitute approval of the application.

(2) An inland wetlands agency may delegate to its duly authorized agent the authority to approve or extend an activity that is not located in a wetland or watercourse when such agent finds that the conduct of such activity would result in no greater than a minimal impact on any wetland or watercourse provided such agent has completed the comprehensive training program developed by the commissioner pursuant to section 22a-39. Notwithstanding the provisions for receipt and processing applications prescribed in subdivision (1) of this subsection, such agent may approve or extend such an activity at any time. Any person receiving such approval from such agent shall, within ten days of the date of such approval, publish, at the applicant's expense, notice of the approval in a newspaper having a general circulation in the town wherein the activity is located or will have an effect. Any person may appeal such decision of such agent to the inland wetlands agency within fifteen days after the publication date of the notice and the inland wetlands agency shall consider such appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting provided such meeting is no earlier than three business days after receipt by such agency or its agent of such appeal. The inland wetlands agency shall, at its discretion, sustain, alter or reject the decision of its agent or require an application for a permit in accordance with subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1

October 1, 2010

22a-36

Sec. 2

October 1, 2010

22a-42

Sec. 3

October 1, 2010

22a-42a(c)

Statement of Purpose:

To augment the scope of the evidence considered by inland wetlands agencies when determining whether to grant a permit.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]